When I check into the Palihotel Seattle, I find Simon lounging in the lobby. Well mannered and congenial yet a little scruffy, the West Highland white terrier that belongs to the property’s owners perfectly embodies what Seattle is today.
Once the blue-collar birthplace of grunge and now the high-tech home of Amazon and Microsoft, the city has a booming food and wine scene, an obsession with contemporary art and culture, and, of course, a live music sector unrivalled for its vibrancy. Still a little rough around the edges, Seattle is an intoxicating mix of grit, glamour, high fliers and hipsters and, it must be said, also one of the most welcoming cities you’ll ever visit. I discover this when I arrive jetlagged at the Palihotel Seattle, in a rock star…