Staying in downtown area at 5th Avenue Suites. How is this place and location? what should we do during the day- good shopping, sightseeing, etc? Any cool areas to have lunch/Sunday Brunch in? How about an amazing restaurant recommendation for dinner and maybe some spots for drinks afterwards?

Although I live here, I have had the opportunity to stay at this hotel a couple times in the last few months. It is a very nice place, and the location is wonderful! There is a lot to do/see here, so of course it will depend on your interests. Some general ideas though include shopping up in the NW 21st and NW 23rd streets (many restaurants there as well), visiting the Rose Gardens, Japanese Gardens, Chinese Gardens, Pittock Mansion (beautiful views), and visit some of the parks in town. If it is a weekend, then on Saturday mornings go to the Farmers Market, and either Sat. or Sun. visit the Saturday Market under the Burnside Bridge. Mother's Bistro is a place I enjoy, and they have a Sunday brunch. As far as restaurants, what are you looking for?

Haven't been to Mother's, but hear it's pretty run of the mill. For some amazing restaurants check out: Wildwood, Paley's Place, Higgins, Park Kitchen, Hurley's, Gotham Building Tavern, clarklewis and Bluehour. All are wonderful and unique in their own way.

For great shopping, we love the Nob Hill area and Pioneer Place. 5th Ave. Suites is OK, but has dropped in the ratings lately. I would consider the Heathman Hotel. We toured the rooms, they're gorgeous and in a better location than the Suites, IMO. A great restaurant here also. We had some yummy desserts here and have to go back for dinner.

If you don't want to stay right in downtown, you may want to consider the Inn at Northrup Station. Cool and funky place and right next door to Paley's and Wildwood, two of the best places to dine in Portland. Enjoy the city of roses! ***kim***

When I read the thread title, I thought this would be right up your alley, ***kim***, since I believe 1 day and 1 night is the usual length of your visits here. From my read of Sara's post, she's already decided to stay at Fifth Ave. Suites. So, what's the point of making other recommendations, especially for places you've never stayed? And I'm surprised you left Portland City Grill and Harborside off your restaurant list. Or did you change your mind about those places?

Sara, we can help you narrow down ***kim***'s list if you tell us what kind of restaurant you're looking for: hip, trendy, quiet, romantic, ethnic, etc.

mms has given a good list of things to occupy your short time here.

Kim--Maybe on your next trip here you can actually go to Mother's and stay at the 5th Avenue and then share your experiences. BTW, when was the last time you stayed at the Heathman or Northrup?

Good gawd, you guys-***krazy*** just
agreed with another poster that a place to stay in Sonoma was good-and as usual
it's a place she's NEVER BEEN.
Must be nothing to do in Fr**n*o but read reviews !

Sara-stick with mms and beachbum, they are true locals with great advice !
R5

those Oregonians get all the fun on their threads since we've lost the SJ weirdo!

Having heard over and over again what fun and how good Mother's was, I knew when we visited Portland last month for a couple of nights that we'd HAVE to have breakfast there, so we did. It was there I discovered what might be my ultimate breakfast dish of all time -- a wonderful fresh salmon hash served with poached eggs. It was so good, we HAD to return the second morning for the same thing, which happily gave my partner a chance to order what his mouth was drooling over the first day -- a hot from the oven marionberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream -- hey is that so different from pancakes with syrup or French Toast for breakfast?

So when someone comes here and says "I HEAR it's pretty run of the mill" when they haven't been there, I can only wonder WHERE that person heard it. Everywhere I turned people were raving about Mother's -- what circle must this person run in? And obviously that person may post here, but apparently never reads any other posts here which all seem to rave about Mothers -- not as the finest gourmet restaurant in America, by a long shot, but as a really good place for casual breakfast or lunch.

Thank you! I am actually open to hotel suggestions- not too late to change. Is the Heathman the best place to stay in city?

When I spend a weekend in Portland I usually check with the Portland Oregon Visitors Assoc (POVA)
They have hotel packages which usually include a breakfast and parking and they give you a coupon book which gives you discounts at many places including several of the nice restaurants - you might check with them and see what deals are available.
I have stayed at the 5th Ave Suites and thought it was fine -
never stayed at the Heathman -
I usually stay at the Marriot on the waterfront if available - they have a great breakfast and easy to walk everywhere

Thanks for the great review on Mother's, Patrick.

I'd sorta compare the Heathman and Benson hotels in Portland to the Waldorf Astoria in NYC. Not that either is nearly as good or opulent, but they're both old and have good reputations which largely lead to their success today. Having stayed in both, another thing they have in common with Waldorf Astoria is small rooms (at least the ones I stayed in). I'd stick with Fifth Ave. Suites, which has every bit as good a location.

The Inn at Northrup Station is in one of Portland's trendy shopping/restaurant districts, a little removed from the city center. You can easily access city center - for no cost - via a short walk, the streetcar, and MAX. Remember though, none of the respondents to this thread have ever stayed there.

