Which chain hotel in Portland???
 

I will be accompanying my husband on a business trip to Boston at the end of October and we are going to try to go to Maine to see friends the weekend after. We would like to use hotel points (Marriott or Hilton) to stay in Portland (our friends are in Camden). Which property would you choose? The Hilton Garden Inn on the water looks nice but it is a category 5! Is it worth it? Unless the other properties are total dumps I am thinking it would be better to stay at a cheaper property (points wise) like the Embassy Suites and save the points for Europe trip. We will be driving up to see friends and only using the hotel as a place to sleep on Fri and Sat.

Any thoughts?

Any chain hotel in/near Portland would be fine, and you should save the points for someplace else, especially if you only need a place to sleep! The Hilton Garden is not right on the water. It is across the street from the ferry terminal, so there are a lot of buildings between the hotel and the harbor.

Thanks for your thoughts. We will be going with a cheaper option. Would you choose the Fairfield Inn at Portland Mall, Homewood Suites at Scarborough or the Embassy Suites (based on location alone)?

Portland is a 2 hour drive from Camnden. Is that where you want to be?

Our biggest issue is that we need to use hotel points (Marriott or Hilton) and I thought Portland was closest to Camden (and Warren where I want to go to see where my mother's ancestors lived in the 1700s). Is there a closer option that would also not get us too far from Boston. We are traveling with our 4 mo. old so we will need to stop every couple of hours to feed her on the drive. Open to any suggestions.

I'm not sure where the Embassy Suites are. The Fairfield in is only about 10 minutes into Portland, but it sounds like you're not really planning to visit the city. You just need a place for the night. Or if you just need a place to stop and feed the baby, there are plenty of places to do that without spending the night. You could easily make it from Boston to Camden without an overnight. Have you searched on-line to see if there are any Marriott or Hilton options in the Camden area? Scarborough is south of Portland so I wouldn't pick that if I wanted to be closer to Camden.

There are probably no chain hotels in Camden. However, Camden and Rockport are really cute seaside towns. Check out tripadvisor.com. Many places are likely to be closed for the winter, but you should be able to find some place nice and inexpensive. You can find plenty of places along the way to pull over and feed the baby.

With a new baby and me not working at the moment we are poor so the only way we can do this trip is using frequent flier points and hotel points. So we have to stay in a Marriott or hilton so our options are Portland or Augusta. I figured Portland as not sure what time husband's meeting will conclude on Friday. If early we could take our time coming up from Boston and if late then we could take the interstate all the way and be in Portland ready to start out in the morning and take our time getting up to Warren and Camden. I really don't want to drive all the way in the dark on Friday and not be able to see anything of the countryside on the drive. At least if we stay in Portland and do the drive late then I can see some of it in the morning on the way up. Plus a Saturday night in Portland would allow us more time on Sunday to look around before heading back to the airport in Boston.

Fairfield inn is fine if it's less points than all the rest, but it is in a high-traffic area pretty close to a huge mall surrounded by mini-malls. Marriot Sable Oaks is very nice, and I'd take Embassy Suites over Fairfield Inn any day if it's the same points. Hilton Garden Inn at the airport is fairly new and nice, but probably more points. There's also a Residence Inn and I think a Courtyard or a Townplace Suites in Scarborough...these are just a couple of miles from the Fairfield or Embassy which are actually in South Portland. They are all convenient to the freeway so go with the lowest points I guess. With a baby you might like the extra space at Residence Inn or Townplace Suite.

Thanks for the additional information. It all makes more sense now! I agree with the previous poster - any of the hotel chains around Portland would be fine, so go with the one that "cost" the least points. Portland is a small, safe easy-to-get around place so where ever you stay, you won't be far from the center of things. Portland has a lovely old port section that is fun to walk around in, even if you aren't shopping. If it is a nice day, it doesn't cost much to buy a ticket on the ferry that goes out to the islands. You don't have to get off, it makes a nice boat ride in the harbor.

I want to give you some added suggestions with travelling with your 4 month old. We have a little one. She will be one next month. We have gone on several road trips since she was born. I HIGHLY suggest you stay in a suite style with a separate bedroom. I believe the embassy suites have a separate area. In a tiny room, it is very hard to be quiet enough... Good luck

Embassy Suites in Portland is near the airport, slightly west of I-95, a relatively short distance from downtown.Very nice hotel. All the ones I've stayed in have been family-friendly. I always like the suite set-up if it's not cost-prohibitive. I'd definitely choose it over the other hotels when traveling with family.

Thank you all for the information. We ended up at the Embassy Suites for one night at the end of the trip (ended up having a few more days in Maine) and it was just what we needed. The rooms are small but they are undergoing a remodel and our room was really nice actually (when I traveled for work I usually avoided Embassy Suites as they are generally IMO a little long in the tooth). Small but nice. The lobby has yet to be remodled but should be nice when completed. We just got home last night and I will post a trip report as soon as I can get it typed up (with a baby in one arm). Thank you again...your state is lovely!