Need help on Portland OR HOTEL LOCATION
 

Please tell me about the area around the Holiday Express on NW Vaughn. Comments I've read say it's in an industrial/commercial area. What do you think of the location? What about public transportation near the hotel? Any other info on hotel would be helpful. I have checked Trip Advisor. Thanks.

I never liked it.
There is a big highway behind it and it is industrial along that highway.
There is no public transportation as far as I know, only up on Marshall where you catch the Streetcar.
My lists on TripAdvisor would be the same as I would post here.
Are you looking for budget?
Look into the Embassy Suites, downtown. The Inn at Northrup Station on NW 23rd.. the Ace Hotel , and look at www.pova.com for specials at all the hotels.

What exactly are you looking for ? in the hotel ..
As long as you are in downtown Portland, you can walk and take the Streetcar and get around fine.

Yes, it is in the industrial area. My DH stayed there a few times during our ice storms when he got stuck at work and couldn't make it home. The hotel itself is a typical HIE, but for a visitor that isn't needing to do business in that area, the areas the Scarlett mentioned would be much better.

There's plenty of public transportation near the hotel (sorry, Scarlett, Portland has BUSES too not just trains!). Portland has a very decent bus system beyond its streetcars and light rail. The #15 and #17 bus pass directly by the hotel and both will take you into downtown (The #17 takes you through the Pearl) and both connect you to the Portland Streetcar and the MAX. The #15 goes up NW23rd; the #17 goes up NW21st, so you can get to any destination on those two popular streets quickly if you don't want to walk (or rainy or something). The #77 is not much further of a walk from the hotel, and you can take that into the Pearl too and also over to the Rose Quarter/Convention center area bypassing downtown.

To find where you are going by public transit (called TriMet - it has a good website too), I use Google Transit. You can just type in the name of the hotel in Google Maps and get directions to anywhere in town - Google is pretty smart - and select "by public transit" instead of "by car." Or just go to www.google.com/transit and type in addresses if you know.

So the Holiday Inn is near a FANTASTIC location...NEAR it. Northwest Portland is a terrific, fun neighborhood, that you can easily walk to from the hotel. Technically, the hotel is ON the popular NW 23rd Avenue but just beyond the "fun part."

BUT, the area right around the hotel IS on the edge of a freeway and an industrial area. It looks awful when you exit the freeway (across the street from a Jack in the Box fast food place). Perfectly safe, just not inviting or quaint feeling. Walk two blocks to south Thurman, however, and you are in what I believe is Portland's best neighborhood, NW Portland, full of great cafes and shops, in a very fun area just to stroll and people watch. So while it looks bad right at the hote, and you can't walk to a fabulous cafe right outside your door, you can be there in 5-6 blocks or via a quick bus ride.

I confess I've eaten at that Jack in the Box a few times and walked from there across Vaughn (a busy street) to the NW Portland library branch to pick up/return books. But I don't know how quiet it might be to sleep there at night. Vaughn is a bit busy plus there may be railroad traffic not too far away - just not sure. I'm very sensitive to that sort of noise at hotels, and I may be wrong - it may be perfectly quiet inside. Never been inside the hotel. Try to get a room not right on Vaughn, though.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have any worry about staying at this hotel, unless I was overpaying. There are better places to be as noted, but if you needed to be there for some reason , I wouldn't worry much about it.

Besides the price, probably the best thing about the Holiday Inn is that it's on the edge of one of Portland's popular shopping and dining districts. But, it's also on the edge of an industrial area; safe and all, but noisy and not very appealing. That, plus as Scarlett notes, the nearest streetcar stop is at Marshall. Streets in NW Portland are named alphabetically; Marshall to Vaughn = 9 blocks. Bottom line; you can do better. Depending on when you're coming, you might get a "4-star" hotel in the downtown core for equal or less $$ by bidding on Priceline.

Yeah, 9 blocks to the streetcar...or 1 block (or less) to the #15 and #17 bus stops. Given a choice I'd prefer the steetcar to the bus too, but there's nothing wrong with a short bus ride. Portland's buses are fine.

No implication that the buses aren't fine, Andrew. Just the thought that a visitor would be more comfortable using the streetcar than trying to figure out the bus system.

Not sure if you are saying that you are committed to that hotel, and I know nothing about Portland personally. However, DS and his fiancee stayed here (w/o a car) and loved it!!

http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=57

Oh, the McMenamins Kennedy School (your link) is awesome, even if you just visit and eat there and don't stay overnight. But that location in NE Portland is very isolated from downtown and most of the attractions, and bus service is much less convenient than the Holiday Inn (from which you can walk to lots of things anyway). I'd probably not recommend staying at the Kennedy School without a car, though (obviously) it can be done.

Guess we will check some others. We are looking to do the typical tourist things. Want to be at least near downtown. Would like to stay under $125 IF POSSIBLE. Thanks for all the suggestions

Did you look at the ACE Hotel and the Mark Spencer? Both right in downtown and easy walking / Streetcar all over town.

