It's obviously great that this place exists for an introverted, writerly city like Seattle, but…read morethis legendary nonprofit has developed some key flaws since its founding. First off, it doesn't honor its mandate as a place for community-building nearly enough. With over 90% of their classes virtual on any given season, they are not taking advantage of their beautiful building to have in-person classes where people can meet. If virtual classes is what I'm looking for, then I'll take a virtual class based in New York, LA, London, etc. Secondly, not all their instructors are of the same quality. Some are quite good without a doubt, while others have scant publishing credentials or dubious abilities to lead a class (e.g., they lack focus, or lack facilitation skills, etc.). A baseline standard & some class leadership guidelines would go a long way. I will say, Hugo House largely keeps the focus on writing, and doesn't fall prey to distracting identity politics like other Seattle literary institutions (looking at you, Open Books). Also can we, like, fix the audio in open mics? I feel like we're in a cave.

This is an AWESOME writing school or writing educational center located right next to Kajiken (the…read moreaburasoba place) on 11th Avenue in Seattle's Capitol Hill District. Founded by or named after the poet and teacher Richard Hugo, the school offers creative writing classes on every single aspect of the craft imaginable (as can be seen by the colorful fliers posted on the inside of the wall). Definitely check this place out on 11th Avenue!

Last stop before flying out of Seattle, and what a great stop it was. As an Invited Clubs member I…read morewas disappointed that the Tower was closed. The great thing is that it led me to the Collective. I was surprised that it wasn't hopping the Friday night I visited, because it is such a beautiful space. Plenty of seating area, large bar area, and even a Patio that gives you a view of the Needle. Service was great, but a little "slow" only because of the lighter crowd/staffing demands. I think if there were a heavier load that day, that it wouldn't have been an issue. I asked for some suggestions to try, and I tried things that I normally wouldn't. I forget the "official" of it, but the Ostrich tar ta appetizer was AMAZING and a must try if you want to be daring. The Elk Chop with the fried mac was savory, and the cookie was decadent and fattening...lol. (especially when they hooked me up with 4 more for the flight. the perks of dining before closing) Unexpected "treasure?" The bathroom. It was clean, different and co ed? I've seen gender neutral, but not coed/mixed use. I thought that was an upgraded touch and it was very clean. I look forward to dining there again the next time I'm in Seattle.

We had a fantastic experience at The Collective during their Dining in the Dark event!…read more It was my first time visiting this club as a long time Invited Club member. The staff was incredible and went the extra mile to accommodate us. The customer service was excellent. My friend and I ordered the vegetarian option for the Dining in the Dark experience. We had so much fun (as did the other people dining, it made for a fun group experience)! We had a pasta with fresh corn, peas and zucchini as a starter course. Our main dish was a vegetarian sausage jambalaya with okra. We both ordered non-alcoholic drinks, my friend got a Golden Hour non-alcoholic mixed drink and I had a NA Fremont IPA. We were treated like family and my friend messaged me the next day to say how much fun it was. I'll return to The Collective for future events as well as co-officing in the day time!

Open Form isn't the easiest place to spot from the street, but once you find the entrance and head…read moreupstairs. The space is really airy and thoughtfully designed space. It feels more like a creative studio than a typical café, with lots of seating and big windows that bring in great natural light. I stopped by during a busier part of the day, so most tables were taken, but the energy of the space still felt relaxed. There were a few spots on the floor with a cushion and low table. I ordered a pot of tea which was pricey and I would not get again. The menu is pretty minimal and leans a bit pricey. This a spot I'd return to to try coffee next time and bring my laptop to get some work done.

I love how this place looks and how much space they have for everyone to hang out and get studying…read moreand work done. Drinks taste high quality, but that does come with a premium price. I believe this place is 21+, but not sure why it would be during the day. I've been here twice for matcha, it's about $10+ish each time for one. I also got a cappuccino but that was pretty depressing. Wouldn't get their coffee again. Service is okay, they don't talk much but they make your drink pretty fast. I'm mirroring what some other people have said: it's a beautiful place and good to hang out at. I like the vibe and aesthetic and the matcha at least is good. Would definitely just warn that you'll be paying a lot.

I love this studio! I took a great class here, and the 24/7 studio access was really helpful. Very…read morefriendly community and I really like how the studio is run. We had part of a shelf for storing our work, one bag of clay included, and the studio has lots of shared tools.

The Seattle Theatre Group (STG) purchased Kerry Hall giving it new life as a public cultural arts…read morecenter. Originally the Cornish College of the Arts from the early 1920's, under STG management, it provides education in the arts while preserving historical buildings, such as was the case with the Paramount Theatre. We received invitations to visit back in November for their grand opening. I have to admit I had no idea what is the venue nor its mission. I was impressed with what I saw. The front area is a good-sized theater with two levels of seating for performances. (FYI, not that comfortable seating) Modest sized classrooms filled two stories of the building where they offer different performance arts subjects, not just in front of the audience, but also behind the scenes work such as sound management. The top level has a large ballet room. On the grand opening day, kids groups and adults group were putting on shows in the theater. See their website for the variety of workshops currently available - dance classes, audition prep, etc. Excellent re-start for this historical building.

