Scoring high for individuality

IT’S housed in a 24-story building indistinguishable from dozens of other Condo Towers That Ate Seattle. But an elegant, soothing rain-forest ethos greets you when you enter Hotel 1000, the city’s newest upscale property and one of its most distinctive.

The lobby floor is leaf-patterned marble from Brazil; muted leaf, bark and wood colors repeat everywhere; and a subtle bamboo motif culminates in a floor-vase “bouquet” of 6-foot bamboo canes in each of the 120 guest rooms.

Bunking down: Each room has a pedestal two-person soaking tub that is filled from a spout in the ceiling; turn the knob and a “bolt” of water (the bellman’s apt description) plunges downward. It’s very engaging, and so far the hotel’s most conspicuous distinction. The room itself is a spacious marvel of design and construction; city noises do not intrude, the forest-green, persimmon and umber tones mesh well with the faux-cherry and brushed-steel accents, and frosted-glass partitions in the generous bath area make it seem even larger.

Hanging around: The hotel’s library has a huge catalog of Buddhist wisdom for everyday life, and its restaurant, BOKA (Bold Original Kitchen Artistry), melds Northwest contemporary and Continental cuisine (Dungeness crab cakes with creme fraiche frosting). Next door is Taboo Video, should you become bored with the five ESPN channels on the hotel’s cable. More virtual fore play is available in the first-floor Golf Club, with two tee boxes and 50 virtual courses.

Going out: Seattle Art Museum and the Seattle Symphony’s Benaroya Hall are just a block away; Pioneer Square, the city’s historic district, is a five-minute walk. Pike Place Market and Seattle’s Belltown dining district are within 10 minutes on foot.

Perks and peeves: The Gideon folks have not yet sequestered Bibles in the dresser drawers; instead, for bedside reading the hotel offers Thoreau as well as Schott’s “Food & Drink Miscellany,” a random compendium of odd culinary facts. (Wombat is said to taste like pork.) I loved the retro alarm clock -- wind a dial and pull out a button -- which is apparently such a novelty in this 20-function clock-radio era that the guest book carefully explains how to operate it.

No amount of effort, however, was able to dim the display on the touch-screen Internet phone. It’s great that the phone offers free calling anywhere in the continental U.S.; but it’s like a klieg light in the dark. Luckily, low-tech still trumps high-tech: We hung a shirt over it.

Hotel 1000, 1000 1st Ave., Seattle, WA 98104; (206) 957-1000, (877) 315-1088; www.hotel1000seattle.com. Doubles from $225.