About twenty years ago I was invited to a wedding in Troutdale, Oregon. The venue, a McMenamin’s property called Edgefield, was the former Multnomah County Poor House. For $300 before taxes, wedding guests could book an overnight stay with a “common bath conveniently located down the hall.” No thank you! A room at the Phoenix Inn (now a Holiday Inn Express) just minutes away, had a king-sized bed, sparklingly clean ensuite bathroom, microwave, mini fridge, and complimentary breakfast for $99. Guess where I stayed?
Another summer, my family spent a night at a different McMenamin’s somewhere in Oregon. Like Edgefield, it boasted numerous bars and restaurants, plus a hotel and movie theater, all in old buildings renovated with signature McMenamin’s funk: mismatched lighting fixtures, repurposed doors, sinks from a bygone era. The old-timey charm was lost on me. I prefer clean lines, and clutter makes me shudder. But the kiss of death was that noises from the hallway and adjoining rooms crept into (and, who knows, out of?) our hotel room. Never again, I swore.
It seems that Mike and Brian McMenamin, the brothers who operate over sixty hospitality sites in Oregon and Washington have improved the design specs on their newer ventures. I recently visited the Anderson School in Bothell and was so pleasantly surprised, I’d happily book a stay here. The former junior-high-school property boasts an ADA-accessible, 72-room hotel surrounded by lush vegetation in lovingly tended gardens. The campus also boasts a salt water swimming pool, four restaurants, and a theater with movie screening twice daily plus comedy shows and theme-nights like 80s dancing. In keeping with the school theme, a bar named The Principal’s Office serves cocktails on weekend evenings in a tiny space on the top floor of the hotel. Each of the restaurants features McMenamin’s own brand of beer, wine, and cider, with a large selection for sale in the gift shop.
Every staff member I interacted with was upbeat and enthusiastic as they shared stories about their place of employment. The pool manager, hotel and gift shop staff – who offered sample tastes of beer and cider on tap – all made me feel welcomed and eager to come back.
In anticipation of an upcoming visit with a family friend who “pool walks” every morning in his home town, I especially wanted to check out the 112-foot-long saltwater pool, North Shore Lagoon, which is open to the public. Refreshingly free of the usual chlorine smell, it’s decorated in a Polynesian theme with lush vegetation. Heated to a super comfortable 90 degrees, this pool is ideal for young kids and nonagenarians, like my friend. Only 2 ½ feet in the shallow end, the depth gradually increases, culminating at slightly under five feet way at the other end.
Mercer Island’s chlorinated Mary Wayte Pool is a brisk 83 degrees, better suited to swim meets, and reaches a depth of 12 feet. The Lagoon is a totally different experience, more like a playground, especially when “The Sun,” a gigantic tamarind-tree-root sculpture, is turned on, spouting a stream of water into the pool below. At 11: 30 am on a weekday, the pool wasn’t crowded. But on weekends, you have to be there super early, or very late, to avoid crowds. I wanted to jump right in and couldn’t wait to tell my friend about it.
After visiting the pool, I was given a tour of the hotel, and allowed to peek into one of the guestrooms, each of which is named for a notable person with roots in Bothell. I loved the painting of Senator Patty Murray, an Anderson School alum, in a Rosie the Riveter pose (we can do it!). It was tempting to explore all three floors so I could learn more about each of the featured luminaries. I really wanted plop down on one of the comfy-looking king-sized beds in a room whose tall, paned windows are remnants of the classrooms that once lined these halls. But that will have to wait for another time.
If you’re tempted to visit the Anderson school, consider taking a garden tour, Tuesdays at 10 a.m. and Fridays at 3 p.m., or a brewery tour, daily at 3 pm. Go midweek to enjoy the pool, and have a blast in Bothell.
Meanderings is a travel column by Mindy Stern, a Mercer Island resident whose essays can be found at www.mindysternauthor.com.
