Portland Prize....the Westin Portland
Written: Oct 21 '01 (Updated Jan 28 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Small hotel with attentive service and large rooms--thoroughly pleasant
Cons: Dining room too trendy
The Bottom Line: Westin's foray into the "boutique hotel" market is a good start. Its unassuming exterior is easily missed, but the hotel inside its walls deserves its 4 stars and 4 diamonds.
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| tombarnes's Full Review: The Westin Portland |
The new Westin Portland Hotel fits nicely into a busy street in vibrant downtown Portland, Oregon. With just 205 rooms, this is a relatively small hotel for a chain known for meeting-box hotels. The location is excellent for business or leisure needs and the staff are more than accommodating. Portland is a great place to visit because of the genuine pride in the city taken by its residents. Even the taxi drivers seem pleased to live there.
Lobby
The lobby is fairly small, with a mellow stone floor and cherry paneling. A library-like sitting area with a (gas jet) fireplace, bookshelves and comfortable chairs is just off to the right. Painted in a sunny yellow, this space always seems cheerful--much needed in a place famed for its gloomy skies. I visited in July of 2000 and the skies were clear and bright.
Registration at the desk is painless as there are never any long lines.
Rooms
The rooms here are large and pleasant, with good views from the upper floors. The rooms have higher ceilings than most, giving the rooms a feeling of space and light. Furniture is of the modern, yet timeless sort that is comfortable and attractive without drawing too much attention to itself. Small touches like CD players add to the sense of comfort. The much-hyped "Heavenly Bed" is worth all of the hype. If you take a nap in these beds, be sure to ask for a wake-up call, or you just might miss dinner. Good reading chairs with ample light, lots of closet space--the rooms have been well thought out. Baths are very good as well, with soft brown stone tiles, shaving/make-up mirrors and other touches. Linens are plentiful and thick. You will not need to call for more. Bath amenities are good-especially the soap.
Dining
Oritalia, the dining room, is a big room with some attractive features that somehow get lost in the profusion of draperies , wrought-iron chandeliers and colorful pendant lights. They are trying very,very hard to be trendy here. I am not sure that it really works. I only had breakfast here, which was perfectly fine--not remarkable at all. I had a look at the dinner menu which appears to be of the Mediterranean/fusion variety. Usually skeptical about fusion cooking, I stayed away. Portland has some great new restaurants. You might want to check some of them out before taking a chance on this one. Cafe Azul is a terrific place with more serious Mexican cooking than one usually finds north of the border. If you were thinking of visiting Atwater's, think again, because this once-great restaurant closed earlier this year.
Recreation
There is a good fitness room here. The staff may be able to provide arrangements for you to swim at the nearby Hilton or the YMCA.
Service
The service here is very prompt and friendly. The Concierge staff were able to get restaurant reservations whenever asked and were competent with regard to transportation arrangements. Messages were delivered promptly.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tombarnes
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 - Top 200 |
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Member: Thomas Barnes
Location: Fort Lauderdale & Washington, DC
Reviews written: 688
Trusted by: 444 members
About Me:
With Barbara in Miami, 2004
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