We also have also stayed at most of the named hotels, and I guess I too would say the 5th Avenue Suites, but honestly I'm not <i>that</i> knocked out by the place. Kimpton Kute can get to you after a few visits to the 5thVintageMonacoAlexises and their ilk. We stayed recently at the Benson and it was surprisingly fine despite its ownership; the Westin is nice too.

I will defer to locals and pilgrims from Dixie ;) when it comes to restaurants. We are tragically stuck in our ways where PDX is involved - Bread and Ink, Ringside for a steak-and-flashlight protein orgy, Papa Haydn's for carbo-loading, etc. The Red Star (attached to the 5th Ave. Suites) indeed does a fine breakfast - good beignets, a rarity west of the Mississippi. The Heathman is always a good bet.

IIRC the last Thanksgiving I spent in Portland was eons ago at some relatives' house out where Portland merges with Arkansas on the east side; the turkey was served up with a huge family fight for a side dish. We skedaddled before the tryptophan had time to do its thing. Not much help, kattravel, sorry...

gardyloo, we haven't stayed at the Benson but did have a very elegant lunch there this summer. Gorgeous lobby and dining room. Glad you enjoyed your stay there. :)

Agree about Papa Haydn's, very yummy desserts and an amazing selection! ***kim*** ((*))

I just posted our trip but we really enjoyed the Paramount, great location to get everywhere. Parking stinks at $24 a night but if you don't need a car it's not an issue. The garage a block down was a better deal. The Paramount had helpful staff, great service overall. Only complaint would be slight street noise (we overlooked Taylor) and only 2 elevators (occassionally had to wait). We'd stay again easily and it was 1/2 the price of the 5th Ave. Our friends enjoyed breakfast at teh Heathman more than dinner so that could be another option.

When booking the Paramount - check out the cost through Portland Visitors Assoc - you get free parking with their Big Deal package and breakfast is also included .

Gardyloo--LOL! We are headed back up your direction for Thanksgiving with family. I hope ours doesn't turn into what you described, but I am not holding my breath:D Thankfully if it gets bad we can escape to friends houses, lol!

Except for the salmon/potato cakes and the crab/potato cakes, Wildwood has always been a disappointment for us. It just never lived up to expectations (we went to a lot of business dinners there). Desserts at Papa Haydn's didn't impress as much as we expected and it was always a bit too hectic there for our taste. And we didn't like Jake's either (only ate there twice, but both times our fish was served with WAY too much butter), guess we are just out of step, LOL.
Despite the many excellent newcomers on the Portland restaurant scene, Higgins remains our personal favorite restaurant.
By the way, do (does?) the Fifth Avenue Suites still have those musical motif shower curtains? We freeload on friends in Vancouver or in-laws in McMinnville, so aren't up on the hotel scene.

BTilke--Yes, the shower curtains are the music theme, lol! Isn't is great to stay with friends though? When we head back to WA in a few weeks, we decided to stay at a hotel this time instead of with friends or family. It will be fun to try a few different places for a change.

LOL Gardyloo, tell me about Bread and Ink (please)..
It is nice to hear about the Benson from someone who has actually stayed there and not just used their lobby bathroom .
We had lunch at the Red Star last week, soup and an amazing salad.
kattravel, Bluehour is over rated, mostly by tourists who have been there once.
I have to agree that Papa Haydns is not as fabulous as I was led to believe .. we had lunch there a couple of times and I can only say it was ordinary.
Just go across the street to Moonstruck Chocolates and fill up on Truffles :)
Simone, Manzanas. They make a grilled chicken quesadilla that I love, we were there often when the weather was permitting outdoor tables..pup only ate in the finest Pearl establishements LOL
eroz, what a great rate you got! Was it for a regular room or a suite?

I like the shower curtains in the 5th Ave Suites, the black and white music motif with the yellow walls, it is cheerful and pretty.

kattravel, even if you don't stay there, the Vintage has a restaurant downstairs called Pozzol. Fresh pasta with lovely sauces. Next door is my favorite Thai restaurant, Typhoon.

duh, the restaurant at the Vintage is Pozzo. sorry:)

Thanks again to everyone...I really appreciate all of the feedback and wonderful suggestions. We can't wait to try out some of those restaurants!!

I think we are going to go with the 5th Avenue Suites. As the trip is still over 2 weeks away, PLEASE feel free to post anymore opinions on the hotels as we can always try and change :)

Regardless, I'll report back after our trip.

Thanks again!!!

Scarlett, Bread and Ink is on Hawthorn a block or so west of the Baghdad cinebar. We've been there only a few times outside of weekend brunches, so I really can't speak too knowledgeably about dinners and non-brunches, except that it's always good and reasonably priced. I believe the menu changes with some regularity.

For weekend breakfasts, though, it remains our fave place in Portland - they do a sort of &quot;Jewish platter&quot; spread - lox, whitefish (hard to get in the West), good Bialys (ditto) and in general we just sort of settle in and expend a chunk of time in noshing bliss, usually with friends or family, which appears to be the norm in the place. Try it, I bet you'll like it.

As for Papa Haydn's, we only go for the pastry, and only certain items. The entrees and other main dishes are okay to good, seldom excellent. But they do a helluva Linzer torte. And as an Alaska friend once said, &quot;With enough schlag you can make a boot taste delicious.&quot;

&quot;...Enough schlagg&quot;.. LOL

Thank you. I have not had whitefish or bialys since we left NYC almost 2 years ago,( sniffle sniffle.)

We had lunch at Papa Haydns last year on our first visit here, thought I just ordered the wrong thing, but every time we try it, the same thing happens. It just misses somehow.
There are so many new places here, Olea is blocks from our door, sigh..
It is a good thing Pup walks us every day ~

OK all you darling Oregonians, what is bialy's. Obviously something I have been missing. A description please. Thank you!

Well , they taste like onion :)
More like bread than bagels..sort of flat and round, I think they were named for Bialystock..no not Max LOL

Scarlett dear, hmmm, well you can introduce them to me when I finally get to Portland. I love onions btw. Sort of flat and round, like pita bread maybe??

&quot;letto,
Are they &quot;yummy&quot; bialys? :-?

L'Italy....figgers' someone from &quot;your neck of the woods&quot; would like onions!
Ahhhhhhhh...the good ol' days! ;)

Bialys take different shapes - most common is roughly bagel-shaped, but with a flat spot instead of a hole in the center (hopefully containing onion shavings that have been baked brown), but occasionally more elongated - like very hefty bread sticks. The consistency is less chewy than bagels. Actually, imagine a &quot;thick crust&quot; pizza dough with not much of a center for the toppings.

As with all such things, they are wonderful cream cheese delivery systems.

LOL, Kal, I think stock in Google and CitySearch is going UP !

Love, not flat like bread or pita, more like a flattened bagel, oniony, good with cream cheese..sigh..I need to go back to NYC for a visit..are we allowed to bring home bags of frozen bagels etc?

Gardyloo, we were posting at the same time :D
Yes, you hope for that little treat in the center ~

Pozzo????? LOL The correct name is Pazzo Ristorante at the Vintage Plaza for those trying to find this place. ***kim*** ((l))