A SEATTLE HOTEL THAT'S JUST COOL ENOUGH THE ROUGH AND THE MODERN MEET IN FRIENDLY LODGING.

Byline: - Eric Noland

SEATTLE - The Hotel Andra, which opened a year and a half ago on the north side of Seattle, deftly pays homage to the Pacific Northwest's woodsy heritage without sacrificing contemporary style.

This is evident as soon as you walk through the front door. Though this boutique hotel has just 118 rooms, its lobby, called the Living Room, towers to two stories - tall enough to accommodate a medium-size Douglas fir. Part of the floor, meanwhile, is dark hardwood, while the coffee tables are rough-hewn, squared-off tree trunks, stained and polished. Built-in bookcases surround the fireplace, which has stacks of firewood on both sides.

But lest you think the logical continuation of this is red-plaid flannel upholstery and snowshoes on the wall, the rustic-lodge motif stops there. (Actually, it stops short of it, because the firewood is just for show; the fireplace is fueled by gas.)

Mixed in with all of this are midcentury design elements in the chairs, lamps and carpets, and a color scheme that marries dark blue, bright orange, muted green and bold fabric prints.

That window above the fireplace? It's a flat-screen TV in a frame, alternately showing camels in the Sahara, London's Tower Bridge, a starfish, Rome's Colosseum. The three-paneled aquarium behind the front desk? It's real.

The hotel, formerly the Claremont, was thoroughly made over by owner Craig Schafer. He confesses to incorporating Scandinavian elements into the interior design. As well as the Pacific Northwest influences. And, just to keep everyone guessing, the hotel's restaurant, Lola, is Greek-themed. But somehow this whirlwind tour of the globe works here.

The guest rooms are certainly inviting: wondrously comfortable Serta mattresses, luxurious Italian sheets, goose-down pillows, oversize walnut desks. Blue-shaded spotlights on each side of the bed are both stylish and, for bedtime readers, functional. The bed's dark-blue chenille spread is set off nicely by walls painted coffee-cream.

The bathrooms are painted cadet blue with white fixtures and are stocked with high-end Face Stockholm toiletries.

An effort to preserve the vintage, hexagonal floor tile, though commendable, went less well, at least in our room. It had a weathered, patched-up appearance, which was incongruous with the new, gleaming-white fixtures. The woefully slow shower drain also suggested plumbing of the building's 1926 vintage.

About the only other annoyance we found at the hotel was a modern one: TV screens mounted in the elevators, continuously beaming news programming. (Today's multitaskers can't even endure 30 seconds of idleness on an elevator ride?)

The Hotel Andra has a fabulous location, on the edge of a Belltown neighborhood that is enjoying an exhilarating renaissance in terms of shopping and dining. The Seattle Center, with its Space Needle and Experience Music Project, is a walk of only nine blocks to the north. The vibrant Pike Place Market is just four blocks to the west. The hotel is also convenient to Seattle's monorail.

We found the hotel staffers to be friendly and accommodating, exhibiting none of the smug attitude so common at stylish boutique hotels in urban centers.

The adjoining Lola serves up hearty, Greek-themed breakfast items with the superb coffee that only Seattle's baristas seem to have mastered. The restaurant's bar is also a nice place to relax before a night on the town, with a by-the-glass wine list that is extensive and admirably regional - with Washington's cool-climate vineyards represented by pinot gris, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, chenin blanc and even sparkling brut.

IF YOU GO

The Hotel Andra is at 2000 Fourth Ave., Seattle. Room rates from $199, with some attractive packages available: ``Andra Romantik,'' ``Food Lovers'' and ``Taste of Seattle.'' www.hotelandra.com. Reservations: [phone]. Hotel: [phone].

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) The hardwood floors and bookcases of the Hotel Andra lobby are balanced by what looks like a window over the fireplace. But don't be fooled - that's a flat-screen TV.

(2 -- color) Comfortable beds with Italian sheets and goose-down pillows make for a restful night at Seattle's Hotel Andra.

Eric Noland/Great Escapes

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IF YOU GO (see text)