My wife and I will be vacationing in Portland, Oregon beginning June 2nd, 06. We're researching the city for as a possible place to live, and want to be as near to the "pulse" of downtown's resturants and other activities as possible. Which hotels should we choose for a clean smoke free or nearly smoke free environment that are in the heart of things? We're also considering a couple nights at the Stephanie Inn in Cannon Beach.

Thanks to all that reply!

We stay at 5th Avenue Suites in Portland, and book a room above the first floor at Stephanie Inn--two of the best places in Oregon.

The 5th Ave Suites is great, right in the heart of downtown. But if you are scouting out Portland as a possible place to live, another possibility might be the Inn at Northrup Station in NW Portland. I haven't stayed at the place, only know the location, right on Portland's Streetcar line and a quick ride to downtown, through the Pearl District. NW Portland is a nice neighborhood where you might consider living, very walkable. Most people love NW 23rd Ave near the hotel.

Andrew

We just booked the 5th Avenue Suites for the same weekend.

I don't think Downtown proper is the "Pulse" of Portland.
You've got a lot of different neighborhoods that represent different pulses/vitality.
Hawthorne, NW, SW, Belmont, the Pearl, Sellwood, Hollywood, Alberta, Albina all appeal, but in different ways + Washington County looms to the West.
Living is certainly different than visiting.

I have stayed at the Inn at Northrup station - and thought it was great. It may not appeal to some - very retro- purple and green and wild colors .
Our room had a kitchenette with microwave, coffee pot and fridge.
One of Portlands best restaurants is right across the street and another one around the corner. You can walk to the 23rd St shops and restaurants, close to public transportation and parking was included in price. I would stay there again.
One fun thing we did was take an Epicurian walking tour of the Pearl- a little pricey but we enjoyed and guide gives you many interesting tips about Portland- including how to use the parking meters .

Hi there! My hubby was just in Portland yesterday and brought me back lots of goodies. Moonstruck Chocolates, Hazelnuts and some Blackberry Lavender Lotion.

We like the Riverplace Hotel, it is down by the river, tho. Not in the hub of downtown, just a short walk to downtown. It is a very nice hotel with great amenities. Next visit to Portland we may try Portland's White House which is a B&B experience.

You will love the Stephanie Inn. We had an amazing dinner there. Bistro and Gower St. Bistro are also great places to eat in CB.

We'll be back in the area in a couple of weeks. The Heathman Hotel is where we will stay if we choose a downtown hotel. They have a gorgeous lobby and a very nice restaurant there. Check out the POVA website for some great deals that include breakfast and comp. valet parking. ***kim***

Wow! Thanks for all the feedback! I'll digest this and follow up if I have any more questions.

Even though I live here, I have stayed at the 5th Avenue Suites several times and was very pleased.

You may be interested to know that there is a lot of construction going on down on the waterfront, near the Riverplace. I don't know if this bothers you or not, but thought I should mention it so you can make your own decision regarding location.

Is anyone familiar with the Hotel Deluxe (Formerly the Mallory) or the Avalon? I realize the Avalon isn't really downtown and the Hotel Deluxe is on the outside of things. These 2 are the only non-smoking hotels that I've seen. Others allow smoking in the bar etc. We've had mixed experiences with that. Has smoke been an issue for anyone at the other downtown hotels?

From what I know of the hotels in town, none of them allow smoking. The 5th Avenue Suites ( the hotel where we stayed on our first visit for 10 days, then again while househunting for 10 days then when we moved here til the furniture arrived -5 dasy) does not allow smoking anywhere in the hotel.
Portland is pretty great about non-smoking. Restaurants are all non smoking, except bars.

The Mallory/DeLux is nearby-I can see part of it from where I am sitting ( in the Pearl District). They changed the tired budget Mallory to the new incarnation, I have no idea what the new hotel is like, it still says Mallory on the outside..it is a little out of the way as far as what you might want..you are better off downtown or as sunbum mentioned, at the Inn@Northrup.

