It may seem odd in maritime Seattle, but there is no other hotel in Seattle that sits, as this one does, on a pier facing Elliott Bay and Puget Sound. Open the windows of one of the water-view rooms and you’ll hear the waves lapping, the gulls crying, and the sounds of harbor craft plying the waters. To be honest, it doesn’t make sense to stay here unless you do book a water-view room or suite (its on-the-waterfront location is ultimately The Edgewater’s biggest selling point). The building is a relic from the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, when it was built to house workers and afterward turned into a hotel with the novel tag line “Fish from every window.” Guests could buy bait and tackle at what is now the gift shop and literally drop a line from their rooms—which is what the Beatles were photographed doing when they stayed at The Edgewater during their 1964 world tour (if you’re a fan of the Fab Four, you can book the suite they stayed in). The hotel has been steadily upgrading itself over the decades and is now a triple-diamond property with rooms that were completely refurbished in 2013. Its utilitarian, motel-like facade has been disguised, but something of its quirky, freewheeling spirit still survives in the lobby, where columns are disguised as tree trunks, and in the rooms, where footstools are disguised as shaggy dogs. Some rooms have gas fireplaces, walk-in showers, and modern clawfoot tubs; you can slide open the bathroom wall to enjoy the view and the fireplace while you soak. The Edgewater’s Six-Seven (as in Pier 67) restaurant is one of Seattle’s best waterfront dining spots. The lively Seattle waterfront begins right outside the hotel’s door; the Victoria Clipper, a high-speed catamaran that travels daily to Victoria, British Columbia, departs from the adjacent pier; and other cruise-ship and excursion boat tours are all within walking distance. The Olympic Sculpture Park is a 5-minute walk north.