Washington's only Forbes Five-Star hotel, with an outdoor infinity pool over the waterfront, Goldfinch Tavern below and open Puget Sound light in the best rooms.
Four Seasons Hotel Seattle is the city's most complete luxury address: the only Forbes Five-Star hotel in Washington, with an outdoor infinity pool over the waterfront, a Forbes-rated spa, Goldfinch Tavern by Ethan Stowell downstairs and the best west-facing rooms looking out to Puget Sound. Book it for view, polish and pool; look elsewhere for period grandeur.
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Scored on our six-point framework. See our methodology for how the criteria are weighted.
Because it is the only hotel in the city that pairs a genuine Forbes Five-Star service standard with a waterfront view and resort-style amenities in one building. Four Seasons Hotel Seattle opened in 2008 in a contemporary tower on Union Street, the modern flagship in a market where most luxury trades on age. It is the only Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel in Washington State, an award it first won in 2013 and that Forbes reaffirmed on its best Seattle hotels list in 2025. No competitor in the city holds that badge.
What sets it apart in practice is the combination rather than any single feature. The Fairmont Olympic has the grander lobby and the deeper history, the Edgewater sits literally over the water, but only the Four Seasons puts a heated outdoor infinity pool, a full spa, a serious chef-led restaurant and open Sound views under one roof, run by a service team used to guests who compare it against Four Seasons properties worldwide. That is why it anchors our Seattle ranking at #1.
Book a west-facing room or suite with a bay view, and treat the view as the upgrade that matters most. The hotel has 147 rooms and suites, and they are among the more generously sized in Seattle luxury, finished in a calm, contemporary palette of ivory, grey and warm wood that keeps the focus on the windows. Interior and city-facing rooms are quieter on price; the water-facing category is what people remember.
Because the guest floors sit above the tower's lower levels, upper west-facing rooms clear the surrounding buildings and open onto Elliott Bay, the ferry lanes and the Olympic Mountains beyond. There are 13 suites in the mix for guests who want a separate living area, and the corner layouts capture the widest sweep of the Sound. If you are booking for a special occasion, ask specifically for a high floor on the water side rather than just a suite.
The house car service runs guests to destinations within about two miles of the hotel at no charge, which covers most of downtown, Pike Place, the waterfront and Belltown. Use it for dinner reservations and save the valet fee and the parking hunt, then walk back along the market after dark.
Yes, and it is a real restaurant rather than a hotel dining room going through the motions. Goldfinch Tavern is a collaboration with Ethan Stowell, the James Beard nominated Seattle chef, named for the Washington state bird. It cooks Pacific Northwest food built around local seafood and produce, and it is open to the public for breakfast, lunch, dinner, weekend brunch and happy hour, which keeps the room busy with locals as well as guests.
Reviewers reliably single out the seafood, the Dungeness crab dishes and the breakfast hashbrowns, and the setting nods to Seattle's pioneer-era past without tipping into theme. Service and pricing draw the occasional grumble, as they do at most hotel restaurants, so go in expecting Four Seasons rates. Current hours run from 6:30am to 10pm most nights and to 11pm Thursday through Saturday; book ahead for a window table on a clear evening.
They are the reason this hotel wins on amenities in a city where most luxury hotels have none of them. The heated outdoor infinity pool, set on the amenity deck with a firepit and open bay views, is marketed by Four Seasons as the only outdoor infinity pool at a Seattle hotel, and it runs year round with poolside food and drink. On a cool Pacific Northwest evening, a heated pool under open sky is a genuinely rare thing here.
Alongside it, The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Seattle carries its own Forbes recognition and offers massages, facials and body treatments by reservation, with a relaxation area, sauna and steam facilities. A 24-hour fitness center rounds out the wellness floor. Between the pool, the spa and the restaurant, the hotel functions as a self-contained base in a way its Seattle rivals mostly cannot match.
