For immediate release: February 12, 2008 (08-019)

Contacts:
Shannon Walker, Facilities and Services Licensing 360-236-2933
Jeff Smith, Communications Office 360-236-4072

OLYMPIA ¾ Unsanitary sheets and mattresses were among a series of violations that prompted state health officials to shutter a SeaTac motel.

The Washington State Department of Health has immediately suspended the license of the New West Motel, 21450 International Boulevard in SeaTac. Department investigators discovered the motel has violated construction, maintenance, electrical, fire and safety codes and is operating under unsanitary conditions.

The motel must be vacated by February 15 and may not offer accommodations until a hearing is held.

Conditions in the motel rooms include dangerous wiring installations and broken and boarded-up windows that would prevent guests from escaping a fire. Other conditions include mold and unsanitary mattresses, bed covers, sheets and mattress pads. The motel has 20 days to request a hearing and contest these charges.

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

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