The Maxwell Hotel (Seattle, WA) is perfect
Full disclosure: The owner is a friend of mine. But that’s why I can really say it’s perfect: I got to tell Michelle what I wanted in a hotel before she built it. You made it this way just for me, right, Michelle?
The Maxwell Hotel is exactly what I want in a hotel.
First, it's new: spotlessly clean (solid surface floors -- no grimy carpet!), everything works, modern fixtures, appliances, flat-screen TV, DVD player, iPod-dock alarm clock, etc. (I hate old hotels.)
Second, no nickel-and-diming: parking and Internet are included; there aren't lots of extra fees. You can't beat the value.
Third, it's got a Keurig coffee machine, a microwave, and a fridge. And the fridge isn't full of expensive mini-bar junk, it's just got cold half-and-half for coffee. (There are snacks and beverages at the front desk, and a 24 hour full grocery store just two blocks up the street.)
I'm a frequent traveler, and I generally stay in chains. They're boring, but safe and predictable. The Maxwell Hotel is a boutique hotel, and the interior decorating is more whimsical than you'll find in a chain. But feature-wise it's almost exactly like the best, newest Hilton Garden Inn. Only much cooler.
(Okay, this isn’t the perfect Seattle hotel. To be perfect, it should be in the center of downtown with spectacular water views from the 30th floor. But then it would be $600/night. The Maxwell is on the north side of Seattle Center. But the price and the easy free parking makes up for that, and you're about 2-3 minutes from anywhere downtown by car/taxi. Or better yet, walk into Seattle Center and take the monorail right downtown for $2. This is probably the only hotel in the city for which the monorail is a useful bit of public transportation instead of just an amusement ride!)