Seattle in Style: Loving Our Queer Getaway in the Emerald City

Exploring the best LGBTQ-owned and -friendly experiences in the Pacific Northwest’s cultural capital – Seattle.

From the moment we landed in Seattle, the city’s energy welcomes you. Progressive, lush, and layered with art, food, fashion, and waterfront that dazzles, Seattle offers a sophisticated escape that melds urban exploration with nature and inclusive experiences. Seattle invites you to explore its bold, beautiful, and proudly queer spirit.

Stay: Where Luxury Meets Local Flair

Our home base in the Emerald City? We chose none other than the revitalized W Seattle, a sleek urban retreat in the heart of downtown. The location downtown, fun and attentive staff, my comfortable cozy corner room, and just the feeling a stay at the W gives you, knowing that they understand the queer community, the LGBTQ+ customer. This W was spot on the correct choice to stay at while in town.

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With 424 refreshed rooms, including a brand-new Sound Suite, and views of the Puget Sound, this hotel merges modern luxury with a touch of Northwest calm. My view was of the ocean downtown, the public library, it was so good, I found myself staring out the windows for quite some time. Check out the hotel’s Instagram @wseattle for a taste of the chic vibes before you even check in.

The W Hosts – Style with Substance: A Sustainable Fashion Experience

We had a dazzling evening with LAYERED, a queer-inclusive fashion event in partnership with Styled Seattle. With cocktails, music, and a runway powered by sustainability, the four-part performance was designed to breathe new life into garments from closets across the Pacific Northwest. There were textures, storytelling, and fierce style with an eco-conscious heart.

With this event, it just reinforced that the W Seattle was the right choice. This stay reminded me to check out the W Presents calendar not only for when I travel, but also for my local W’s and what events they are doing right here.

Start Your Day: Coffee, Pastries & Queer-Owned Charm

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For your morning fix, Flora Bakehouse, a queer- and trans-owned café is one to check out. It’s become a staple of the city’s sustainable food scene. Owner Nat Stratton-Clarke has been cultivating warm, inclusive vegetarian spaces in Seattle for nearly 30 years, and this bakehouse, with its rooftop views and gluten-free goodies, is a great representation of that mission.

Explore Culture & Attractions

Just about every organized city with too many attractions helps visitors narrow down what to do, see, experience with the CityPASS program. Seattle CityPASS gives you access to handfuls of amazing experiences. You’ll have the CityPASS, but we still recommend making reservations early for some venues get busy, especially during peak times! Some attractions include:

• The Space Needle

• The newly expanded Seattle Aquarium and its stunning Ocean Pavilion—an immersive marine world designed to educate and inspire.

  The region’s premier resource for hands-on marine experiences and conservation education, the Seattle Aquarium offers fun, exciting ways to discover more about the amazing Puget Sound and our world’s one big ocean. Join us in our mission: Inspiring Conservation of Our Marine Environment. 

  Seattle Aquarium recently expanded their campus with the addition of the Ocean Pavilion! This brand new space has immersive living exhibits, ecological experiences, back-of-house elements, theatrical spaces, hands-on exploration, and well-placed views of the surrounding landscape and urban waterfront.

• Cultural gems like the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), Chihuly Garden and Glass, Pacific Science Center, Woodland Park Zoo, and Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour

Repeat the Great Things

When I return to a city, my trip is two-fold; I need to find and explore new things, but I also must return to some great staples. In our June post Seattle’s Queer-Owned Gems, Rainbow Hangouts, + Other Emerald City Fab Spots about our April trip to Seattle, there were two spots that we will definitely return to enjoy, love and repeat.

Eat Local: Pike Place with a Queer Twist

While exploring Pike Place Market, make a point to support queer-owned vendors like Bonnie B’s Peppers and Hot Dogs. Grab a bite and have a quick chat with local personality Dylan Randolph. Support his locally owned business but learn about him being a drag queen bar tender. Love meeting and supporting new and eclectic layered people and Dylan is definitely one.

Sip & Swirl: Queer-Owned Wine Tasting

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We had a perfectly paired wine experience on Capitol Hill at Aluel Cellars, a queer-owned boutique winery. Co-founders Samuel Hilbert and Alex Oh were both present when we sipped their lovely offerings. They served up old-world-style Washington wines with a hospitality that made me wish I lived in the neighborhood so I could become a fixture on their patio or at the amazing window seat that I want to be at now.

Hands-On Fun: Queer Pottery Vibes

New new new experiences! Have you tried your hand and feet and fingers and thumbs at making pottery? We tapped into our creative side with a private pottery class at Saltstone Ceramics. We were welcomed into a cozy, colorful space run by LGBTQ+ artists with a mission: making art accessible, safe, and joyful. Did they ever! 

