maples75

I need some opinion. There are couple things that we never done this before:
1. Buying multiple airline ticket from dallas to portland and back from Seattle to dallas.
We are planning to stay in portland (5/26) couple day and then take amtrak cascade to Seattle (5/29) back to dallas on (6/02)
So basically we will stay in Portland for 3 days and Seattle for 3 days.

1.We need help in finding good reasonable hotel in Portland and Seattle area close to station.($50-$60/night) We have no kids and we like to sightseeing, see big city, and nature, of course taking pictures.
2. What MUST see in city and surrounding area.
Can anyone help if this a good initiary or need suggestion.

thanks!

Don

Looking at BiddingForTravel.com for prices in late May/early June last year, Portland shouldn't be a big problem for a 4* hotel downtown in your price range. Portland's a great city for 4* Priceline bidding--currently, you have a total of 8 bids (original bid, plus 7 free rebids). The hotel might not be close to the train station, but Portland's got great light rail and buses that can get you to the hotel from the train station. Downtown's not huge, so if you had to go the taxi route, that'd be inexpensive too.

I don't know of any "good reasonable hotels" in Seattle in your price range near the train station. You could try bidding for a 3* in the downtown area in your price range and seeing if you get one. There are several hotels in the Lake Union area that come up in that price range on Priceline (Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn, and Silver Cloud Inn) that get good reviews. Again, a taxi wouldn't be inordinately expensive, and there should be buses that'd get you from the train station to the Lake Union area.

So if you plan to get a hotel via Priceline, read the Hotel FAQs at BiddingForTravel.com to understand the strategy and use of free rebids.

You should try to see some combination of the following:
Portland: Japanese Garden, Rose Gardens, Pearl District, Chinese Garden

Near Portland (car required): Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah Falls

Seattle: Pike Place Market, Seattle Center (Space Needle, Experience Music Project), ferry to Bainbridge Island and back to Seattle, International District, Pioneer Square, Safeco Field (night games vs. Toronto on 5/30, 5/31, day game on 6/1)

Near Seattle (car required): Mount St. Helen's, Mt. Rainier, Snoqualmie Falls

Hope this helps (a little)...

Don

Oh, and you can do a search on this site for "Seattle" or "Portland" and get lots of great ideas for places to go and things to do in and around those cities.

Scarlett

We stayed at the 5th Avenue suites, so I cannot help you with hotels, but we were there this past Sept and cannot wait to go back.
We were there without a car, rented one for a day to drive up to the Historic Highway and saw all the waterfalls. I do recommend that! They bring the car right to the hotel, it was $35 for one day. We took a picnic and had such a great day out , it is so beautiful in Oregon!
Wonderful areas within the city that are easy to get to by Metro and street car are the Japanese Gardens, I long to go back there soon..the Chinese Gardens, walk along the Riverfront.
The Pearl District ( if you know NYC & Soho, you will feel right at home in the Pearl) NW23rd street, great for shopping and eating..actually ALL of Portland is great for eating
We bought tickets and saw a ballet and the Taiko Drummers.
The city itself is lovely and easy to get around on foot. Lots of fountains and art works..very nice people.
Your trip sounds like it will be great, have fun!

Fodorite018

You have received great advice on both places. A ballgame at Safeco is a lot of fun! I took amtrak many years ago between OR and WA and it was a very scenic ride. You do not have much time in either city, but try to rent a car for at least one day in each so you can get out and see the sites that are not right in the immediate area.

maples75

thank you so much for everyone input.
This is really help us to get a big picute.

beachbum

Not wanting to complicate things for you, but it seems a shame to come this far and not see the coast. It's about a 1.5 hour drive from Portland.

kimamom

maples, the Riverplace Hotel is gorgeous. It is one of the four star hotels listed on Priceline, but the odds of you getting it are pretty rare but you could give it a shot and see what happens! We loved our stay there and will be returning again in March.

