Sheraton Seattle Hotel unveils ‘Grand’ $60 million renovation that includes a new Starbucks
This article originally appeared in the Puget Sound Business Journal.
The tarps, ropes and caution signs have disappeared in the Sheraton Seattle Hotel, leaving a sparkling interior in time for a week-long celebration to mark the hotel’s new elevated name-change to the Sheraton Grand Seattle and revealing the more than $60 million renovation of the hotel which first opened in 1983.
Sheraton Grand Seattle is the largest hotel in Seattle, with 400 full-time employees, 15 of whom were there the day it opened, and 150 part-time staff.
Sheraton Grand Seattle’s Co-owner and Managing Partner Howard Wright says the re-do, which took some 18 months, included all 1,236 guest rooms, 60,000 square feet of meeting space, the lobby and the club lounge on the 32nd floor, an area which has doubled in size.
A priceless collection of artwork that was purchased starting in the 1980s is on display in public spaces at the hotel.
The hotel also now has a licensed Starbucks, which opened Sept. 14.
“There’s a line every morning,” said Starbucks Manager Gabrielle “Gabby” Rice. The cafe includes what looks like a chic lounge/bar where Northwest beer and wine are served. The coffee selections include nitro taps and pour-overs. In addition, a market area in the store offers grab-and-go choices, healthy snacks and retail items.
“I never saw a Starbucks like this with a bar,” said tourist Vickie Atherton, from Indiana, who had just worked out and was waiting in line.
The renovation plus the addition the Starbucks led to the elevated new name, according to a press release from the Sheraton’s parent Marriott International Inc. “The extensive transformation has allowed the hotel to receive the brand's esteemed Grand designation,” it said.
Wright says while this hotel is the second highest performing hotel in the North American Sheraton chain in terms of profitability and guest ratings, he expects that the name Sheraton Grand Seattle will place the hotel on even stronger footing in a seriously competitive industry.
“This designation will help will help us in competing for business coming into Seattle and also within Seattle itself,” he says. Seattle competes vigorously against other cities to host conventions and conferences. “Then once Seattle is selected,” he explains, “we also compete against our local peers to get that business. In fact that’s why we put in the Starbucks.”
Wright said he got the idea when Howard Schultz opened a Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle.
“I said I wanted one of those,” says Wright, who just returned as one of the elite group of close friends Schultz invited to Italy for the opening of the Reserve Roastery in Milan. “My friend Howard told me, ‘I’ll give you everything you need,’ when I decided to open a higher-end Starbucks in the hotel. And he did. Everyone loves it.”
The week-long Sheraton celebration starts Thursday and is part of an international Sheraton “Heart for the City” tour, which began in August in Quebec, and which highlights Sheraton’s role in the community.
In Seattle, a social media promotion, involving an enormous high-tech screen at the Sheraton Grand Seattle, will allow folks who like to take photos and videos to pose in iconic scenes, including immersive vignettes like the newly renovated Space Needle. Tickets for all activities throughout the week are free to the public and can be booked here.