Is Hotel Sylvia Still Worth Visiting for Book Lovers?

Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you purchase through these links, I may make a few cents at no extra cost to you. My stay at Hotel Sylvia was hosted by the hotel thanks to my winning their one-night stay Instagram giveaway. I was not under any obligation to write a review and all opinions are my own. Had I not won, I would have made the trip anyway eventually.

When I first heard the news that owners Goody and Sally had sold the Sylvia Beach Hotel, I was quite sad. And as news trickled out that the new owners were planning to keep the literary theme, but were auctioning off furniture and decor from the rooms, then remodeling the interior, I was apprehensive that the new Hotel Sylvia would be worth recommending as a literary destination. Having a blog post and video about the old hotel, I made up my mind that it would be worth returning after the hotel reopened so that I could review it for you, my fellow readers. The following is my assessment as to whether the Hotel Sylvia is still worthy of A Suitcase Full of Books’ recommendation as a reader’s retreat.

The first thing I noticed about the Hotel Sylvia as I walked up to the front door is that the Little Free Library is still outside. The next thing I noticed was that the building has been painted in a similar, but darker green than before. These two observations pretty much sum up the new hotel as a whole. It’s familiar, but a little different.

Change is hard. Especially for the bookishly inclined. Believe me I know. I lived through a period in which I worked alongside librarians struggling mentally (and physically) with moving to a brand new building, and that was rough. Thus, it came as no surprise that the fans of the former Sylvia Beach Hotel were not dealing well with the changing of hands of the hotel and the consequential changes the new hands are making. Several former guests have been just trashing any and all updates the new hotel puts on Facebook. So, recognizing the potential to go in looking for the negative, I checked my mood at the door. Now that I was standing here, I was suddenly excited to return and apprehensive about what I would find. But I reasoned, at the very least, due to the hotel’s location right above the beach, the soothing sound of lapping waves (a sound I find relaxing, having grown up in a house similarly perched above a beach) would put me in a good mood no matter what I found on the inside. And there was no way my stay wouldn’t still be a relaxing retreat from normal life.

First Impressions

“This is nice!” were literally the first words that escaped my mouth upon taking in just the lobby. I guess I had in fact had some doubt in my mind, hence the surprised emphasis on “nice.” Where before a cluttered gift shop had filled much of the area between the front desk and the windows overlooking the beach, now there is a cosy sitting area with brown leather chairs, a fireplace, and bookshelves filled with books and puzzles just waiting for patrons to arrive. After checking in at the desk I went to check out the remodeled space.

The new setup felt like everything had room to breathe. I involuntarily took a deep breath in of the sea air coming in through the open doorway to the balcony and slowly let it out, feeling stress from the previous days flow out with it. I noted with slight disappointment that the bookshelves were aesthetically rainbowed, but as I began looking closer at the specific titles and the decor tucked in among the books, I quickly forgave the decorator this foible. If I hadn’t still had my suitcase and only one night to stay, I would have happily grabbed a book off a shelf and sunk into a chair then and there.

A Change in Architecture of the 3rd and 4th Floor Reading Spaces

I don’t know any other hotel whose clientele are so deeply invested in changes in the floorplan, but there had been much discussion of it on the Sylvia Beach Hotel Lovers Facebook page, so at least I was prepared. Otherwise it would have been quite shocking. As the room I was staying in was on the third floor, I couldn’t help but notice the drastic change to the hotel’s interior as I climbed the stairs to my room. Previously, the third floor had a public sitting room with a fireplace and two-storied windows towards the sea. A kitchenette and dining table in an alcove provided a place where guests could make tea and find mulled wine in the evenings. If you looked up from the sitting area you could see the balcony railing of the 4th floor library loft. All of this is gone. That same area is now hotel rooms, so the only thing to be seen on the third floor is a hallway with room doors.

This development of course left me wondering about the 4th floor library, so I went upstairs to explore after leaving my luggage in my room. The James Joice Library is no longer a loft. Instead of a balcony railing, there is now a floor to ceiling wall. This change suited me. I’m the kind of person that prefers to never open window curtains. I like a cosy, cave-like feel. The library now feels more like an intimate, cosy attic. To me it feels less exposed, and less distracting should I want to focus on a book or work.

While the old look with the exposed chimney pipes and haphazard shelves of worn books had its charm, those are gone too. The space has been tastefully redecorated with well placed shelving, cosy chairs, and enough open space between furniture that the now-closed off attic doesn’t feel cramped and claustrophobic. And as a centerpiece, a lawyer’s bookshelf with glass-door fronted shelves holds journals of the previous hotel that guests had signed.

The General Manager, Blake, was kind enough to offer me a tour of the hotel during my stay and shared all kinds of insights into the process that led to how the hotel looks today. I learned that upon inspection of the building, the new owners learned that major work was needed to shore it up. Unfortunately, after years of dwelling on the cliff-side, the sea-facing side of the building was sitting at least a half-foot lower than the other side. His words were, “the building needed surgery.” So in the process, the place essentially had to be stripped down to its bones. This then gave the new owners an opportunity to re-imagine spaces and start over with a “blank slate” so to speak.

