W Hotel brings lakehouse feel to Downtown Bellevue

Downtown Bellevue is no stranger to high-rise buildings and new construction.

This summer, one of those buildings will open, bringing luxury hotel rooms, apartments, retail stores and restaurants to town.

W Hotel Bellevue, part of the Lincoln Square Expansion as part of The Bellevue Collection, is planned to open mid-June.

Matt Van Der Peet, complex general manager of W Bellevue, said the hotel was closing in on its opening date.

“We are in the closing stretch, inside of three months,” he said.

W Bellevue will open on Northeast 6th Place, and will have a skybridge connecting it to the Westin Bellevue. The hotel will have 220 guest rooms with 25 suites. The largest suite is more than 2,400 square feet.

“We’ll have 10,000 square feet of meeting space and a 5,000 square foot ballroom,” Van Der Peet said.

The hotel is currently hiring between 125 and 150 employees and will be the first W Hotel opened in North America since 2010.

The interior design of the hotel provides an interesting dynamic, according to Van Der Peet.

“It’s a modern interpretation of a northwest lakehouse,” he said. “It has nods to days done by but with an appropriate modern feel as well. You can really feel the identity we’ve created there.”

One of the major appeals of the new hotel are the communal spaces near the bottom of the tower.

James Beard Award-winning chef Jason Wilson has created the Lakehouse, a contemporary farmhouse-inspired restaurant featuring seasonal, local produce and meats. Diners can find halibut, house-made pasta, local cheeses, fresh shellfish and grilled meats.

Tucked away in the hotel, a little difficult to find, is a new speakeasy concept called Civility & Unrest, where craft cocktails are the headliner.

The W Bar is the center of the hotel, with beer, wine, cocktails and televisions for hotel guests or those looking for a drink.

Van Der Peet said W Bellevue will also host “happenings” such as pop-up retail shops and live music.

The hotel is scheduled to open on June 15.