For ages, Seattle has frustrated me. The hilly city has a dramatic setting, framed by breathtaking mountains, lakes and Elliott Bay. It’s the headquarters of Amazon, Microsoft and Starbucks. Why, then, are there so few recommendable hotels? True, the last few years have presented Seattle with challenges. But on this recent foray, my traveling companion and I noticed a palpable sense of optimism and resilience in the people and businesses. The streets were abuzz, and it felt like a new beginning.

Confirming our feelings of a rebound, a raft of hotels opened this year, including the eco-friendly 1 Hotel in South Lake Union, and, most promising, the boutique Populus in historic Pioneer Square. Since construction on that property was still in the works when we visited, we reviewed two others that have debuted in the past five years — one downtown and one just outside the city — and garnered good press. But first, I wanted to check in on the Four Seasons, which had been getting mixed reviews from our members.

Four Seasons Hotel Seattle

The location of this long-recommended hotel — in easy walking distance to Pike Place Market and affording unobstructed views of the bay — gives it a major competitive advantage. With 147 rooms on the first 10 floors of the Seattle Design Center, the Four Seasons has a grand cul-de-sac entrance, where several valets attended to us when we arrived. The large, open lobby houses the seafood-focused Goldfinch Tavern, an Ethan Stowell restaurant, which bustled with a lunch crowd. The welcoming front desk told us our room was ready early and that, as part of our Andrew Harper member benefits, we’d been upgraded to a Deluxe Bay-View Room.