Governor Hotel - Olympia, WA - Disappointment near home

I love to explore away from home and see new places I've never been. But I had never really thought about what was available to tourist in my own city.  I thought my town was at least worthy of a weekend trip, but had doubts after a recent hotel stay.
My parents had planned a night out but were unable to make it at the last minute.  So my Mom offered the trip to my husband and I, and she would stay with the kids. Woohoo! We set off to Olympia for what I had hoped would be a romantic, fun night for two.  The hotel sounded very nice from what my Dad had been told and was right in downtown.

A Hidden Gem...I think NOT!
I knew of the Governor Hotel and had passed it many times.  As with many downtown cities, the older buildings often hold a hidden treasure inside, but not in this case.  When we walked into the lobby it was very small, in need of updating, but fairly clean.  I wasn't impressed and had hoped our room was where the goods were.  We went out for dinner first and when we got back to our room I was very disappointed.  A one star at it's best, it was in desperate need of updating, cleaning and even a large leak in the ceiling was needing repair.  About the only good thing was that it was a large room with a separate seating area.  The view from our room was a small park and the downtown streets of Olympia, which wasn't bad, but even a direct view of the Capitol wouldn't of made this any nicer of a Hotel.

Dirty plates anyone?
After getting a few hours of sleep on the not so comfortable bed, we headed down for the complimentary "Breakfast Buffet".  I figured we could grab a bite before headed back home.  I wasn't expecting much since I had yet to be impressed, but I was completely grossed out!  One word: DIRTY plates! And a greasy looking employee that came out to refill the food while we glanced at what they called a "buffet".  I think there were eggs and sausage in the buffet, and a loaf of bread sitting on a table still in the grocery bag with a home toaster to toast it with.  Wow! My husband and I just looked at each other and walked out to the Starbucks across the street to grab a quick coffee and pastry for the road. 

Before this one night adventure I had never considered whether or not my own City was tourist worthy and I'm scared to say that accommodations seem slim.  I plan to take another look at Olympia and hope to find some great places for tourist to stay while they visit this beautiful City.  Aside from this horrible hotel, Olympia has some great attractions and beautiful sites to see.  Stayed tuned for some nice hotel recommendations in Olympia, I know they are out there!

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