We've been lucky to travel all over the world, and we’ve stayed at short term rental homes in NYC's East Village with creaking walk-up stairs, pre-war hotels in Paris with tiny elevators, and soaring towers of glass and steel overlooking Tokyo -- so we've designed the apartment with the things we think are most important.
The bed.
High end hotels spend a lot of money making sure you have a comfortable bed - and more money advertising it! When you travel, you want to rest, and the key is a comfortable bed.
Our queen-size bed has a Tempurpedic memory foam mattress, one of the most comfortable mattresses we've ever slept on. Memory foam cradles and conforms to your body and dampens vibrations -- if your partner gets up/gets in while you're sleeping, you won't notice it.
Even the sofa bed, a Gus Modern flip-out sofa bed, has a firm, comfortable-for-a-sofa-bed mattress. It doesn't have the cheap thin coil over a metal bar feeling that a lot of sofa beds suffer from. It's not as comfortable as the Tempurpedic, but it's great for a sofa bed!
If you're using the sofa bed, please let us know and we will leave sheets, duvet cover, and pillows out for you if at all possible for your convenience - otherwise, you can find them in the bedroom closets (shelf and drawers). Please use the sheets and put the pillow cases (pillows and spare duvet already have a hypoallergenic cover on them which are not cases!) and duvet cover on over the pillows and duvet! Also, we will provide 2 mattress protector pads, use them under the sheets for extra comfort and to protect the sofa bed.
The bedroom also has a wall mounted, high end Samsung flat panel TV. We have over-the-air HD channels (the major networks), as well as a Roku Internet streaming box where you can watch HBO, SHO, AMC, Amazon Prime programming, FX and other channels. You can also log in to your own Netflix account, if you want!
The kitchen.
When you travel, you'll want some key amenities to make your stay easy and comfortable. If you're not staying at a hotel with room service and a mini-bar, or you're travelling with kids, you'll want to be able to stock up on some food and drink, or even cook some breakfast before you get out and about. Our kitchen has cutting boards, knives, dishes, cups, flatware, fridge, freezer, filtered water, toaster, microwave, stove and oven, and dishwasher.
Seattle is a coffee town! We have coffee beans, filtered water, a grinder and French Press, and an electric kettle. And we provide a basket of snacks, because if you get in late, you may want a quick bite (though we'd recommend North Star, a nearby 24 hour diner within walking distance).
We have a few specialty small appliances, too: a juicer, a rice maker, and a blender.
The space.
We designed a simple, clean and modern living space for you. We have bedside and sofa-side LED lighting, an Aeron chair for laptop work time, granite countertops in the kitchen, simple polished concrete floors (and slippers), radiant wall panel heat to keep you comfortable and still be energy efficient and of course, WiFi. We even have a laptop you can log into (on guest account) to check mail, and a USB power source in case you forgot your AC adapter. If you care about such things, our house is certified as LEED Platinum for energy efficiency and sustainability.
We don't have air conditioning, Seattle rarely needs it (and this unit stays cool as it's well insulated and is the bottom floor of a climate controlled home) but we do have a ceiling fan in the bedroom. We find that even on the top floor of our house during 95F days, a ceiling fan is all we need to sleep comfortably in the evening as Seattle always cools down at night.
We also have floor fans in the closet! But if you really need air conditioning, you'll find a lot of Seattle homes don't have it.
We have towels, hand towels, wash cloths, bath robes, shampoo, soap and conditioner, and a hairdryer. We have a dishwasher, and a washer/dryer unit for people staying 3 or more days.
For safety, we have a wall plug flashlight (in case of power outage!), first aid kit, smoke/CO detectors and fire extinguishers.
We're away from the hustle and bustle of downtown, within easy access of great parts of Seattle by bus, car, even foot and bike!
And we have a licensed onsite massage therapist!
Location
Greenwood is a great, quiet neighborhood to escape the din of Downtown but still be able to get around via car or bus. It's 30-40 min car ride from Seatac Airport, depending on traffic. (Traffic in Seattle is the great unknown -- it can really change your trip!) There's plenty of street parking, as long as you don't block a mailbox during mail days and times. If you have an electric vehicle, we can arrange L2 charging time for a nominal fee.
We're in North Seattle and our place is convenient to some of the best things Seattle has -- the neighborhoods of Ballard, Wallingford, Fremont have some of the best restaurants Seattle has to offer. We're near Chuck's Hop Shop on NW 85th St; it's a 9 minute drive to Uneeda Burger in Fremont on a weekend. You can explore Seattle by renting bikes from us, if you want; we have two brand new Raleigh town bikes, one with a rack and bag and lock, for a small fee; you're responsible for making sure the bikes get back to us! They fit 5'3" - 5'8" and 5'8" - 5'11" riders.
Greenwood has some great places within walking distance. You can walk to our favorite restaurant, Brunswick & Hunt, about 15-20 minutes. Greenwood town center has good (getting to be great) dining (Flint Creek), lighter fare (Preserve & Gather; Coyle's), coffee (Herkimer), ice cream and root beer (Bluebird), groceries (Fred Meyer).
If you want to get downtown by car, it is -- depending on traffic -- 20-30 minute drive. (Note: you'll have to find parking which can be a challenge downtown and Cap Hill, so Lyft and Uber can be actually economical.)
Bus lines -- the D, 28, 45 are also blocks away (28 and 45) to a 5-10 minute walk (the D). These will get you to Cap Hill, U District, and downtown easily. The 28 goes right to Safeco field, about a 38 minute bus ride away.