For immediate release: March 20, 2008  (08-033)

Contacts:
Shannon Walker, Facilities and Services Licensing 360-236-2933
Allison Cook, Communications Office 360-236-4022

Seattle motel suspended for unsanitary, unsafe conditions

OLYMPIA ¾ The license of the Seattle Motor Inn has been immediately suspended by the state Department of Health because it poses an immediate threat to guests. The motel is located at 12245 North Aurora Ave. in Seattle.

Department investigators found the motel may have violated construction, maintenance, electrical, fire, and safety codes. Alleged conditions in motel rooms include non-working smoke detectors; mold; unsanitary mattresses; unsafe exposed electrical wiring; unsanitary floors, walls, and fixtures; and other unsanitary conditions.

The owner of the Seattle Motor Inn has 20 days to request a hearing and contest these charges. The motel must be vacated by midnight March 22, 2008. It cannot reopen until a hearing is held.

Motels offering three or more units to guests for less than 30 days must be licensed by the Department of Health’s Facilities and Services Licensing Program. The program licenses about 1,700 motels, hotels, inns, resorts, and bed-and-breakfast facilities in the state. It enforces health and safety standards for those establishments.

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