Portland Oregon places to stay

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hey is portland any good to visit over the xmas/new year period and can anyone tell me about cheap places to stay, preferably in an interesting area that's walking distance from other areas that are also interesting? i wannna be near art galleries, bookshops, music shops, live music places - like most people...

― sasha maher (sasha-san), Saturday, 27 September 2003 07:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Walking distance isn't so important in Portland b/c of the excellent bus system there. Anyway, try the Hawthorne district- across the river from downtown, but very, very easy to get back & forth. Hawthorne's cool on its own, anyway.

― lyra (lyra), Saturday, 27 September 2003 07:43 (twenty-two years ago)

what about the pearl district - is it central re what i'm interested? hawthorne sounds good.

― Clare (not entirely unhappy), Saturday, 27 September 2003 08:43 (twenty-two years ago)

haha you are going to stalk sleater-kinney aren't you?

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Saturday, 27 September 2003 09:04 (twenty-two years ago)

or maybe the minor thirds?

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Saturday, 27 September 2003 09:07 (twenty-two years ago)

no no - we're kinda over them in the stalking sense. we're trying to find a place to live out the rest of our days. portland's number one so far; dunedin's number 2. diiiiiii!!!!

― Clare (not entirely unhappy), Saturday, 27 September 2003 09:21 (twenty-two years ago)

come to dunedin, please.

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Saturday, 27 September 2003 10:25 (twenty-two years ago)

also would you like a telepaths CD?

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Saturday, 27 September 2003 10:25 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah certainly - i'll email you my address here in nihon.

― Clare (not entirely unhappy), Saturday, 27 September 2003 11:08 (twenty-two years ago)

i stayed in a yth hostel up in the north west part of town (one of those hostelling international ones), it werent bad, although the guy in the bunk below was a 50 yr old mentalist obsessed with conspiracy theories and rolls royces, and cos im english he assumed that i must know everything about rolls royces, and then he got threatening oco he thought i got his car magazine wet, but he patently did it himself, but other than that yeah it was cheap and decent.

― Bob Shaw (Bob Shaw), Saturday, 27 September 2003 11:15 (twenty-two years ago)

i might be quite late sending it clare, like maybe november, but i will keep one earmarked for you.

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Saturday, 27 September 2003 11:34 (twenty-two years ago)

That Hawthorne area is utterly teeming with hippies, FYI. I'd stick to downtown.

― Octothorpe (Octothorpe), Saturday, 27 September 2003 12:15 (twenty-two years ago)

If you're going in the winter, by the way, it will be raining the entire time you're there. If you're not into that you will not want to live there. It's a lovely place though. Check out the floating pedestrian promenade on the east side of the Willamette, just across from downtown.

― Octothorpe (Octothorpe), Saturday, 27 September 2003 12:18 (twenty-two years ago)

it rained all the fucken time where i came from and then here in japan it rained solidly for a month when i first arrived, so i'm quite used to it. bit woried about the hippies though - they can start to smell bad when they're wet.

― sasha maher (sasha-san), Saturday, 27 September 2003 12:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Whee, OK, I'm awake now.

If you're anywhere downtown, you will have very easy access to all the downtown music venues, Pearl district galleries, and to Powell's. Of course, all the "cooler" stuff is on the east side of the river, either close in (where I live, which is a quick bus ride or even a longish walk) or up in Alberta (a longer bus ride).

Yes it will be raining, but it shouldn't bother you -- it's usually a light spritzing that doesn't really require an umbrella.

There are youth hostels in the trendy northwest and in the Hawthorne area, but meh. Check out the Mallory for your more affordable downtown hotelling, or the Mark Spencer. There aren't as many hotels on the east side. Obviously the best plan is to have a friend in Portland who you can crash with.

I will be out of town for Xmas/New Years, but if you have any questions you can e-mail me (or, like, poet 'em here, whatever).

Actually the other thing to keep in that since so many Portlanders aren't natives so many of them go "home" to see family over the holidays. Portland on Xmas itself is pretty much dead -- the only thing open is Powell's. Which, you know, is not the end of the world, by any stretch.

― Chris P (Chris P), Saturday, 27 September 2003 15:15 (twenty-two years ago)

I was about to say, that sounds like a perfect/deadly combination of: gift money + Powell's = happiness.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 27 September 2003 15:16 (twenty-two years ago)

i worried this would be the case - just like my erstwhile home town wellington, which was emptied of all its finer citizens around that fucken christian festival.

can you tell me, do the people start coming back around new year - or the US like NZ and people travel to new year spots in annoying backwaters to hang out in jolly groups?

i may have change my plan...

in which case, what is the absolute best time of the year to visit portland? don't say july/august/sept cause it costs a fucking fortune to leave japan then up to 400,000 yen as opposed to 90,000 yen.

i'm disappointed - i don't want xmas break in nihon and i don't want portland sans people or open places...

