by Kirby Lindsay, posted 31 August 2011
Fremont has a hotel! Okay, so it is a hostel, but isn’t that, in many ways, so much better?
For instance, the most expensive room at Hotel/Hotel goes for $91 a night. It’s a family room, with a bathroom en suite and a little extra play/relaxation space, all available only for guests with children. The rates for all other rooms can be seen on the website. All guests have access to a communal kitchen and laundry facilities. More importantly, the entire facility sits half a block from the center of the Center of the Universe, at 3515 Fremont Avenue North.
As Though It’s Always Been
“It feels like it has always been here,” observed Lee Kindell, owner of Hotel/Hotel with his wife Nancy. They also own the building, in partnership with Gibraltar Inc. Together, they all converted the floor of single-room occupancy (SRO) apartments into a 28-room hostel, with windows for each unit and a front desk – at the top of the staircase – that faces out onto the sidewalk of Fremont Avenue.
Kindell kept the remodel spare but elegant. “I’m organic in my design,” he explained, as he waits to see how guests, and he and the staff, use the lobby and the rooms before adapting and improving them for maximum comfort. Right now nearly all the rooms can convert easily from a dorm room (that sleeps four strangers on two sets of bunk beds) to a private room, or a family room. “We get groups that book blocks of room,” he explained, and this arrangement can accommodate most requests.
Kindell has come to Fremont already familiar with running a hostel as he already operates City Hostel, in Downtown Seattle. He credits the immediate success of Hotel/Hotel (they’ve been booked since opening in July,) “because we are so well known. Our market is global,” he explained. Notices about Hotel/Hotel went out over the internet and to customers world-wide, who have spread the word.
One of those words is Kindell’s reputation from City Hostel, particularly his determination to keep the facility clean – as he learned after years of restaurant management. City Hostel has earned national awards for cleanliness, and Kindell has rooms at Hotel/Hotel cleaned twice a day.
Fremont Magic
“I don’t sell Fremont hard,” Kindell explained about his talks with guests about the neighborhood. He is glad to introduce international students and explorers to the area. He’s also been happy to see how honeymoon couples enjoy the ‘hood, particularly one couple that booked in at Hotel/Hotel when City Hostel was full – and chose to stay in Fremont after a space opened up Downtown.
Local businesses, like Groundspeak and Tableau, have also booked rooms for clients and/or potential employees. To this diversity of guests, Kindell explained, “I want them to discover their own treasures. When Fremont reveals its treasures to you, that’s the magic.”
“All of the guests are very surprised at the neighborhood,” Kindell admitted, “the friendliness, the walkability, the Farmer’s Market…” Hotel/Hotel could not be more ideally located, with shops, restaurants, a pub and services located in the same building (all of whom, Kindell assured me, are staying.) Since City Hostel opened four years ago, “we’ve sent kids to Fremont,” Kindell reported, and they knew it as a popular destination. When he and his wife found out the building could be purchased, “it was an opportunity too good to pass up,” he admitted.
Neighbors Meet Your Neighbors
In addition to short-term guests, Kindell also has a few visitors who will be temporary neighbors. In a common practice among independent hostels, Kindell has instituted the ‘work trade’ program. Occasional longer-term guests can cover the cost of their room by helping with staff duties. Aaron Ellis, of Melbourne, Australia, works at Hotel/Hotel for three hours each day, “it’s only a few hours,” he allowed, which hardly interrupts his enjoyment of the Seattle area. “It’s been good so far,” Ellis said. Work trade took him over New Zealand – through Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown – although he had to pay to stay at hostels in Whistler and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
As for permanent Fremont neighbors, Kindell invites everyone to “come by and see it, any time! I like the neighborhood to know what’s going on.” Take a look, and find out more about the facility… maybe it will suit your cousin/ex-roommate/in-law for their next visit. If nothing else, it would be good to know where those who don’t live here (yet) will have their first experience of Fremont/Fremont.
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©2011 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.