After an unexpected temporary closure in May, the Heathman Hotel will re-open its doors on Aug. 3.
Hotel guests can expect the same high level of service from the full-service luxury hotel that received its fourth AAA Four Diamond Award this year, says Belinda Jensen, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing.
But patrons can also expect some changes.
The hotel experienced a catastrophic main waterline malfunction on May 25 that caused significant damage to the Heathman Hotel, Trellis restaurant and Penterra Spa.
“So we closed the hotel and tried to make a positive out of a negative,” said Jensen. “While the hotel was closed, we did some renovating that we’ve wanted to do. We did retain most of the staff on payroll through the closure, so they’ve been on shifts cleaning, preparing, scrubbing – doing all those things to prepare for the hotel’s opening.”
She said the hotel’s guest rooms were completely refurbished, with new carpets in the hallways.
One of the biggest changes to the hotel is that it no longer has the Penterra Spa. Instead, it has a new private dining/meeting room with its own adjoining reception area with floor-to-ceiling windows.
“The reason why we chose to do away with the spa is we had such a high demand from our corporate guests for additional private dining/meeting space that we thought it would be best to remove the spa,” said Jensen, adding the hotel will still offer in-room massage and spa services from its well-regarded Penterra staff.
In addition to the new private dining room, the hotel also added two meeting rooms downstairs, and a new expanded fitness center with all new equipment.
While the guest rooms and restaurant will open on Aug. 3, the meeting rooms and fitness center will be available to guests at the end of August, said Jensen.
“We are so excited. We are chomping at the bit to open,” she added. “There is so much electricity around here. It’s nice to see staff coming back on a full-time basis. All the rooms look beautiful and we look forward to welcoming all our guests and patrons back.”
To get into the full re-opening swing, the restaurant will offer patrons some specials during August.
The Trellis will offer its popular “3 for $33” from its regular full dinner menu Aug. 3-13.
“We normally do this with a limited menu on Sundays and Mondays only, but we’re offering it the first week of re-opening with our full dinner menu,” Jensen added.
The restaurant boasts simple cuisine with a modern twist, in which Executive Chef Brian Scheehser mixes modern cooking techniques with ingredients grown and harvested from his Woodinville farm.
Also, beginning Aug. 14-15, the restaurant will offer happy hour in the bar and front porch from 4 p.m. until close on Tuesdays and Wednesdays through the end of August.
One last change not associated with the hotel’s refurbishment is Les Utley, general manager, will leave his position on Aug. 1 to move to San Antonio, Texas.
“He lived in San Antonio before and he had a tremendous opportunity to go back,” said Jensen. “He jumped in with both feet when he moved here and he has been quite a figure for the community. He will be greatly missed.”
For more information visit www.heathmankirkland.com.