LOL, Andrew, you are right , of course. It is my fault... I never think of buses since I never take them. Not because there is anything wrong with them, I just have a "thing" about buses..
GJLinda, I will give you my list from another forum to help check on rates on hotels..good luck!

Obviously some of these are over $125 but they are all on the list, just keep looking, hopefully there is one with a good rate. I think the Inn at Northrup has good rates too and that is closest to the Holiday Inn..


1. Hotel Monaco Portland
http://www.5thavenuesuites.com
Great location, cheerful suites, great room service. A health club and internet room keep you in touch and in shape.

2. The Heathman
http://www.heathmanhotel.com
Elegant lobby, small rooms that are comfortable and excellent service. The restaurant and bar are busy and serve very good food. Great location.

3. Hotel Vintage Plaza
http://www.vintageplaza.com
Kimpton sister of the 5th Avenue Suites Hotel, comfortable rooms, complimentary wine tasting and nice restaurant..Pazzo.

4. The Govenor Hotel
http://www.govhotel.com
Grand old building in downtown Portland with large guest rooms and very good restaurant, Jakes Grill.

5. The Paramount Hotel
http://www.portlandparamount.com
Trendy hotel in good downtown location. Large rooms and very large marble bathrooms. Dragonfly Restaurant downstairs is popular with an excellent bar.

** Construction going on indefinitely making the hotel area quite noisy and congested with traffic. **

6. The Westin Portland
http://www.westinportland.com
A standard Westin property with a large health club and great for business travelers, in a good downtown location.

7. Hotel Lucia
http://www.hotellucia.com
A charming hotel in downtown Portland, located next door to the Vintage Plaza Hotel. Charming and quirky, with a great Thai restaurant ( Typhoon) downstairs.

8. Mark Spencer Hotel
http://www.markspencer.com/
Right on the streetcar line, blocks from Powells, Whole Foods and the Pearl.

9. Inn at Northrup Station
http://www.northrupstation.com
Boutique Hotel..modern, convenient and affordable. Enjoy rooftop deck and easy access to Streetcar which stops right outside the hotel.

10. The Ace Hotel
http://www.acehotel.com/portland/
Very different, really interesting hotel, at the edge of the Pearl District in downtown Portland.
The original building was an old hotel, it covers the whole block , with a coffee shop, a deli next door as well as the Streetcar stop on the corner.
Very artistic and different rooms and theme. Young and "hip" might be the description as well as light hearted.
There are 4 Ace Hotels, one in Seattle, one in Portland, one in NY and one in California.

Scarlett, I didn't mean to pick on you. I know a NUMBER of people who don't or won't rides buses, PERIOD, even though they will take a train if required. I agree that trains are better and less confusing - but it drives me crazy that people won't ride buses. I think in the US there is a stigma of sorts about buses being for "poor" people. Too bad; in Europe, for example, they are much more utilized (in Italy, for example) by so-called middle class people.

Portland's bus system is pretty good; the drivers are unusually nice, on average, compared to other cities I've visited, and they'll usually answer questions if you are confused or lost. (Last time I was in Seattle on a bus, I noted that the drivers are in secure cages, making it awkward to interact or ask them questions. Portland's drivers are not locked away like this, LOL!) Rome's bus system was one of the best I have ever seen, though - very easy to navigate in a huge city with a maze of confusing streets and routes. Portland could learn a thing or two from their signs/schedule displays!

GJLinda, the thing about that Holiday Inn is that it doesn't seem to be cheap the few times I've checked. If you could get a deal on it I'd probably recommend staying there, not otherwise.

If you want to pay WAY less than $125/night, consider using Priceline.com's "Name Your Own Price" service. Priceline if you aren't 100% familiar with it lets you name a price and a "star level" in a particular zone, on particular dates, and say "give me a hotel at this price" and you don't know the actual hotel name til they've accepted your offer and charged your credit card. That seems scary until you realize there are only a few likely hotels you could get and they are all at least decent - but at a significant savings. The biggest downside of this approach is that Priceline is 100% non-refundable/non-changeable (except for verifiable emergencies like flight canceled by airline or something). So you have to have your plans locked in solid. The good news is, you can get great savings with Priceline even at the last minute often times. Sometimes people book a more expensive hotel they can cancel then bid on Priceline a week before their trip - and if they win, cancel their original.

In Portland, if you bid about $50 to 60 for a 3-star hotel in the Lloyd District/Convention Center zone (east side of Willamette River, but very close to downtown, a free MAX ride away), you'll most likely get a very decent hotel. (Figure an extra $20/night for parking though). I got the Hilton right in downtown Portland in 2005 for my folks for about $45/night - right smack in the center of downtown. I've used Priceline all over the world and swear by it.

Try a site like BetterBidding.com to learn what hotels people are getting for what prices in Portland. Knowing what hotels you are likely to get really cuts down on the fear about Priceline.