The address, 99 Union Street, is about as central as downtown Seattle gets: the southern edge of the Pike Place Market district, directly above the central waterfront, with the Seattle Art Museum a block away and the retail core a short walk uphill. From the front door you can reach Pike Place, the new waterfront park, the ferry terminal and Belltown on foot, which is the whole point of staying here rather than in a business tower further inland.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport sits about 15 miles south, a drive of roughly 20 to 30 minutes outside of peak traffic, or around 40 minutes on the Link light rail into downtown followed by a short taxi. The one honest caveat is topography and traffic: Seattle's downtown streets are steep and often congested, and the immediate blocks mix polished market frontage with ordinary city grit.
Plan on entry rates from around 450 dollars a night in quieter months, climbing well past that in summer and for water-view categories. Rates in Seattle luxury swing hard by season: the July and August stretch, when the city is at its sunniest and the Olympic views are most reliable, is both the most rewarding time to have that pool and the most expensive time to book it. Winter and shoulder months are materially cheaper.
Valet parking runs about 65 dollars per night with in and out privileges in the underground garage, and there is no self-park on site, so factor that in or lean on the house car and light rail instead of renting. For a summer water-view room, book several weeks to a couple of months out; for a winter city-view stay, you can often move much closer to the date and still do well.
The praise is remarkably consistent and centers on service, view and pool. Guests repeatedly credit staff who anticipate rather than react, immaculate rooms, and the open Sound and mountain views from the higher west-facing floors. The outdoor infinity pool draws its own fan mail as a rare treat in Seattle, and Goldfinch Tavern's breakfast and seafood get named again and again. This is a hotel that reviewers describe as delivering what the Four Seasons name promises.
The complaints are narrower but worth weighing. Some guests feel the contemporary interiors read cooler and less characterful than the Fairmont Olympic's period grandeur, a few note that lower or city-facing rooms miss the view that justifies the rate, and the cost of everything, from valet to the restaurant to incidentals, comes up as you would expect at this tier. Nobody credible calls it anything but very good; the debate is about value and style, not standards.
Our counter-recommendation: if 1920s grandeur and a landmark dining room matter more to you than a pool and a modern view, book the Fairmont Olympic Hotel instead, or the Edgewater if you want to sleep directly over the water. For the fullest package of view, service and amenities in one building, stay here.
It wins on amenities, view and service consistency; its rivals win on history, location theatrics or price. Within our Seattle ranking it sits at #1 with an aggregate editorial score of 9.4 out of 10. It is more modern and better equipped than the Fairmont Olympic, less of a novelty than the over-the-water Edgewater, and more of a full-service resort in the city than the design-led Thompson Seattle. For the full field, see our Seattle hotels guide.
| Hotel | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Four Seasons Seattle | Pool, spa, Sound views, Five-Star service | Contemporary rather than characterful; view rooms cost more |
| Fairmont Olympic Hotel | 1924 grandeur, grand public rooms, dining | No outdoor pool; inland, no water view |
| The Edgewater | Sleeping directly over Elliott Bay | Off the retail core; more novelty than full-service |
| Thompson Seattle | Design lovers, rooftop bar, market location | Smaller rooms, no pool or full spa |
The hotel sits at 99 Union Street in downtown Seattle, at the southern edge of the Pike Place Market district and above the central waterfront. Upper floors look west over Elliott Bay, Puget Sound ferry traffic and the Olympic Mountains on clear days.
Yes. Four Seasons Hotel Seattle holds a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating and is the only Forbes Five-Star hotel in Washington State. It first earned the award in 2013 and has been recognized on Forbes Travel Guide's best Seattle hotels list as recently as 2025.
Yes. The hotel has a heated outdoor infinity pool on its amenity deck, with a firepit and open views toward Elliott Bay. Four Seasons markets it as the only outdoor infinity pool at a Seattle hotel, and it stays open year round with poolside food and drink service.
The hotel restaurant is Goldfinch Tavern, a collaboration with James Beard nominated Seattle chef Ethan Stowell. It serves Pacific Northwest cooking built around local seafood and produce, and is open to the public for breakfast, lunch, dinner, weekend brunch and happy hour.
The hotel offers valet parking at roughly 65 dollars per night with in and out privileges, in an underground garage. There is no self-park option on site, so budget for valet or use a nearby public garage if you will not need the car daily.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is about 15 miles south, a drive of roughly 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic. The Link light rail from the airport reaches downtown Seattle in around 40 minutes, ending a short taxi ride from the hotel.
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