Actually, a drive over to the coast is much less than 1.5. We've done the drive many times in a little over an hour. Cannon Beach, Seaside and Astoria would all be worth checking out. Astoria is full of culture and history, www.oldoregon.com It's a gorgeous area to photograph.

Spend an afternoon visiting the Maritime Museum (we'll have some items on display in a few months, we're working with the curator right now), wine taste, shop, spa and have lunch at one of the great restaurants with gorgeous views of the Columbia River. ***kim***

beachbum

Here we go again. The distance from my house in SW Portland to the center of Cannon Beach is 80 miles, about the same to Seaside, but further yet to your beloved Astoria. If you're driving that in "much less than 1.5" hours, kim, you're breaking the law. And you're misinforming people here.

kimamom

I'm not the one doing the driving Beachbum, but I'll certainly relay your message to my driver, LOL!! ***kim***

Scarlett

careful, beachbum, someone is following you around & calling you names LOL


maples, Riverplace is expensive and not in the middle of Portland and not near the station.

Patrick

Did I miss something here? maples asks for a hotel in the $50-$60 range and we hear about the Riverplace?

By the way, we stayed at the Riverplace once. Yes, it was a nice hotel, nothing fantastic. I didn't see much about the views except for seeing the rest of the commercial development. And it was too far a walk to everything except those restaurants there, which all seemed so tourist trappish. That's why we've booked at Fifth Avenue Suites this summer. We also stayed at the Marriott on a 4th of July once and faced the river and park. I actually liked that hotel and its location better than the Riverplace. To each his own. I just don't like being that far from "the action".

Can't help with hotels in maples' price range however.

kimamom

yes, Scartlett knows these things, she visited Portland once in September, LOL!! ***kim***

Scarlett

Yes, kim, you are right , for once.
I do know where Riverplace is located. I do know where the station is. I do know that the rates for the Riverplace hotel are not $50-60..
I also took that drive from Portland, downtown, from the 5th Ave Suites to Cannon Beach.
We skipped Seaside on the advice of posters here and in travel guides, because the consensus was that it is a bit on the cheesy side.
Imagine how much I will know after I go back again this summer!

kimamom

yes Patrick, the Riverplace is on Priceline for $60/night. But the administrator on the site said it is very rare that bidders actually get it.

The property is so beautiful, when did you stay there? They have recenlty renovated and it's better than ever. I'm trying to talk some travelers into the Priceline thing but they are insisting on the Riverplace! ***kim***

kimamom

oh, note to maples75: the Benson is going for around the price you want and it is getting favorable reviews on biddingfortravel.com Good Luck! ***kim***

lcuy

Well, I have lived in Oregon and since have visited Portland too many times to count and I say:

maples, Riverplace is expensive and not in the middle of Portland and not near the station.

Gardyloo

If you can get the Benson or other 4-star hotel at your price point on Priceline, go for it. Portland is genrally a good area to look for hotels on PL.

Othewise, follow in the steps of many thousands of budget-oriented folks (ourselves included for years...) and look at the Mallory Hotel, www.malloryhotel.com.

Note that Memorial Day weekend is not the easiest time to find budget accommodation in the Pacific NW.

Also note that weekend in Seattle is when the Northwest Folklife Festival takes place at Seattle Center. Major collection of musicians, dancers, etc. from around the world.

kimamom

Yes, it is Gardyloo, Seattle doesn't look as good. The list for Portland hotels is quite nice for their four-star hotels. As far as the Riverplace being expensive, I don't call $139/night on a weekend that outrageous! ***kim***

Patrick

It's been quite a while since we stayed there, in fact it was quite new, 10 years ago? It was connected with the Alexis where we stayed in Seattle. (Is it still, I dont' know?). So it didn't need renovating then as it was very new. It just didn't strike me as anything special. And last time in Portland, a couple years ago, we ventured down there one evening and realized how big that "development" has become -- we just thought of it as a sort of touristy zoo. Sorry. Just our opinion of the area. Give me downtown anytime.