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Disclosure: The Hotel Windrow hosted my family for a stay so we could share with you our personal experience at the hotel. All opinions & pictures are 100% my own. See our disclosure policy for more details. 

Hotel Windrow – Ellensburg WA 

The Hotel Windrow is a relatively newer, small boutique hotel located in downtown Ellensburg. It is the only hotel location right in the heart of the small town (other hotels are located right along the highway), so it’s a great central location for exploring the town & Central Washington University. It’s also easy access to the freeways as well as highway 97 to Blewett Pass.

This was definitely the biggest draw for us in staying at this boutique hotel – how conveniently located it was to everywhere we needed to go. We loved not having to drive & find parking when eating out or shopping – we literally walked to all of the restaurants for our meals & enjoyed some shopping in town, too, all within a few easy blocks walking distance.

The hotel has quite a history, being built adjacent & attached to the historic Elks Club building and they incorporate these significant aspects from its past within the modern, urban design of the hotel in a very cohesive way to make it very unique & interesting both in the lobby & throughout the hotel.  

We were headed to Ellensburg to tour the Central Washington University (CWU) campus with our daughter who’s looking at colleges as well as to check out some of the fun winter recreational opportunities nearby. We loved being right in the center of town for easy walking to all the shops & restaurants, as well as being less than 45 minutes away from Blewett Pass for enjoying the snow activities in the winter.

Check out our list of 10 Things to Do in Ellensburg + where to eat!

Hotel Windrow Location

The Hotel Windrow location in Ellensburg is really a prime location if you are wanting to explore the downtown core as well as the Central Washington University campus, which is located just 5 minutes away from the hotel. On a nice day, you could walk to Central if you’d like, too.

We loved that everything was so close & walkable to the Hotel Windrow. Our favorite restaurants were just a few blocks away at most & we found all of the fun shops just a few blocks away as well, so it’s very centrally located in the heart of town.  Perfect for the rainy weekend we spent in Ellensburg as we didn’t have to walk far & we didn’t have to worry about driving & finding parking.

All of the other Ellensburg hotels are located along the I90 corridor on either side of the freeway & close to the highway noise. Hotel Windrow is the only location right in town & in the heart of the restaurants & shopping livelihood. So, it’s definitely the perfect location to explore the town.

Hotel Windrow History

The Hotel Windrow opened its doors in January 2020, so it’s a newer, boutique hotel in Ellensburg having just been around a few years. But it was much needed to have a hotel right in the center of town. The Hotel Windrow building has quite a history as it’s built attached to the historic Elks Club building, which was originally built in 1923. The Elks Club was empty for about 10 years until it was carefully restored in 2016 & then they added the hotel attached to it in 2020.

The Grand Staircase leading to the 2nd floor from the Hotel Windrow lobby leads to the classic Elks ballroom in the main Elks building so they are all melded together now, blending the old history with the new, modern touches throughout the hotel.

I love that the lobby & some of the guest rooms & other parts of the hotel have pieces of the historic Elks Club right in the design, such as the exposed brick walls in the lobby, guest rooms & more. You’ll also find photographs & information about the historic club and town history throughout the hotel hallways, too.

The name “windrow” is a nod to the Central Washington farming community in the area. Hay is a crucial crop in the central Washington valley & during the growing season, hay farmers will cut their crops and then they lay them down into long “windrows”, where they are laid down perpendicular to the wind, to dry. These rows force hay into a period of “rest”. The hay needs a certain amount of time to rest or it will not be useful. So, the farmers have to take this break time to let their hay crop produce the best results.

So, the Hotel Windrow’s philosophy is  ” Like a windrow, we too need crucial times of rest” – so their focus is on pure comfort for your time of rest & relaxation at their hotel.

Hotel Windrow Rooms & Amenities

The Hotel Windrow has 59 unique & modern-styled guest rooms across several floors. Each guest room features beautiful barnyard doors for the bathrooms, local art & my favorite – super soft pillowtop mattresses. I have to say – a good, cozy mattress is one of my top things I look for in a hotel. No matter how nice the hotel is, if the mattress is uncomfortable, you won’t enjoy your stay.

Our Hotel Windrow review after staying in both the king & double queen rooms, we all loved how comfortable the mattresses were for sleeping well. Something all 4 of us commented on after our weekend stay!

My other favorite part of the hotel rooms are the oversized, rainfall shower heads – so luxurious feeling with the extra large shower head to enjoy the shower.  The historic queen room has a beautiful soaking tub, too, along with the exposed brick from the Elks Lodge (we didn’t stay in this room as it wasn’t dog friendly, but did get to check it out & it was gorgeous!). 

All of the rooms also offer either chairs or a sofa to relax on for extra seating in addition to a desk and a 50″ 4K Ultra HD TV. Plus, you’ll find a mini refrigerator & Keurig coffeemaker.

