Pam1951

It is me again with another Portland question. We will be staying in Portland for four or five nights in Feb. Will take day trip to Columbia River Gorge, a trip to wineries, then probably two days sightseeing in Portland. I can see from biddingfortravel.com reviews that $18 or $20 daily parking is standard downtown. What about staying in some of other priceline areas? Would we avoid parking fees? What about traffic? Would we be in car forever? Thanks so much for your help

Pam

Nuanda99

What do you mean by Priceline areas? If you want to stay downtown you will pay parking fees. Some hotels (Marriott on Front) offer packages that include parking. If you stay at the Kennedy school in NE Portland parking is free. You can always take the Max downtown. I live in NE and park at the Lloyd Center and take Max downtown for free.

Andrew

Pam, I would avoid the Tigard and Beaverton PL zones for sure. The NW Portland zone will probably be near trains in the industrial district (you'll likely get that Holiday Inn Select right off the freeway and 23rd Ave if you win that zone). But NW Portland is a very quick drive to downtown. The North Harbor zone isn't too far of a drive to downtown. Airport zone is a little further out but not horrible.

But as Colfax30 said to you on BFT, you might consider biting the bullet and just paying the parking cost to stay downtown. He listed options there like alternate lots.

As a compromise, you may simply avoid having a car for at least one of those two days in Portland and see stuff on foot or via bus/train. Portland is a very walkable city. If your agenda puts Portland as the last stop on your trip, maybe you drop the car off a day early downtown (most car rental agencies allow you to drop off at a different location close to the airport here - ask when you reserve). You'll probably find it easier not having to deal with parking when seeing stuff downtown, anyway.

Andrew

kimamom

Pam, have you made any restaurant decisions yet? Jake's Crawfish is very good, they have valet parking, so you don't have to worry about parking there.

We also like Harborside, located right on the waterfront. Delicious, fresh seafood and Newport Bay is very good for a casual lunch or dinner. Located right on the water. Very good seafood ravioli there.

If you're into carriage rides, catch one right out in front of the RiverPlace Hotel. It's great fun and a nice way to see the city.

Lucere at the RiverPlace Hotel has excellent breakfasts. We sit out on the patio on the summer and enjoy the beautiful water views. Lots of activity going on down on the waterfront! Make sure you bring some nice, comfortable walking shoes! ***kim**

SaraLM

There is cheaper parking available if you don't use the hotel parking, however you may have to walk a few blocks to/from your hotel. I think the cheapest parking in downtown Portland is SmartPark (look for the red guy tipping his hat), there are several in downtown.

Personally, I would prefer to stay in downtown Portland. I have stayed in NE Portland once and it was at a great place but not close to what I wanted to see.

Hope you have a great time. Where are you planning to stay on your wineries tour? Are you overnighting in Hood River on your Gorge drive?

Enjoy!

Gardyloo

Only in my opinion, but except for a few places, like McMenamin's Kennedy School or the Edgefield, neither of which comes up on Priceline, downtown is the only zone to try in Portland. The other zones may have some okay places, but you will be lashed to your car, and when you do drive downtown you'll have to pay to park anyway, so while it won't be $20 a day it might easily amount to $10 for parking meters or lots, etc. The four-star rates for downtown being reported on BFT are so low that even with biting the bullet and paying for parking it's still a bargain.

Traffic is no biggie, aside from limited commuter crunches on the freeways, but in February having your car close to where you are is a real convenience if you find yourselves dashing through the rain to get to it. Which you will.

Pam1951

Thank you all for your comments. We will stay downtown. We will do the Columbia River Gorge trip as a day trip and may even do several wineries as a day trip. This looks do-able to me - I think the Willamette Valley Winery is about 60 miles from Portland. Now we are thinking about four nights in Portland, two in Cannon Beach, one further down the coast (any suggestions?) and then final night near the Portland airport. I really appreciate the time spent answering my questions.

Pam

beachbum

Pam,
Not sure what you're thinking, but your time will be much better spent visiting some of the many wineries in the Newberg/Dundee/Yamhill area, closer to Portland than Willamette Valley Vineyards, which is south of Salem.

Willamette Valley gets a lot of visitors because it's easily visible from I-5, but you'll find as good or better wines at most other vineyards.

You might try the Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport as a "further down the coast" accommodation. It's a B&B with rooms themed after writers. My wife and I stayed in the E.A. Poe room a number of years ago. Remember the Pit and the Pendulum?

Rather than the cookie cutter airport hotel, why don't you stay at Edgefield? It's only a few minutes away, most of it freeway.

kimamom

Two nights in CB sounds wonderful! That way you could also see Seaside and Astoria. If it's really rainy, check out the Maritime Museum in Astoria.

It has recently been renovated and it's awesome! There is also a very nice aquatic center there and a very small, private winery called Shallon. The tastings are free and the owner/winemaker will entertain you with stories for a good half an hour.

If you're into fine art, check out the Valley Bronze of Oregon in downtown Astoria. It has recently re-located from Cannon Beach. [email protected] is the website.

I just received the latest info from Coast Weekend and they have given several restaurants in the Seaside/Astoria/Washington Coast recent awards. I will be posting them later in the week. Very interesting, there are some real hidden treasures out there! Have a great trip.

The recommend for the SBH is a good one. We have considered staying there on past trips. Sounds like a really unique place. If you want to keep your wine buying prices down, check out the Wine Haus in Seaside, located in the outlet there. They have a very nice selection of wines from all over the world.

Nice to see your plans being finalized, where are you considering staying in Cannon Beach? ***kim***

SaraLM

I second Beachbum - go down Hwy 99 to the wineries. Many more on that side and a greater variety. It would easily be combined with the trip from the coast. If you stay in Newport, take hwy 20 east to Corvallis, then take Hwy 99 north towards McMinnville. There are lots of wineries and I believe there is a brochure out there with a map and directions to each one. Newport to Corvallis is about an hour and Corvallis to McMinnville is about an hour (no stops at wineries of course) so leaving early from Newport would give you plenty of time I think.