The Woodmark Hotel and Spa is the only hotel located directly on Lake Washington - perfect for business or relaxation.

My daughter and I had just left the Hotel Sorrento in downtown Seattle and were heading towards its sister hotel, The Woodmark, across Lake Washington in Kirkland. Our stay in Seattle had been so nice that we had a hard time leaving, but since The Woodmark is managed by the same company, we expected no less than stellar and warm service. The closer we got in the mid-afternoon traffic, the more we looked forward to our stay, even though the atmosphere and ambiance of The Woodmark is worlds apart from that of The Sorrento.

When we lived in the Seattle area more than 20 years ago, Bill Gates was described as "that kid from Lakeside High." His company, which had offices across Lake Washington in the sleepy community of Bellevue, was regarded as an interesting anomaly run by a local genius who developed computer languages for the scientific and university communities. Something called DOS was all the rage, no one had yet heard of Windows, IBM's "personal computer" was a bust.

The Entry Foyer

And then the world was turned on its ear. Bellevue and its surrounding areas became a tech center, Microsoft's employment rosters equalled that of Boeing, and the towns along the east side of Lake Washington grew to accommodate the legions of (mostly) young entrepreneurial contract workers, consultants, and system engineers.

Kirkland, one of those small towns along the eastern shore of Lake Washington, was known primarily for its shipbuilding port. The road that led from Kirkland north to Woodinville and Bothell was lined with small farms and forests.

It was, to be honest, quite a shock to see - two decades after my last visit - that Kirkland has annexed a couple of small towns and is now a thriving community filled with homes, condos, shops, restaurants, office buildings and one glorious hotel.

The Hotel Lobby and Seating Area

Nudged against a small marina, surrounded by restaurants and bistros, the contemporary structure of The Woodmark is unobtrusive. In fact, coming in from the street side, you'd almost miss the lobby entrance if you didn't know it was there. Once you walk through the doors into the entry foyer, though, with its skylight and heavy round table filled with flowers, and into the expansive front desk and lobby area, there is no mistaking the fact that you have entered a special place. Having just come from the downtown Seattle hotel, it was hard to believe that we had only traveled half an hour to arrive at this whole new world of tranquility and calm.

The lobby, light-filled and elegantly furnished, opens out to Lake Washington with a two-story window wall. The furnishings and colors are soothing, and the theme is carried through to the guest-room corridors. It's funny how little things can affect how you feel about a place... I loved going back to our room, down the wide corridors of taupes and browns and silvers, with big diamond shapes in the carpet at every room door.