Roaring '20s: Downtown Seattle's historic Fairmont Olympic Hotel to open new bar

Downtown Seattle's quintessential luxury hotel will unveil major renovations at the end of the month including a transformed main lobby and bar.

The Fairmont Olympic Hotel is getting ready to welcome guests and locals alike to their swanky new lobby area and Olympic Bar on April 30 following approximately $25 million in restorations which commenced in January 2020, with a speakeasy bar opening later this year.

Featuring a bold design that is modern yet ageless, the renovation project was the largest for the hotel in 40 years. Some historical elements were preserved and given new life, including ornate chandeliers and Italian terrazzo floors which were laid in 1924 and covered by carpet for over half a century. 

"From the moment you walk in, you will feel it. New narratives. New emotions. A new era," said Fairmont Olympic General Manager Sunny Joseph in a news release. "The Olympic's stunning transformation is a tribute to the timeless tale of this hotel — a living expression of the past, present and future of Seattle."

The Olympic Bar is set to be the centerpiece of the lobby with daily breakfast, lunch, dinner and afternoon tea service. While the dining menu for the new bar hasn't been released yet, the hotel says it will feature approachable American cuisine using local and seasonal ingredients and carefully crafted house cocktails alongside a selection of the region's best beer and wine.

A remodeled, reinvention of the hotel's flagship fine dining restaurant, the Georgian, is set to reopen later this year after closing in 2015. A secluded "spirit drinker's enclave" will connect to the lobby through a hidden door, giving residents a taste of Prohibition-era secrecy for their next libation.

As the downtown core and tourism industry recovers from the economic lull brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, there's no better hotel in Seattle to ring in the new roaring '20s than Fairmont. Following the end of World War I, city planners set out to create a world-class hotel that would attract visitors.

The lot on University Street, which at the time was owned by the University of Washington, was selected, and the hotel was completed in 1924, according to HistoryLink.

Over the years it has hosted plenty of famous guests, from President John F. Kennedy — who might have had prostitutes visit his suite, according to an urban legend — to celebrities like John Wayne, Bob Hope, and Elvis Presley.

As a meeting point for people downtown, the new lavish bar is prepared for a post-pandemic social and economic boom.

"Opening the lobby at the end of April sets the stage for a social experience that will bring forth deeper connections with our guests, our community and this great city as we forge a new future together," Joseph said.