While the new management is excited to put their own spin on a literary hotel, they’re doing so with inspiration from its history. Blake mentioned in pointing out the shelf-full of journals, that he makes time to come up to the library and read through the comments left by former guests to find out what they loved about the former hotel.

The Rooms

The new website for the Hotel Sylvia is not at this point fleshed out when it comes to information on rooms. Some are still named after authors and some have been turned into “genre” rooms such as fantasy, mystery, or romance. Having no idea what I was choosing in terms of room type, I simply selected two of my favorite authors from the list of rooms still named for authors. I asked if I could stay in either the Agatha Christie or Jane Austen room. The Christie room was booked, but the Austen room was available!

The Jane Austen Room

So it came as quite a shock when I opened the door to the room and discovered that I was staying in one of the largest rooms in the hotel! It was really more of a suite. Based on the fire-escape plan on the back of the door, my room was the size of the three rooms just across the hall combined. At one end of the room was the bed, in the middle was a sitting area with two leather chairs facing a fireplace, and at the other end of the room was a table for two, wet bar, and the bathroom (which has all new components!). The room had pretty much everything a couple could need for a romantic getaway, or an introverted writer needs for a write-cation. (If I had to critique, personally, I’d say the only thing lacking was a good set of robes.) The room felt light, airy, and so spacious that my husband (who was along for this adventure) and I felt like we hardly needed to leave the room and engage with other guests in the public spaces if we didn’t want to.

As for the Austen theme within the room, Jane’s photo was on one wall and a set of her books were on a console table in the sitting area. And there was an Austen-themed puzzle and a game on the table. Although the theming wasn’t over the top like it had been, I thought the light, delicate touches were just fine. And I found my favorite bookish detail on the wet bar. A small card catalog on the counter had drawers labeled for tea, coffee, cream, etc. and one labeled “book light.” Curious, I opened this one and found a small book light for reading after lights out. I made good use of it later after my husband fell asleep. I stayed up and finished the local cosy mystery I’d been rereading.

Next to the puzzle and game on the table I found the hotel had left me a little welcome package which included a tote bag, a coffee mug, and a card. This was a nice touch!

On the foot of the bed we found the room information sheet. The first thing I noted on the sheet was the complementary wifi. According to Blake, the new management made the ultimate decision to provide wifi so guests could easily download a new book to their kindle or work remotely. And I learned that there had been wifi available previously if you asked for access at the desk! Recognizing that one of the things previous guests really valued was the fact that the hotel had no TVs and actively promoted unplugging during their stay, the current rooms still have no TVs and staff make a conscious attempt to keep phone visibility to a minimum

After the wifi access on the sheet, there was a list of items guests might want to borrow from the front desk. The list included the normal things like extra pillows, blankets, and toiletries like toothbrushes and toothpaste. But there were a few items that were not so normal: games, puzzles, and book lights! Most rooms aren’t big enough for a wet bar, but that doesn’t mean those guests can’t have a little after-hours reading light as well!

The Genre Rooms

Having chosen a huge room by accident, I was curious how the regular size rooms look now. Previously, the hotel used to leave the doors of unoccupied rooms open after they’d been cleaned in the mornings so guests could peek in the other themed rooms they weren’t staying in. Now all the doors are key card locked and closed. Staff are happy to show you unoccupied rooms if you ask, and I was going to, but Blake saved me the trouble by offering a tour before I had the chance to ask.

Although I assumed I’d come away from the tour disappointed at the blandness of the current rooms, Blake’s excitement for them and his ideas for their future was infectious.

He admitted that they’d had to standardize to a point for ease of running the hotel. Previously, each room had custom bedding and shower curtains that went with the theme of the room, so staff had to make sure certain linens were washed and returned to the right rooms in time for the next guests. Now, the linen sets are standardized and bathrooms have been fitted with stand up showers with glass doors. These changes have relieved some of the burden on staff.

Every room now has one bed and a writing desk, if it will fit, and larger rooms include the same fireplace and leather chairs I’d found in the Austen room. The one bed set-up is to deliberately discourage families with young children (approximately under 12 years of age) from choosing this boutique hotel in order to keep it quieter for all guests who have come to unplug and relax. I could definitely see staying here for a week and setting up my laptop for some un-distracted writing time in one of the rooms with a writing desk. Now I wish my stay had been longer than one night!

Some former Sylvia Beach Hotel guests have complained that the new rooms now look “bland.” Without my mentioning these complaints, Blake launched into an explanation of the current state of the rooms. Recognizing that the decor of the former hotel didn’t pop into existence overnight, but grew over the years of Goody and Sally’s ownership, the new hotel decided to open as fast as possible so as not to miss the summer season, even if the rooms are not as impressive as they once were.

I soon realized that the photos of the genre rooms which I’d seen and also thought bland, didn’t do the rooms justice. Blake excitedly pointed out that each genre had custom wallpaper in a different color behind the bed. For example, the Romance wallpaper contains images of large estates, carriages, and gowns. In a Fantasy room, I found elements such as a wardrobe, the one ring, dragons, and daggers. Each wall was like an eye-spy book. It would have captivated a younger me for hours. I now understood Blake’s excitement for the walls and began to feel it myself.