Saltstone Ceramics has been a brick-and-mortar studio in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle, WA since 2018. Originally operating out of founder Sarah Steininger Leroux’s home, the studio officially opened in September 2018.

Since January 2023, Saltstone Ceramics was purchased by three employees, Samantha Schauer, Jude Mortensen, and Liz Leong. They have worked to foster a community that reflects themselves: Queer, BIPOC, Trans, safe and resilient.

Saltstone offers classes (one day and multi-week) and maintains a gallery featuring many local artists, and folks from around the country. They host 3-4 gallery shows a year, including the Mug Madness competition every March, and in 2025 will be hosting a new pride show: Gay 4 Clay! The main focus is on fostering a sense of community and making a safe space for folks to come get creative.

I had a one-on-one lesson with Tommy (they/them) and their patience with me seemed unlimited, but there was also so much encouragement, praise, laughter, and fun! I think I made a friend that day, but I also made some funky fun keepsake pottery pieces.

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I was thinking it was just a learning experience, but as I was leaving, they asked if I wanted it shipped home to me in about 3 to 4 weeks after firing. I paid the fee so quickly as I love my hand-made souvenir. I stuck around and browsed their ceramic gallery before you leave—and keep an eye out for their annual queer show, Gay 4 Clay, usually in early June. Tommy, if you’ll have me for class #2, I’d love it!

Eat Well: Artusi – Dining with Italian Soul

Finish your evening with dinner at Artusi, a Capitol Hill gem where Italian tradition meets Northwest innovation. Chef Stuart Lane’s handmade pasta and cocktails make it a go-to destination for queer foodies. The restaurant is named after Pellegrino Artusi, whose 1891 cookbook celebrated the art of eating well—something Artusi Seattle does flawlessly today.

Chef Stuart Lane couldn’t be there in person during our visit, but were able to catch up with him on a phone call. We talked about the history of the restaurant. Was it an aperitivo bar with snacks, a restaurant with a bar, a local bar with food options?  Well, it’s all of that and what you need it. The portions are not Olive Garden size and that was wonderful as everything had more creativity, more flavor, and much more fresh and exciting.  Even the amazing hazelnut appetizer used local nuts. The menu is semi seasonal as Chef Lane said certain popular dishes remain year round.

We asked about the area and other restaurants. Chef Lane mentioned that Seattle as a whole does not strive to have high end or elite restaurants, but instead it seems the city strives to have a volume of excellent restaurants at a less formal style. 

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The restaurant is no longer longer majority owned by the LGBTQ+ community, but Chef Lane is very happy that the owners are still supportive of the community, the gay neighborhood it is located in, and the staff was still full of rainbow employees. He is proud of the food they produce, the environment they have built, the experiences they help to create, and the place the restaurant plays in Capitol Hill. 

Beer and Board Games

I’m a beer fan, and I do live me some board games, card games, all kinds of games. So color me rainbow, as I’m enjoying my flight of beers at Stoup Capitol Hill, and then Seattle Gaymers come in and start setting up.

Stoup Capitol Hill is an impressive building both design and size and on that both wings of the building were full. One side was Trivia Night while the other side, already permanently clad in multiple varieties of pride flags, as filling up fast and almost running out of space.

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Check out the group’s Instagram @seattlegaymers and see the fun! And consider this great option for going out in Seattle. I did not join in as I was just grabbing food and beer before heading to the airport. I’ll join in next time!

Board Gayme Night – Mondays 630-930pm at Stoup Brewing – Capitol Hill

Video Gayme Night – Wednesdays 630-930pm at CC’s Seattle

Bonus Beauty: Cherry Blossoms at the Quad

If you’re visiting in spring, don’t miss the blooming Yoshino cherry trees at the University of Washington’s Quad. Originally planted in the 1930s and later moved to campus in 1962, these blossoms turn the area into a pink-hued dreamscape, perfect for photos—or just a quiet moment of nature. We hit it at basically the perfect time.

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Campus was packed with locals, visitors, and furries. Yes, there seemed to be a furry meet up under the blossoms. I think most people thought it was a mascot convention. You’ll be in awe at the blossoms if you hit it right. It’s my second time seeing them and this was the best. 

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Seattle isn’t just LGBTQ+ friendly—it’s LGBTQ+ fabulous. With its thriving queer-owned businesses, inclusive experiences, and stunning natural beauty, this Pacific Northwest city is ready to show you a great time. Come for the cherry blossoms, stay for the wine, art, and the undeniable sense of community.

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