Hotels
A Capitol Hill B&B lets you sleep on Millionare’s Row.
Posted by: Stephanie Rubesh on Feb 21, 2012 at 03:25PM
The Hotel: Once upon a time, it was just another sprawling manor on Capitol Hill’s Millionaire’s Row. Today, the Tudor-style Shafer Baillie homestead is a B&B. It was built in 1913 by a beer brewer on 14th Avenue North in Capitol Hill, but the house fell into disrepair in modern days. Current owners Ana Lena and Mark Melka purchased the 14,000-square-foot property in 2004 and spent two years on restoration, decking it out in mahogany paneling, antique furniture, and a grand piano. Some of the eight bedrooms feature four-poster beds, and guests can relax in the living room, sun room, or library.
For Out-of-Towners: As one of Capitol Hill’s few hotel options, the Shafer Baillie manages to be both close to downtown and on a residential street. Volunteer Park is only a block away, and some of Seattle’s finest noshes are within walking distance. There are no swimming pools or saunas at Shafer Baillie, though the hotel is squarely in the 21st century with WiFi and TVs. It’s the old-timey touches that are most memorable: a basement speakeasy-turned-event space, a century-old massage mechanism, and a resident ghost named Iris.
For In-Towners: The mansion is popular with staycationers, usually couples who need a night away from the kids. (Tots are actually welcome, but the costly collectibles and mature vibe make it more appealing to the childless.) Innkeeper Brenda Mallonee can make special arrangements for a group brunch, provided one or all are booked in rooms. The spot is also popular with weddings, and has been known to host art shows and concerts.
Shafer Baillie Mansion, 907 14th Avenue East, 206-322-4654; sbmansion.com
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Cultural Travel
Visit Rose City for a modern-art bonanza.
Posted by: Allison Williams on Feb 17, 2012 at 03:00PM
Rothko (Daniel Benzali) has a favorite color in Red.
Photo courtesy Portland Center Stage.
Don’t look at a Mark Rothko painting and say, “I could’ve painted that.” Sure, his signature style is simple, with one or two colors stacked in rectangles. But the Portland-raised artist, a Russian immigrant first known as Marcus Rothkowitz, was a revolutionary.
Tomorrow the Portland Art Museum launches Mark Rothko, the artist’s first-ever retrospective in his first American hometown. Some 45 surrealist pieces, still lifes, and abstract works have been gathered from the National Gallery of Art and the Rothko family’s own collections. On March 10, chamber group Third Angle Ensemble will perform works by pioneering minimalist composers at the museum, including a Rothko-themed piece by Morton Feldman.
Not to be outdone, Portland Center Stage is mounting a production of Red, a Tony-winning play about Rothko and his fictional assistant. In it, the irascible artist is tasked with creating a a series of paintings for the Four Seasons restaurant in New York City, all the time questioning the meaning, necessity, and commercialization of art. The play runs February 21 through March 18.
At downtown Portland’s Hotel Lucia, Rothko fever is in full swing with a package featuring exhibition tickets, $20 off at the museum gift shop, and themed cocktails. Plus, guests get $10 off performances of Red. Rooms at the boutique are $199 per night through May 27.
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Air Travel
Airports offer yoga, frequent-flyer miles, and the holy grail: an easier trip through security.
Posted by: Allison Williams on Feb 13, 2012 at 02:00PM
You were going to take off your shoes anyway, right?
Image courtesy San Francisco International Airport
Flying used to be fun (cocktails, fur coats, visits to the cockpit) before long lines and soggy sandwiches made airports awful. But there are upgrades on the horizon—some of which will even happen here:
• A new Transportation Security Administration program called PreCheck will make going through security less painful; it arrives at Sea-Tac by the end of 2012. Customers in certain frequent flyer programs will register in advance skip some procedures, like removing liquids from bags and taking off your shoes. Break out the holey socks!
• Speaking of frequent flyers, Sea-Tac announced a program that allows travelers to earn miles by shopping, dining, and parking at the airport. But since it’s a $1-per-mile deal on most plans (participating airlines include Alaska, Continental, Delta, and U.S. Airways), you’ll have to buy out Hudson News to earn that free ticket to Hawaii. Register online by the end of the month for a chance to win an iPad or Kindle Fire.
• At SFO in San Francisco, there’s a special room for yoga in one of their terminals. It has soothing lights and yoga mats, and in spring it’ll sport rocks made of felt. No word on if Seattle will get a similar amenity to join our new music program.
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Foodie Travel
Get sauced north of the border.
Posted by: Allison Williams on Feb 07, 2012 at 05:10PM
Belly up to the bar at the Granville Room, site of one of the festival’s mixology dinners.
Credit: Tourism Vancouver
It’s back. Tales of the Cocktail on Tour, a mobile drinking fest, returns to Vancouver next week. It’s a spinoff of the annual New Orleans event, which celebrates its ten-year mark this summer—but from February 12–15, the Canadian city will host its second annual flurry of shaken and stirred seminars.
Our former Food and Drink editor, Jessica Voelker, toured last year’s Vancouver festival. She discovered what makes good ice and was introduced to something called a whipped cream-charger. Her verdict? Tales of the Cocktail is “entirely too much fun.”
Most of next week’s events take place at the host hotel, the Fairmont Pacific Rim, but the Spirited Dinner series will be in restaurants all around town; each features local chefs and mixologists. Classes will include one on Colonial American Drinks (the brew made from “beer, rum, molasses, and a red-hot iron poker” sounds promising), and a bar tending trio will discuss tequila’s rather classy lineage. Tickets are $195 for the entire event—a deal that includes tasting rooms, opening and closing parties, and a bartender’s brunch.
Check out Voelker’s travel tips from her outing, then pack your own cocktail shaker for a trip north. But remember: Never, ever lie to a border agent about how much booze you’re bringing through customs. Guantanamo just isn’t worth it.
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Getaways
These places make us feel all cuddly inside.
Posted by: Allison Williams on Feb 01, 2012 at 05:30PM
No heart-shaped jacuzzis included.
People have been commemorating love on St. Valentine’s Day since the 14th century (take it up with Geoffrey Chaucer, V-Day haters). If you’re stepping up your game above flowers and conversation hearts, you’ll want to book a romantic weekend getaway. Here are our favorite lovey-dovey destinations in Washington.
• Thornewood Castle in Lakewood is billed as “The House That Love Built,” but it was actually constructed by Native American workmen, some of whom left good-luck totems in the rafters. Since Stephen King’s Rose Red was filmed at the B&B, you can embrace the bloody side of Valentine’s Day.
• The Willows Lodge in Woodinville is close to a lot of wineries, and everyone knows that booze makes the heart grow fonder. Make a beeline for the renovated spa at the hotel, which features couples packages.
• Port Townsend has loads of the Victorian fanciness feels romantic (never mind that Victorian times were all about being buttoned up). You can even stay in a castle or recreate An Officer and a Gentleman at Fort Worden State Park.
• How do you pick the most romantic part of the San Juan Islands? Impossible. But island local and whale-watching guide John Boyd suggests table six at the Duck Soup Inn north of Friday Harbor; it’s right next to the fireplace.
• If you (or your Valentine) pine for the Twilight romances, who are we to judge? The town of Forks wasn’t exactly a luxurious retreat before the book phenomenon, but now there’s a themed B&B, and it’s an easy drive to the moody, romantic coast.
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Weekend Excursions,
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