I've been to a couple of STG events at Kerry Hall. It's a great space with comfortable seating and…read morelots of rooms for classes and rehearsals upstairs! I think it's so important to have arts spaces like this in the city. I wish there was a parking lot because it's a bit hard to find parking around there and would take a while to get from there to my house via public transit.

Great music venue in Fremont! It's a bit smaller and tucked away (as the name implies) but they…read morehave some great shows here! Love that we have a thriving music scene in the neighborhood.

Lived here 2021-2022. It's a great place to live. They changed management about a year ago, but the…read moretransition was very smooth and I never felt a difference. Cons: - only two elevators, so they're slow at times when someone's moving in/out. Only have this issue 1-2 times a month - package room sucks, I've had a $100 package stolen once - when I first moved in the walls weren't repainted well (previous owner had painted the walls dark grey and it was seeping through in some places) and floor had some paint splatters - dogs are often left unleashed (even though it's not allowed) on the rooftop and it's annoying when you're trying to eat food or something up there - not many restaurants within 5 min walk. Especially lacking in those open after 5/6pm Pros: - Air conditioning in your apartment (which is a luxury in Seattle) - amazing rooftop (but most mid rises in first hill/caphill have decent rooftops) - fast maintenance and never any major issues - very nice staff for the most part - apartments are well maintained - decent gym - good study/work rooms - free printer (10 prints a month) - free wifi throughout building - fun social events, sometimes very well catered too - fairly safe location and very close to Whole Foods

The good The…read moreapartments are nice as they are new, and the aesthetics are pleasing. That said, they are nothing special compared to other new buildings in Seattle. The units have A/C, which are hard to come by in Seattle, and this is specifically nice when forest fires happen--you can at least be sure that you will not have to breathe ash. The location is great, you have most of what Capitol Hill has to offer within a few minutes walk, also downtown is just a short walk away. The bad There are only two elevators serving all 16 floors. At time it takes forever (say 5 minutes) to get down to the lobby, especially when someone is moving and the other elevator is blocked. At least the elevator says "sorry to keep you waiting", so I guess that makes it alright? But if your Uber is downstairs, it can be really annoying. The lobby regularly smells like trash, the building has been working hard to fix this, so some days it is pumped up with synthetic smell to make it better. For how much we pay, and how much they brag about the building, this should not happen. More on trash, every floor has a room with chutes that rarely work, so they put in recycling bins in every floor now, sometimes, the door barely opens LOL look at all the pictures on Yelp, they are real. I did some digging, and there was a complaint filed with the city because someone living near one of the trash rooms had smell issues in the units. More on smells, the building has a shared ventilation system. It is used to ventilate bathrooms, kitchen fumes, laundry, etc. You should keep the fans running at all times, unless you want to smell when your neighbor is going number 2, or when they decide to smoke cigarettes indoors. More on poop, the dog run is generally full of dog poop. It is disgusting to take my dog up there, and if your dog decides to poop at night, you are in a shit minefield--and you better have a flashlight with you. It is normal to see a trail of poop all the way to the elevator from someone scraping their shoes because they stepped on doodie. Parasites anyone? (see attached pic of email they sent, yet poop violations are rampant) The ugly Not happy with how they have handled leases - been told that my lease would renew month to month at a higher rate if I took no action, yet my lease explicitly prohibits this. When I tried to give notice--I always have done it over email in the past two apartments I have lived in Seattle--they said that I needed to complete a form that they provide. The form says that I agree not to receive my deposit if the unit is not professionally cleaned, and I had to show a receipt or pay a $200 fee. The lease says to follow move out instructions if they have been provided, which they were not, and I only need to return the apartment in a clean condition, no one said anything about detailing. In fact, when I moved in, it wasn't even that clean. There was construction dust everywhere, as I was the first tenant. Waiving security deposits and paying additional cleaning fees is not something that I had agreed to, so what gives? In my previous experience, landlords take on these expenses as part of doing business. Moreover, they said they would not accept any notices by email, yet I filled the form in my iPad, emailed the paper to them, and it was fine? The lease agent even told me that this was state law and that it was the only way to give notice... I am still rolling my eyes. Please do yourself a favor and check any of the other apartment buildings in Seattle, this is the first time I have been loaded with undisclosed fees, procedures and forms. Other buildings will likely be cleaner too. Why are there few bad reviews? Because management will call you to chat, and offer you money to put the review down. Also management is writing reviews for their own building, at least Yelp removes them when you flag them! Update: I received my move out statement with two extra charges totaling $104 extra. Make sure you read everything they charge you. This is not the first time they try to sneak-in extra fees.

Many events are held here. I seem to find myself here a few times a year for one reason or another…read more Overall there's a lot in this area. This facility is almost hidden in comparison and is also a bit of a maze to figure out. Good luck on your adventures.