― sasha maher (sasha-san), Sunday, 28 September 2003 00:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, things will be open on the other days, just not on Xmas itself.

I dunno, it's all good, it depends on what you like. Spring is nice because the long rainy season is over and people have cabin fever, so they get excited about getting outside. The weather is generally nice, even the rain is great (it's just the 4-month doses that get old).

(Oh, and if you are interested in stalking S-K, I might be able to help you out.)

― Chris P (Chris P), Sunday, 28 September 2003 03:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Portland is really nice in late April/May. It gets fairly warm pretty early- not that it's ever really cold in the PNW in winter.

― lyra (lyra), Sunday, 28 September 2003 03:41 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...

I am coming in early July (most likely) ... has anyone heard of anyone being able to sleep in this reputedly noisy, cheapo "rock hotel"?

http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=60&category=Location%20Homepage

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 18 March 2006 17:48 (twenty years ago)

It's one of my favorite venues to play. It's a bar (part of a chain/network of Portland-area bars) (which is especially fun to say since it makes Seattle part of the Portland area) with a stage, and there is music happening pretty much every night until, you know, 1-ish. It is the rock music, generally. If you can handle that, then it's probably a nice enough place. Also: Allegedly the bar is haunted.

Happily it is no longer quite so far away from everything, as the light rail is only two blocks away. Also my favorite wine shop in town is across the street.

If you're coming in July then the sun doesn't even set until like 10 and the weather is fantastic at night so really you should be out walking around until midnight anyways.

Are you coming for any particular reason? Assuming I'm not on tour or travelling, I would of course love to meet up etc.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 18 March 2006 18:04 (twenty years ago)

Yup, that's a nice place.

― kingfish da notorious teletabby (kingfish 2.0), Saturday, 18 March 2006 18:07 (twenty years ago)

Ok, thx... I'm going to a baseball convention in Seattle the week before, and am also visiting Portland friends (might stay with them a couple nights, but probably not including the weekend, when I may choose to recreate some of my favorite My Own Private Idaho scenes). Never been to the Pacific N'west, and I figure I'll spend most of a day at Powells!

Sure thing, Casuistry. (I def wanna go to the minor-league ballpark with the feral cat population.)

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 18 March 2006 18:17 (twenty years ago)

There's a feral cat population there? I've gone to a few games there but never heard of this.

I haven't re-watched MOPI since moving here (because, uh, I didn't really like the movie) but Portland has undergone a certain amount of change in the past 10 or so years. So... maybe.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 18 March 2006 18:20 (twenty years ago)

Hunh!

― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 18 March 2006 18:21 (twenty years ago)

I stayed at the White Eagle in 2003. Apart from the horrible band downstairs playing on til late night, it was a good place to stay. My room was cheap and clean.

The bar downstairs is great to either meet people or watch a game.

― def zep (calstars), Saturday, 18 March 2006 18:21 (twenty years ago)

Yes, the McMenamins folks are all about the clean.

Portland is lined with cats. Not paved, hopefully, but certainly lined. I see more cats on porches wandering around than I have in any other city, especially in summer.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 18 March 2006 18:23 (twenty years ago)

and here i figured you all were talking about this rock and roll hotel.

― jergins (jergins), Saturday, 18 March 2006 18:33 (twenty years ago)

when elvis telecom and i were in pdx a couple of years ago we splurged and stayed at the governor hotel, cuz i like pretending i'm rich every once in a while. it's niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice. not very rock 'n' roll tho.

― s/c johnson wax (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 18 March 2006 21:18 (twenty years ago)

Portland owns a chunk of Seattle via Everyday music as well.. two large floors of it, even! Neither a bar, a restaurant, nor a hotel.. although many people off Broadway in Seattle have tried to live in Everyday music.

― Yoo Doo Nut (donut), Saturday, 18 March 2006 21:26 (twenty years ago)

I used to always stay at the very bland but very convenient and cheap Inn At The Convention Center, which is just east of the river and downtown area, and within the free MAX zone.. however, they shot up their room rates to double what they used to be. I guess they either acquired a new license, or just want me to fuck off.

― Yoo Doo Nut (donut), Saturday, 18 March 2006 21:28 (twenty years ago)

There are also tons of cheap looking hotels along I-5 (on Interstate Ave.) which is now convenient to the light rail. I really want someone to stay at the hotel whose name I don't remember because we call it Captain Stabby's Inn, because the sign has a big sword lancing the letter O. We imagine it to be a good place to stay if you want to be stabbing things. Interstate just south of errr Killingsworth, I think.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 18 March 2006 21:31 (twenty years ago)

The CrØwn Motel! Don't stay there.

― WitchBaby (witchy), Saturday, 18 March 2006 23:43 (twenty years ago)

But stab there all you want!

