Silver Cloud Inns & Hotels

And the restaurants they harbor

Green buildings, local owners, state-of-the-art fitness centers, fully-equipped function rooms, restaurants, in-room spa tubs, a rooftop pool-be honest, would you have guessed Silver Cloud? Most people wouldn't, and yet, it's all those things and more.

Photo: Silver Cloud Broadway

Jim and Roberta Weymouth started the company in 1980 as a limited service offering (i.e., accommodations only), according to Brian Zuber, Chief Operations Officer for Silver Cloud. "However, we were one of the first brands to offer a complimentary continental breakfast. People have come to expect it now, of course." Their niche is to meet guests' needs by providing accommodations near attractions that draw people to certain areas, and superior service.

"As we've cared for guests over the years, we have stayed true to our focus on providing excellent service," says Brian. "We have often used the motto 'friendliness and cleanliness' which has served us well. We challenge our team members to take an intuitive approach to anticipating guest needs, which has been a successful strategy. Superior service also goes beyond the obvious in making sure we are continually refining and updating our hotel guestrooms and common areas. And our hotels have evolved with new technologies and design elements. We try to give each hotel a unique look and feel to avoid the cookie-cutter approach that can be prevalent in the hospitality industry."

Currently there are 10 hotel locations in the Pacific Northwest, all serving a specific demographic. The Broadway location in Seattle is near Seattle University and Swedish Medical Center, as well as being near Capitol Hill's nightlife. Lake Union's hotel is on the trolley line to downtown, near Fred Hutchinson and across from Lake Union, offering beautiful views. Their stadium location is right at both Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field and Event Center, as well as being near Pioneer Square. It sports a rooftop pool. University District's hotel is near the University of Washington and two blocks away from University Village. Their downtown Bellevue location is near a park and Bellevue Square and Lincoln Square. Eastgate serves the high-tech corridor and is near Microsoft's main campus. Redmond's inn serves that high-tech corridor and is a few miles from Redmond Town Center. Mukilteo's waterfront location is the only waterfront hotel in the city and most guestrooms have amazing views of Possession Sound and Whidbey Island. Sitting in the spa tub with that view? Excellent. In Tacoma (photo), they are located in the Old Town Community right on the water and, again, Tacoma's only waterfront hotel. In Portland, they are adjacent to the Nob Hill shopping district and near Forest Park with its hiking and biking trails.

A hotel company, they didn't add restaurants for a number of years. "We decided a full-service approach made the most sense for our Seattle-Broadway and Seattle-Stadium locations to meet the needs of both travelers and the local market," explains Brian. "We later added the Nine 0 Bar & Grill to our Bellevue-Eastgate location, mainly due to the limited restaurant variety in that area. We view our restaurants as their own business units within the hotel. They all have their own branding, marketing, signage, and décor that is independent from the hotel. Of course, our staff works as a cohesive team to bring the hotel and restaurant together behind the scenes."

Photo: Nine 0 atrium

It wasn't all smooth sailing in the beginning. Cayenne opened at the Seattle-Broadway location in February of 2004. As you can tell from the name, it was meant to be lively and food had some zip to it. It didn't work and they re-branded it as a Jimmy's on Broadway, similar to Jimmy's on First at the Seattle-Stadium location (photo). "We learned that it is important to maintain a conceptual balance to meet the needs of hotel guests and local restaurant patrons alike. The Cayenne concept worked well for the local crowd, but didn't always connect with hotel guests. Our current restaurant concepts blend these interests together and have proven to be successful from happy hour to room service to brunches and banquets. We are very focused on providing fresh, local ingredients by a warm, inviting staff. We feature Northwest wineries, brewers, distilleries, and source locally as much as possible. Our goal is to provide a true Northwest experience in both our hospitality and food and beverage offerings."

Broadway, Lake Union, Stadium, Eastgate, Redmond, Mukilteo and Tacoma all offer conference and/or banquet facilities. These range from smaller conference rooms to full-on banquet spaces for weddings, conferences and conventions with staff to help arrange all the details.

Photo: Broadway banquet room

As they approach their 35^th anniversary, they are staying true to their original concept of great service, great location and unique spaces built for guests. They continue to look at sites for future development, generally in core downtown, waterfront or water view areas, and most of that development will likely include restaurants. Locals and travelers alike can appreciate these distinctive locations.

Photos courtesy of Silver Cloud Inns & Hotels

Connie Adams/June 2014