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Portland has an unusually rich variety of distinctive, design-driven boutique hotels, historic properties, and charming B&Bs, and while you’ll find the usual mix of budget-oriented, midrange, and upscale chains here, if you’d rather avoid cookie-cutter brand-name properties, you’re in the right city.
While you won’t find ultraluxury brands like Four Seasons or W Hotels, the vast majority of downtown properties are high-end, with the rates to prove it, especially during the week when conventions are in town, and during the summer high season, when many properties command at least double what they can during the slower, wetter winter months.
If you are watching your pennies, the good news is that Portland has a nice variety of relatively affordable lodging options just across the river from downtown in the somewhat bland but conveniently situated Lloyd District (in the city’s Northeast neighborhood), and also quite a few charming, intimate inns within walking distance of the trendy dining-and-retail neighborhoods on the East Side, such as Division Street, East Burnside, and Northeast Alberta. As is the case in most cities, you can also find excellent deals around the airport as well as just across the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington—the latter is a good base if you’re dividing your time between Portland and the Columbia Gorge and are looking to save a little money.
Hotels downtown, in Lloyd District (by the convention center), and in some cases out by the airport are within easy walking distance of MAX light rail, and wherever you stay in Portland, you’re generally close to a bus line with access to downtown. If you have a car, bear in mind that downtown hotels typically charge from $20 to $40 for overnight parking; you can save a bit at off-site garages, but a car is still a real added expense. Parking is far less or sometimes even free in Nob Hill and the Lloyd District, and it’s almost always free at B&Bs, which tend to be in neighborhoods where a car is handy anyway.
Another big reason a B&B might make a better option than a larger hotel is that most of Portland’s are in lively neighborhoods abundant with distinctive shopping and dining, and most often, an inn will offer unique guest rooms, deluxe home-cooked breakfasts, and friendly and knowledgeable innkeepers—all in all a more personal and authentic Portland experience.
Bright colors, bold patterns, and retro designs create a cheerful vibe at this hotel, which contains upscale apartment-style suites with full kitchens or kitchenettes as well as patios (or balconies) adjoining most units, and a garden terrace for all guests to use. All suites have two TVs, an iHome and USB ports, and large sitting areas, and the complimentary continental breakfast is quite good.
In a renovated elementary school near Northeast Portland's trendy Alberta District, Oregon's famously creative McMenamin brothers hoteliers created a quirky and fantastical multiuse facility with guest rooms that feature original schoolhouse touches like chalkboards and cloakrooms and literature-inspired themes, a movie theater, a restaurant, a warm outdoor soaking pool, a brewery, and several small bars. This may be one of the most unusual (and fun) hotels you'll ever encounter—the casual Courtyard restaurant, "a school cafeteria like no other," has mahogany booths, an outdoor space for warmer days, decent pub food, and ales brewed in-house, and you can enjoy cocktails and classical music in Honors Bar, or play billiards and shuffleboard in the Boiler Room Bar—depending on your mood. Guest rooms occupy former classrooms, and each has tall windows and a hand-painted mural depicting a nursery rhyme or teacher.
The grand lobby of the former Multnomah Hotel, built in 1912, offers an extravagant welcome to this all-suites hotel that's close to both the riverfront and Old Town and is home to beloved Mother's Bistro. The spacious accommodations have large windows, sitting rooms, sofa beds, microwaves, refrigerators, and wet bars. Amenities include a good-sized indoor pool and fitness center.
A short walk both to the Lloyd Center mall and MAX station, this three-level apartment-style complex with large, fully equipped suites is perfect for extended-stay visitors and families. Rooms come equipped with full kitchens and ample room to spread out, and many have wood-burning fireplaces. There's a large complimentary breakfast buffet each morning and regular hors d'oeuvres receptions. Pets are allowed with a deposit, and there's a pet area outside.
This contemporary all-suites hotel in the modern, mixed-use RiverPlace neighborhood is one of the few Portland lodgings right on the Willamette River. Set in the southern edge of downtown, this midrise hotel is in a refreshingly uncrowded area but a little far on foot from downtown's prime cultural and dining neighborhoods. It's a favorite of extended-stay visitors, as all rooms have full kitchens and many have more than one bedroom. There's a well-equipped fitness center and an indoor pool, and rates include a full breakfast along with evening socials with free appetizers and drinks.
Each room in this large, four-level all-suites inn is spacious (500 square feet) and bright, and has a fridge, microwave, wet bar, and three TVs (including one in the bathroom). The indoor pool and hot tub are open 24 hours.
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