Fairmont Olympic Hotel

The employees of Seattle's iconic, 85-year-old downtown hotel are suckers for tradition. They love working in a place so steeped in history, so dripping with over-the-top luxury. "Walk into the lobby and you know this is a special hotel. You can feel it," one employee tells us, with "so many memories for so many Seattleites."

They raved about the holiday traditions -- a staff pumpkin carving contest that's been running for nearly 20 years; the annual tree lighting ceremony, where it feels like "all of Seattle comes in to have hot chocolate with us"; the Teddy Bear Suite, where parents and kids come to romp in a room packed with stuffed bears; and the smell of roasted chestnuts. "We have so much fun at work every day," another employee says. Working here sounds like a dreamy wonderland, but this is Seattle's only AAA-rated five diamond hotel -- so there must be a lot of hard work they're just not telling us about.

Other top finalists*

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*Listed in alphabetical order