Naito Pkway where Riverplace is, is as mms said, under construction and a noisy messy place.
Sounds like those who always stay there are even staying in town now.
You are better off in town where you can hop on the streetcar and Light Rail..you can get around here easily without a car, unless you want to explore the Eastside. Which you should..
www.pova.com
www.5thavenuesuites.com

Sounds like 5th Avenue Suites is the way to go for a good stay. They did say they allowed smoking on half the second floor and in the bar. But they're close to downtown and the Max for exploring outward. So what about FOOD? Japanese/Sushi, Indian or a heavy menu of fresh Seafood is where we gravitate. Any recommendations?

Are there any good jazz clubs or singer-songwriter hangouts in town?

We'll hopefully be exploring the entire city to a certain extent as well as some of the outlying communities of Beaverton etc. for housing options. I've been scanning RMLS for property and am a little discouraged about what's available. Not much to choose from and pretty expensive per square foot from an outsider's perspective. Any thoughts on that front?

Thanks for the POVA link, Scarlett. It's like a guided tour.

Fred, the 2nd floor is a floor of just huge meeting rooms, conventions, sales meetings etc go on there. Not hotel rooms. Dog floor is third floor, we have stayed there too and there is no hint of smoke in the hotel.
When/if you book, ask for a room on a top floor, they are very good about honoring requests. I ask for a king suite, 10th floor is good Never been disappointed yet.
Pup likes it too ((&))
The restaurant is the Red Star...Love them! Breakfasts are great, after walking all day, it is lovely to go crash in one of the big booths by the bar and sip tea /wine and get the energy to go back up the elevator to get ready to go out to dinner
The bar is the only area in the restaurant where there was smoke, for some reason, there is never the scent of smoke in the actual restaurant.
Glad you liked the website

http://www.cbseal.com/

http://joanneforman.com/oaragency.html

In the Pearl and NW, look at Windemere on NW 21st.

Just to add to the above...There is a big sewer project and also a bunch of new construction going on in front of the river. Its noisy and traffic is horrendous down there. I've never liked that hotel, but even if you did, this is not a place you'd want to stay for the next few months at least.

5th Ave Suites is my favorite, and from there you can get anywhere easily. Portland is a very small city.

I hate smoke and have never noticed any in the hotel rooms or lobby at 5th Ave suites.

What are you looking for regarding homes? I lived in Beaverton years ago, but tend to avoid it now. We are in another SW suburb which we love. It is amazing how just a few miles and things can be very different.

The NW 23rd area is a great area to visit (and live if budget allows)--green, pretty, lively with shops and restaurants. In addition to the Inn at Northrup, there is also a Silver Cloud Inn at the edge of the NW 23rd area. It's pretty generic, not nearly as stylish as the Fifth Avenue Suites (which trump the Riverplace hands down for location and ambience), but comfortable and inexpensive (with free washers/dryers). It is completely smoke free (they charge hefty penalties to any guests who try to sneak a cigarette in their room).

By the way, if you want to give your wife a surprise treat, book her an appointment at European Facials by Dzialo on NW 23rd.

http://www.european-facials.com/index.htm

Read the reviews here:
http://portland.citysearch.com/profi...ditorialreview

I live in Europe and still haven't found a salon I like as much as Dzialo's--boy do I miss them!

We stayed at the Paramount at 8th and Taylor right by the streetcar and Pioneer square in October and thought it was great while still affordable!
And I just moved to beautiful Portland from Chicago. I'll be renting month to month somewhere soon (my temp housing from the new co. is about up!) but we hope to buy in one of the close in neighborhoods NE or SE. Beaverton seems to have a lot of traffic and since we dont' have kids we dont really want to live in the burbs. I've heard lake Oswego has great schools and its' lovely. Also to be close to downtown but get more room, Hillsdale and Multomah Village might be options.

Great eats: Oba, Fratelli, Manzana (sp?) Grill..haven't gotten to try a whole lot yet! and I liked Jakes Crawfish, an old place, probably full of tourists but I enjoyed it.

Portland's a good jazz town. Jimmy Mak's is probably the premiere spot (www.jimmymaks.com). Looks like they're moving, but should be reopened by then.

A good generic site is at www.portlandjazz.com, which lists clubs, etc.

Check the A&E (arts & entertainment) section in the Friday Oregonian for current listings. Not sure if the info is on their website, but it's at www.oregonlive.com