In the basement, you will find a fitness center for your use and there are several areas around the lobby to relax & enjoy sitting by the fire & reading a good book or magazine.

For parking options, there are several free city parking lots that are very close to the hotel & they also offer secure, free parking for guests via guest key card access several blocks away.

Hotel Windrow – Dog Friendly

One of the big draws for us was not only the convenient location of the hotel, but the fact that this cute boutique hotel was also dog friendly.  There are several dog-friendly accommodations (1 queen room & several King rooms) available on the first floor for dogs under 50 pounds. There is a 1 time pet fee of $25 for your visit.

We brought our dog, Tiki, with us for the weekend so we could take her out with us on our snow adventures. While the hotel is located right in downtown Ellensburg, we were wondering about where to walk our dog, but there are several grassy areas very close to the hotel, so it wasn’t an issue at all. The staff was very welcoming of our dog & the first floor rooms make it very easy to get in & out quickly of the rooms.

Hotel Windrow Roof Top Deck & Restaurant

The Hotel Windrow does have both an indoor restaurant space & a small rooftop deck/restaurant space (open seasonally). These were not open when we visited in January 2023, but they have since opened the Elk Kitchen + Wine Bar in this downstairs space. This restaurant offer small grab & go breakfast options for the morning & small bites for the evening.

We took a peek thru the window of the rooftop space & it looks like beautiful views of the city & the valley from up there, so I’m excited to check it out in the warmer months! {this is not currently in use, but check back for when they reopen this space}

Hotel Windrow Discount Code

If you are looking to save on lodging at Hotel Windrow check out this offer on Groupon here! Rooms are as low as under $120/nt. Or find the best prices on Kayak.com here!

Things to Do around Hotel Windrow

As I’ve mentioned, the hotel is in a prime location right in the heart of downtown Ellensburg, which means everything is easily walkable within a few blocks in this small town. We didn’t have to move our car to head out to eat, so we walked to the local restaurants & enjoyed shopping as well. If it had been warmer, dryer weather, we could have also walked to Central Washington University as we did a tour of the college campus.

Here are some of the places to visit when you stay at the hotel:

Restaurants:

• Fidelina’s Taqueria – this casual Mexican restaurant is in the Hotel Windrow building around the side of the building. My girls’ hotel room overlooked the outdoor patio area, which looks like a fun place to hang out in the warmer weather
• Ellensburg Pasta Company – just a block away from the hotel with excellent Italian food in this gas station turned charming restaurant. Gluten free options too!
• Cornerstone Pie – you’ll find artisan, fire-roasted pizzas at this restaurant a few blocks from the hotel. We loved that there were unique flavors with fresh ingredients
• The Palace Cafe – this restaurant started in 1892 & you’ll love seeing all of the history inside this quaint cafe. They serve breakfast, lunch & dinner with hearty portions
• The Early Bird Eatery – this is a popular breakfast location just a block from the hotel & it is well-worth the visit. Be prepared for lines on the weekend but you’ll love all the unique offerings on their breakfast menu (like Churro waffles!)
• Winegars – This ice cream shop is a tradition in Ellensburg, with their small-batch, locally made ice cream & unique flavors. It’s on the way to Central Washington’s campus but still within walking distance.

Shopping:

• Jerrols -this is such a unique store with everything from art & craft supplies, CWU gear, hobby supplies & more. Plus it is home to Winegars ice cream! (this is not right in downtown but on University Way near CWU campus
• Mountain High Sports – great store for recreational gear, apparel & footwear for all your outdoor adventures
• Pearl Street Books & Gifts – book store with children’s books, fiction & non-fiction as well as gifts & greeting cards
• Old Skool – tweens & teens will love this store for thrifting vintage clothes, records, cds , DVD’s & more
• Cascade Kids – kids consignment shop plus they maternity clothing & pregnancy gear

Activities in Downtown Ellensburg:

• Dick & Jane’s Spot – at the end of the downtown core is this eclectic house filled with hundreds of pieces of rotating artwork on the outside of the house & in the yard & fence. You can walk around the sidewalk outside the house to take it all in
• Clymer Museum + Rodeo Hall of Fame Museum – get free admission to visit these locations that are combined now as the Western Culture & Art Center (WCAC) to showcase art, culture & western history & the rodeo in Ellensburg
• Kittitas County Historical Museum – free admission with 9000 sq ft of exhibits to learn about the Kittitas County history of the area
• Central Washington University (CWU) – the college often has programs available to the public such as free planetarium shows, tickets to music concerts put on by music students (these are often quite reasonable at $15/person) & more. You might also be interested in free tours of the campus to learn more about the school.  You can also visit the beautiful Japanese Gardens on campus as well.

More Things to do in the Area

Suncadia Resort in the Winter

Suncadia & things to do around Cle Elum & Roslyn

Sledding & Tubing Locations around Washington