SEATTLE—Hotel Max is proclaiming its hometown pride with an eye-catching exterior mural and debuting a redesigned lobby that pairs exciting new works of art with a retail display that is the latest manifestation of an ongoing and expanding collaboration with Sub Pop Records.
Redesigned with socialization in mind, Hotel Max’s new lobby provides even more spaces for guests to kick back and relax. New bar seating now nestled against Hotel Max’s lobby windows is equipped with power stations where guests can charge their devices and utilize the hotels’ free Wi-Fi to catch up on work or plan their Seattle exploration. Sofas in warm grey tweed and rich camel leather provide the perfect place for a quick meeting, catching up with friends, or making new ones while armchairs in light grey wool and dark grey leather offer a respite from the city’s hustle and bustle. It’s the ideal setting for real live social engagement over complimentary Caffé Vita coffee in the morning and free Seattle craft brews during the hotel’s daily craft beer hour.
The redesigned lobby has added an original Andy Warhol—Campbell’s Soup Can I—Vegetable (F&S48) to complement Ed Ruscha’s Gallo. Also new is Ivan Navarro’s Revolution #2—a sculpture that uses light and the suggestion of sound in the form of stacked drum heads to evoke the revolutionary spirit of his native Chile—and Skylar Fine’s Enjoy—a larger-than-life recreation of an iconic piece of American ephemera: The matchbook. Hotel Max’s new lobby is also home to a signed prototype of the bass guitar Seattle’s own Krist Novoselic of Nirvana designed for Gibson. Also on display: The Artist Exploits by Josh Arseneau; Sleeping Muse by Andrew Keating; Come Away From Her by Kiki Smith; and Distanz—Samuel Beckett by Stephan Kaluza.
Visual art is not the only form of art celebrated at Hotel Max. When Seattle’s Sub Pop Records celebrated their 25th anniversary, Hotel Max partnered with them to create an entire floor of rooms equipped with record players and a selection of vinyl curated by the label. The rooms on Hotel Max’s Sub Pop floor quickly became the property’s most requested and, as part of the lobby refresh, the two companies have collaborated again to create a retail display where guests and locals alike can pop in to purchase records, CDs, and Sub Pop merch. Inspired by Sub Pop’s successful retail location inside Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, this mini-outpost at Hotel Max offers those driving into Seattle a chance to bring some Sub Pop style home with them.
In addition to the lobby refresh, Hotel Max is also proclaiming its hometown pride with the installation of a new mural on the building’s southwest exterior. Inspired by the city’s spirit of innovation, penchant for creative boundary pushing, and pursuit of excellence, the mural proclaims in letters six feet tall: SEATTLE DOESN’T SETTLE.
