Going to Portland in Summer

Have made a reservation at The Benson. Read mixed reviews.

Anyone been there recently? Any other suggestions. Would like a

4-5 star hotel.

Going to Portland in Summer

The Heathman

The Governor

The Westin

5th Avenue Suites

There are more but they all are very nice hotels.

I am most familiar with the 5th Ave Suites, they are rated as one of Top 500 Hotels in the US and they are going for 4 or 5 star status (which might make them the ONLY 4 or 5 star hotel in Portland)

They all have websites, I guess you should just look at them and compare what you like about a hotel to what they have.

They are all in the same vicinity- Benson is about 3 blocks from the 5th Ave Suites, I like the location better of the 5th Ave Suites.

The Heathman is nice, mixed reviews there also, kind of stuffy , an older crowd. The Governor seems to be the same. Westin is beautiful but has huge construction project going on right across the street.

Hope this helps :)

Going to Portland in Summer

I have not stayed at the Benson, tho we did enjoy a nice lunch there one summer at the London Grill. The hotel is very pretty, in a good location. We really enjoyed our stay at the Heathman Hotel in the Symphony Suite. The hotel has won many awards and has been featured in many prestigious publications, it%26#39;s very nice and the restaurant there is excellent with a great chef, Philippe Boulet. We enjoyed a very good dinner and Sunday brunch there.

Another one of our favorites is the Riverplace Hotel, down by the waterfront. It is a Larkspur property, very luxurious and the rooms are nicely appointed. Our last stay we had a King Riverview room that was nice, right next to the private spa room where you can book appointments in advance for a jacuzzi and steam. They also have a good restaurant Three Degrees with decent food and nice views of the water.

If you are looking for some great places to dine in Portland, pick up the Feb. issue of Sunset magazine, there is a very nicely done 6 page article called ';Portland cooks'; that I enjoyed reading. clarklewis, Paley%26#39;s Place and several others are mentioned along with some good recipes from Tabla and Paley%26#39;s. Have a great trip! :)

Another vote for the 5th Avenue Suites. Although I live here, we have stayed at this hotel several times and will be there again this weekend. It is a beautiful hotel, great location (can walk everywhere on the west side of the river from here), rooms are very nice and the staff is so helpful. They have a nice wine tasting each evening, around 5ish, which is nice. Their valet is underground, so if it is raining when you are here, that is a nice feature.

Syrahgirl--So where are you staying here on your next visit? Or will you just drive straight through again?

Whenever Washington DC dignitaries come to town, they always stay in the Benson. Don%26#39;t ask me why. Like Scarlett, I question if we have a four star hotel in the city, much less five.

If ';stuffy'; is a factor, I%26#39;d rate the Benson right there with Heathman. I%26#39;m sure Scarlett will question this, but both remind me in a small way of Waldorf Astoria in NYC. My impression is that the Governor and 5th Ave. Suites are less so, but every bit as good or better hotels.

If a central location is important, I agree that 5th Ave. Suites and Benson are your best bets, followed by Heathman and Governor. Riverplace is at the south end of the downtown core, and a bit of a hike.

';If you are looking for some great places to dine in Portland, pick up the Feb. issue of Sunset magazine.'; You might get more current and better advice if you asked us locals. ;-)

I tend to base my suggestions or recommendations on hotels that I have stayed in for more than one night, years ago, so I respectfully disagree with our visitor syrahgirl.

Riverplace would be my last suggestion , especially when they ask for a 4-5 star hotel.

Since the 5th Ave Suites is going for the 5 star status ( the Only 5 star hotel in Portland) I would recommend it over the others.

But a lot of it is a matter of taste and your pocketbook.

The Benson, Heathman and Governor are all similar, big old , traditional hotels, there is nothing wrong with them.

The Heathman renovated SOME rooms and apparently there were people who were able to stay in some suites for a reduced price right after they finished. I have not read that many good reviews .. but that is something you can look at Cleff, go to TripAdvisor Hotel Reviews..you might get a better overview of them all.

Good luck~

No mistletoe, stuffy and the Waldorf are good comparisons, although I would prefer the Waldorf lol.

and yes, we have had dinner enough times at the Heathman to disagree about the wonderful chef and dining .. they miss more times than they hit, regardless if he comes out and shakes our hands and welcomes us.

I am personally not a huge fan of Sunset Magazine. I like it for some things, but they did a write up on my town (a Portland suburb) a couple years ago and were so off base with wrong directions, wrong facts, etc. The article read as if someone had no actually been here, but had googled and gotten wrong info, so since then I take it all with a huge grain of salt.

If you are interested in places to eat, yes, ask the locals here. You might also want to check www.portlandfood.org.

Here%26#39;s another vote for the 5th Avenue Suites. We stayed there last summer for three nights and enjoyed it very much. Our room was very comfortable and the restaurant was quite good. We also enjoyed the wine tasting the in evenings. A few weeks after we made our reservation, I noticed that the rates had dropped a bit and they let us upgrade to a suite which cost us less than the standard room we originally booked. That was a nice bonus.

We%26#39;ve only had dinner at the restaurant, London Grill, and the ambience of the downstairs portion was quite upscale and elegant. However, we didn%26#39;t see the rooms. Of course, since it%26#39;s been a AAA 4-Diamond hotel for the past 12 years, I imagine it%26#39;s quite nice. The location is superb, within walking distance to all the theaters and great restaurants. The area is well lit and safe.

London Grill is also the only Portland restaurant to be given the 4 Diamond award, getting it 7 years running now, one of only two in the whole state to earn this award (the other is the dining room at Salishan on the coast). It has along with Wine Spectator%26#39;s ';Best of Award of Excellence'; 7 years running.

Other suggestions for you:

AAA 4-Diamond Hotels (No Portland hotel is 5-diamond rated)

Heathman Hotel (22 yrs)

Riverplace Hotel (21 yrs)

Benson Hotel (12 yrs)

Hotel Monaco (10 years running)

Westin Hotel (7 yrs)

Hotel Vintage Plaza (6 yrs.)

Governor Hotel (6 yrs)

Hope this helps. Welcome to Portland!

You should clarify, J%26amp;S, that Hotel Monaco is the new name of the refurbished 5th Ave. Suites.

And what do you think about AAA%26#39;s rating system? I%26#39;ve had dinner at London Grill several times, and also at Salishan back in its hay day. Never been particularly impressed at either place. And I know there%26#39;s a big disconnect between the AAA rating and the opinions of those close to the Portland food scene.