Improvements & Ideas In Progress

The hotel does have plans and ideas for adding to rooms over time. Blake took us to the C. S. Lewis room to illustrate his point. In the room were a few prints hanging on the walls related to Narnia and of course books by Lewis were found on the desk and shelves. Closing the door behind us revealed a small wooden wardrobe in the corner. This, Blake explained, had only been acquired one week before. And opening it, we unfortunately did not find Narnia, nor anything else inside it. He said the hotel has plans to put some type of Narnia scene on the back wall of the wardrobe, but that addition will come at a later date.

Other needed improvements are in the works. Like finding the right type of lighting for certain rooms. For example, in the Jane Austen room there isn’t a good reading light in the sitting area, but they don’t want to just put any old lamp lamp in there. They want to find the right one. Maybe it will be a floor lamp, or perhaps a different type of lamp, whatever it is, it has to work for readers. I really liked that the reading light next to the bed could be manipulated to just the right angel for my reading pleasure. I’ve been in way too many hotels where the light is in a static position and can’t be moved to train right on your book page.

And as a tea drinker, I suggested our room needed larger mugs. It turns out Blake is a coffee drinker and has been told before that the mugs currently in rooms with wet bars are just not large enough for tea enthusiasts. And speaking of tea and coffee, for rooms without a wet bar, a station has been set up in the lobby for guests to get tea and coffee. This is in homage to the much loved former 3rd floor tea/coffee station. If the new station gets used, a more permanent solution may be found in future.

Blake also said the hotel may re-evaluate some of the current author rooms and change them or perhaps rotate them, like a library rotates curated displays. One hope is to represent Pacific Northwest authors. This sounds like a good idea to me. There are some local OR & WA authors that certainly deserve to be recognized. Perhaps they could start with Newport’s own cosy mystery author, Ron Lovell? Or other Oregon authors like Beverly Cleary. How would you decorate a room to look like Ramona Quimby’s bedroom?

Breakfast

Although breakfast is not included with the room, I wasn’t going to pass up trying the new Cafe Sylvia! The former hotel held dinners in the downstairs restaurant, but I’m glad the new hotel has switched to breakfasts, because personally I think breakfast is the best meal of the day. And this one was delicious! Breakfast is open to the public, not just hotel guests, and if I lived in the area, I’d certainly show up for brunch on occasion.

I formerly had attended one of the old hotel’s dinners and it was quite the affair. The room had been painted what I’d call a violent red and guests were required to sit at large group tables and engage in conversation with other guests. Sometimes, like the night I was there, one of the owners would join the dinner to keep conversations flowing with prompts if needed. In the end I’d admitted that it wasn’t as unpleasant as I’d imagined it would be, but as an introvert, it certainly put me out of my comfort zone!

The same room, now set as a breakfast and all-day hangout room could not have been farther from its old self. Now the room is painted a calming pastel light green, and soft, calming music infused the room with a soothing vibe. This new aesthetic combined with the view of gently crashing waves on the beach below and the lovely smell of the elderberry black tea I’d ordered, put me in a very relaxed mood to start my morning and made me wish I had more time to spend here after breakfast service to experience the room as a public lounge space.

I chose to sit in the poofy chairs by the window, but in the middle of the room was a large table with games on it and accessible power plugs. Perfect for someone who wants to bring a laptop to write for hours after breakfast service.

Blake, although general manager, was acting as our waiter during breakfast. As it’s a small staff, they all do a little of everything. We learned from our GM waiter that the hotel tries to find local brands for the tea and coffee provided and also sells them in the small lobby gift shop, now concentrated on shelving opposite the front desk, in case you’d like to take home a taste of the hotel.

And while asking about the tea and coffee, I was reminded of the tradition of the former hotel to put out mulled wine in the evenings, so I asked Blake if they’d thought about evening drinks. He was familiar with the former practice, but noted that as a hotel they really couldn’t leave wine out unattended at the possible hands of underaged guests. So the hotel is considering hosting evening happy hours eventually. But those plans are still in the works.

My Overall Opinion

Overall, I think the Hotel Sylvia is a lovely haven for the bookishly inclined looking for a quiet getaway. And I even found myself dreaming of holding a cosy mystery themed reading retreat at the hotel someday. Who wants to read Murder at Yaquina Head and join me at the Hotel Sylvia??

If I’m being honest though, the new hotel isn’t yet the destination that the Sylvia Beach Hotel was. The old hotel was so quirky that I went out of my way to see it. Right now the Hotel Sylvia feels to me and looks exactly like I’d expect a literary themed boutique hotel, with a few nods to literature worked into the decor and spaces. I’d certainly stay here over the host of other nearby boutique hotels due to its literary theme if I were in the area, but I wouldn’t make a trek just to see the hotel. I do think, though, that the new hotel has the potential to become a destination. As they add to the decor, implement some of the activity ideas and change up the authors represented, I’m excited to watch its journey in the coming years.

Check out the Hotel Sylvia for yourself.

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