For your "amazing restaurant" question, consider a place in the Pearl District, where you'll also find any number of places for after dinner drinks (Vault Martini is good if you're into those). From ***kim***'s list, that would include Bluehour, Hurley's, and Park Kitchen, all of which would be good choices. Hurley's is French with a NW twist (is the foodie word for that fusion?) in a small, intimate dining room. Think $$$. Park Kitchen looks like a place you might expect to find in Greenwich Village, with very good food prepared from fresh, local ingredients. The pastry chef here is one of the best around, and the bar is pretty good too. Bluehour attracts the see and be seen 20's - 30's crowd, so is very lively and noisy. As you'd expect, the bar is great. But of three, it would be my last choice, and not just because of the food.

Oh my, see a Portland thread and I can always expect that the ***Portland expert*** will reply. I was correct again, LOL!

By the way, I'm really curious which ratings Fifth Avenue Suites has slipped in recently? Specifics, please. Do we mean "ratings by the people who have never even stayed there" or ratings by actual rating boards, magazines, or polls?

Different strokes for different folks on Mother's. Sara, I would go to Park Kitchen for brunch and choose one of the other places for dinner from my list for that "amazing" restaurant you want.

The Riverplace Hotel is actually where we stay when we're in Portland. It's a luxury boutique hotel located right on the water. www.riverplacehotel.com is the website. We booked under the POVA deal in March and stayed in a King/Riverview room. It's a great place. Private spa room, fantastic service, gorgeous rooms and access to their athletic club about a block away where we like to swim.

The Heathman is very elegant and the couple of rooms we were shown were very tastefully decorated (no loud stripes like the 5th Ave.) A bit more classy, IMO. We had desserts at the restaurant and they were wonderful. We were shown a dinner menuand invited back, but we decided on leaving early to get over to our beach cottage on the coast. Hope you enjoy Portland and please report back! ***kim***

Guess you didn't read far enough to know that Park Kitchen's brunch ain't that great, ***kim***. Or, were you confusing what you read with the Heathman, which would be a much better choice for Sara's brunch. Personally though, I'd pass on both and go to Mother's. The Heathman is a little too..ummm..stuffy, and Park Kitchen's Sunday brunch is a big disappointment compared to other meal times there.

Mother's is great. It has won numerous awards. Best of all, the owner/chef moved in right next door to us when we lived in Portland. She told us she would occasionally be bringing us left-over bakery goodies, and then we moved away. I've been in deep mourning ever since, but it has probably helped my waistline! Whahhhh!

Here's Mother's website:

http://mothersbistro.citysearch.com/...Home_Page.html

Kim--What loud stripes on the walls? Hmmm...when I have stayed there (NOT toured it mind you, but actually slept in the bed and used the rooms), the 4 rooms we had had no loud stripes.

Sara--Do a search on all the posters names here. You will find some interesting comments I assure you! Plus many recommendations from a certain poster that has never actually been to places she recommends.

As a professional interior designer maybe my idea of "loud stripes" is different from some other people's. We had two suites at Fifth Avenue Suites. Both were almost identical in decor. Both had a wide stripe wallpaper of soft yellow and cream which I found very tasteful. In the bathrooms there was a companion paper that was a sort of large, damask design of the same soft yellow and cream. There were accents of green, some coral, and a touch of deeper gold. Furniture was pretty high quality reproduction classic. The most striking feature was a rather bright coral colored sofa in each room. The artwork was interesting. Compared to the off white painted plaster walls and the neutral, conservative, typical commercial furnishings of the room we had at the Riverplace -- these suites were very "high style" and "classy" in my opinion.

By the way, we stayed at the Riverplace once and were disappointed, mainly because it was such a long walk to anything, but also because of the incredible noise until the wee hours thanks to all the outdoor bars echoing between the buildings. We did not have a river facing room which may have been different.

I have stayed at 5th Avenue Suites many times. also the Heathman, Benson, Riverplace, and several others. I keep returning to 5th Ave for the friendly staff, the excellent location, the best parking (in the building!) the great restaurant and room service, and the lovely rooms.

Heathman is nice, but the staff is not as special and we have had billing problems (overcharge on room rate, charged for brunch we didn't attend, etc) each of the times we stayed there, and the manager had real attitude about correcting their errors.

Nothrup station is over by NW 23rd and Good Sam hospital. Hip in a orange and purple vinyl sort of way.

Have also eaten at many of the listed restaurants. Mothers is my favorite for brunch- awesome egg dishes and
french toast & bread pudding.

For dinner...Paley's is wonderful. I love Higgins, Wildwood and Bluehour, and Nuestra Coscina too. Bluehour is a fun place for drinks and people watching as well. Actually, there are tons of places in portland to go in the evening...it's hard to go wrong. In addition, cabs are cheap and public transport is easy, so you can drink without having to drive.

You'll have to forgive us for warning you about some ****posters**** who make a habit of badmouthing one particular hotel on 5th Avenue even though she's never been there. She is just hostile because she used to endlessly recommend Riverplace hotel and their 3 Degrees Restaurant---both places which have been roundly trashed in the Oregon press and on this and other boards. She "hears" a lot of things, but I think maybe its just the voices in her head1

The 5th Avenue Suites web page shows stripes on the walls -- if that is your frame of reference -- in a very small area.

Perhaps if you are actually staying in the hotel the stripes blend in a larger background area, and it's not noticable.

Just a thought...

Jim