The Hotel that Let me Fall Back in Love with Bellingham
A guest blog post by business traveler Will Beeler of Conversica - check out our deals page for business travel discounts
A little over nine years ago, I moved to Bellingham for college. I was immediately drawn to the tree-lined campus of Western Washington University snuggled up between the hills. Every day, I found myself walking through the raw beauty of evergreen bathed in rain water. I breathed in deep and soaked up the smell of damp earth every chance I got. It was wonderful. It was a part of my life that I wanted to last forever, but soon enough I had to enter the professional world.
As I neared the end of school, I stumbled into a programming job at a startup in downtown Bellingham. My life became an adrenaline-filled high of coding and putting out fires day and night. After a few years, I decided it was time to mix it up and transfer to Seattle. My work life started to fall into an rhythm, but I found myself aching for Bellingham. Luckily, my position allowed me to take mid-week trips to the Bellingham office to keep the two locations on the same page. This made sense for both me and my team, so I found myself doing this often.
When I first started going up to Bellingham, I stayed with friends or found a cheap hotel, but I found myself wanting something that better matched the city’s character. I did some more searching and stumbled upon The Heliotrope. I was immediately drawn to the modern vibe, and I loved how close the hotel was to my favorite parts of Bellingham. It was reasonably priced as well, so I gave it a try.
It turns out that a weekly visit is just often enough to get all my favorite restaurants and breweries in rotation and The Heliotrope is close enough to downtown that I can easily walk, or rollerblade, there to meet up with friends. In the evenings, when I get back to the hotel, I find myself drawn to the lively fire pit where I can spend all night playing guitar and getting lost in conversation with strangers.
Business traveler Will Beeler of Conversica winds down by The Heliotrope nightly fire
I love that The Heliotrope emails me the door code before arriving - a great way to check-in or out on my own time and avoid any lines at the concierge. Plus, I can start my day off right with a cup of complimentary coffee or tea to sip during my drive to work.
I have been staying as The Heliotrope for months now, and I have no plans of staying anywhere else. The place has an enchanting atmosphere that is always bringing in new people who love Bellingham as much as I do.The Heliotrope makes me feel like I am living in Bellingham again, and that is a feeling I truly missed.