Ruxpin Blog

Hi there, Ruxpinauts.

Ruxpin was created from the idea that booking a hotel ought to be smarter, more fun, less annoying, and overall, make more sense. We are passionate about staying in places worth our dollar and getting the most enjoyment out of fantastic hotel experiences. While we’re at it, we figured we ought to start sharing some of these experiences with you!

The Ace Hotel - Seattle, Washington

The Ace Hotel brand was founded in Seattle by a group of friends in 1999 and has continued to focus on unexpected items from the design, service, amenities perspective. They have since grown from the first 28-room property to locations in Portland, New York, and Palm Springs and have been featured in countless travel and design publications. Ace properties have sustained a ground-breaking reputation in the hotel industry; maintaining its bohemian, hipster, artist-y vibe while providing many amenities Ruxpinauts may be desire.  With the midtown Manhattan and Palm Springs properties under our belt (loved them!), it seemed pertinent to put in a stay at the originating property while in the Pacific Northwest.

We almost drove past the Ace Seattle on a quiet street in the usually bustling Belltown neighborhood. The lack of obvious signage made it difficult to spot because our eyes were scrambling to take in everything else in the neighborhood (walking distance to many restaurants, bars, and clubs). The refurbished brick building showed signs of being another business previously, but more like a building with history than one that showed its age. We parked temporarily out front (garage is off-site and metered street parking is readily available) to unload a couple of bags and walked up the front steps.

Intimate lobby space. (source)

First impression: Overall design is super tongue-in-cheek. Sarcastic. Like the attitude your mom would roll her eyes at, but in which you would revel. Embraces defiance. 

Check-in: A quiet and unassuming female at the front desk greeted us with a friendly smile, surprisingly addressed us by name (we were the last to check-in), and quickly took us through the check-in process with very little hoopla. A french bulldog bounded out of one of the rooms (pet-friendly!), dragging its owner down the stairs in a big hurry, eliciting a hearty laugh from us dog-lovers. The few front staffers that we encountered over the weekend were incredibly knowledgeable about the city, fun eateries, and public transportation. The free amenities were plentiful as she pointed out continental breakfast hours, in-room water filter pitchers, and she handed us this little card:

Free Wifi card. Wahoo! (source)

The Rooms: We booked a deluxe room which means we had an in-room bathroom. Before you balk at the concept of having to share a bathroom with the standard rate room, we spied for you and they’re very private, immaculate, and easy to access from every room. Having seen them in person, we’d book a standard room in a heartbeat. The bed was comfortable, sheets soft, down comforter warm and cozy for the Seattle spring chill. Our room was bathed in natural light through skylights and a waterfront view which was useful for our early morning departure, but could be an issue for those needing to sleep in.

Gadgets: Tv, old school speaker with ipod plug-in feature. Wall cubby filled with issues of National Geographic. Hilarious “personal kit” (photo below) nested amongst the $2-per-item snack bar, including chips, popcorn, and chocolate. Tealight candle and matches to help create ambiance. 

Products: Bathroom products from Rudy’s Barbershop (crossover of founding owners).

Final impression: Simple luxury. Pretty hipster. I would personally add the Ace Hotel Seattle to my list of “hotels I have enjoyed previously” when booking my next hotel on Ruxpin. 

-Leslie

It’s funny how your perspective changes on the road when you’re a co-founder of a travel start-up. My wife and I packed up our newborn baby and house yesterday (ok, not quite but almost) for a flight south to visit the grandparents. Being the planning types, we left our place with a packing checklist as long a line at Disney World during school vacation week. We were determined to have things go smoothly, in part just to prove wrong all the Debbie Downers who arched their eyebrows when we told them about our upcoming journey and said “ohhh… I’m sure you’ll be fine” while they were actually thinking, “you naive fools!”

Well, I’m happy to say that we survived the trip down, despite almost leaving our bags at the curb after rushing to get baby inside the terminal and the car away from the patrolling state policemen circling for unattended carrion, I mean carry-ons.

Lessons learned so far?

A large stroller that folds flat and has detachable wheels is an invaluable luggage cart that gets checked at the gate. We have only been using it seven weeks but we already swear by our City Mini by Baby Jogger. It even fits well in a hybrid’s trunk.

Southwest Airlines is the family-friendliest carrier going. Just ask the five families seated around us in row 18. Randy at the gate even showed this not-too-proud dad how to secure the carseat in an open window seat.

Baby Ruxpinauts travel in style.

The families we spoke at the airport (babies are the ultimate conversation starter) say that finding a family friendly hotel takes a lot of work. Mama Ruxpin and I are staying with grandma and grandpa this time (free babysitting) but appreciate the feedback having begun to experience how travel is different with kids.

Look for a family hotel option in a future Ruxpin update. Until then, you can tell Ruxpin a favorite family hotel you liked when you run your search. The Lake Buena Vista Hilton at Disney World is a good start. What’s your favorite family hotel?

Moving right along,

Gavin, 
Co-founder - Ruxpin

Yup, that’s right. Ruxpin will launch with Facebook log-in enabled, linking your account to your hotel searches, and giving you a preview of fun things to come. It means that you’ll be able to quickly share places you’ve been (or places you’re going to be) with your friends on Facebook. We’re working on all of the features associated with this log-in capability, but for now, reserve your free account or like us on Facebook and know that we’re busy creating a brand new hotel search experience just for you.

Little C. was born a few weeks ago to one of our founders. So sweet! 

Ruxpinaut  noun  /rəkspin,nôt/

1.  A savvy traveler who breezes through the hotel search process by using Ruxp.in, a new hotel booking site that analyzes personal preferences to find BestFive™ hotel choices.

2.  A hotel booker grinning from ear to ear, knowing they got exactly what they were looking for.