― Yoo Doo Nut (donut), Sunday, 19 March 2006 00:10 (twenty years ago)

That's the one! Stay there! Stay! Please!

― Casuistry (Chris P), Sunday, 19 March 2006 02:39 (twenty years ago)

If you stay at McMenamins, make sure get yourself some Hammerhead Ale!

― van igloo (van smack), Sunday, 19 March 2006 03:13 (twenty years ago)

Portland has undergone a certain amount of change in the past 10 or so years.

Oh, bleeve me, I've heard. I wasn't planning a full-blown Udo Kier extravaganza.

Most of what I know about Portland is from the wacky 'guidebook' Chuck (Fight Club) Palahniuk wrote a couple years back.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 19 March 2006 19:43 (twenty years ago)

Oh yeah. How was that? I haven't read it.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Sunday, 19 March 2006 19:52 (twenty years ago)

If I ever go to Portland, I'm staying at the Jupiter Hotel.

― phil-two (phil-two), Sunday, 19 March 2006 20:05 (twenty years ago)

Some friends of mine stayed at the Jupiter maybe three months after it opened, and apparently they didn't quite have bath towels yet, or not enough. I haven't heard if that situation has been fixed, though.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Sunday, 19 March 2006 20:22 (twenty years ago)

i love how if you show up after midnite, you can get a room for $99. like if you're stuck in the area partying too hard, and dont want to drive home. or i guess if you meet someone and have a bf/gf at home.. or something

― phil-two (phil-two), Sunday, 19 March 2006 20:28 (twenty years ago)

phil, you cad!

The CP book is astonishing in its facts, if they're all true. The style is, well, him.

Right now I'm debating whether to spend July 4 there and stay for about 6 nights, or hop up to Vancouver after Seattle for a night or two.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 20 March 2006 14:08 (twenty years ago)

Vancouver is lovely, but Mt Rainier/the islands (San Juans, Whidbey, Camano, Fidalgo) and skagit valley/the Olympic Peninsula/the North Cascades are better.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 20 March 2006 14:19 (twenty years ago)

Well, I don't drive. So hopping from city to city is pretty much all I can do.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 20 March 2006 15:09 (twenty years ago)

think again!

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 20 March 2006 15:13 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I might do a bus side-trip to Rainier during my Seattle stay.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 20 March 2006 15:25 (twenty years ago)

they also do a San Juan tour, though there are probably other ways to get up there. i know there are buses that go up to whidbey, though i'm not sure whether any get near the beaches.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 20 March 2006 15:25 (twenty years ago)

their Rainier trip will go to Paradise (even though the lodge up there is closed this summer), which is great, but if you can get someone to take you to Sunrise, jump.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 20 March 2006 15:28 (twenty years ago)

I'm a pasty Irish boy who can't swim; beaches are not a priority. But thanks; the baseball people in Seattle have a bunch of optional trips available, however bars, baseball, book/record stores are going to consume plenty of my time as is.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 20 March 2006 15:51 (twenty years ago)

Heh - beaches on the sound != beaches of southern CA. They are good for clamming, not so much for sunning. Ebbet's Field Flannels for all your baseball cosplay wear!

― Jaq (Jaq), Monday, 20 March 2006 15:58 (twenty years ago)

yeah, what jaq said. you don't get much pastier than i am, but i love puget sound and NW coast beaches - they're wild and somewhat rocky, strewn with old logs and seaweed and kelp, at the foot of great bluffs.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 20 March 2006 16:17 (twenty years ago)

old logs

(read: driftwood, very big and very small)

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 20 March 2006 16:20 (twenty years ago)

http://www.portlandhostel.org/index.html

Hawthorn EcoHostel

that's where we stay when in portland. hippies, yes. fun, yes. good shops and food nearby, yes. easy access to downtown, yes. basically, it's a great place to stay, fairly cheap etc.

― biz, Monday, 20 March 2006 16:22 (twenty years ago)

The photo on that homepage confirms that I am roughly twice too old to stay at a hostel.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 20 March 2006 16:27 (twenty years ago)

also, re the Gray Line thing - I did the Rainier tour this past Summer/early Fall, and expected to have to deal with a lowest-common-denominator tourist experience as cheap transportation up to the mountain, but it was actually quite well done - the drivers are locals who know wherefrom they speak and provide a pretty broad range of (relatively fair and balanced) background information, and the relatively sparse group of customers was pretty quiet (though maybe because it was the very end of the season).

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 20 March 2006 16:33 (twenty years ago)

yeah, i'm 33 and i've stayed there without feeling old. still recommend it.

another really good one between the Pearl and 23rd. forget the name but it's actually a touch nicer. in a really old, huge house.

― biz, Monday, 20 March 2006 16:37 (twenty years ago)

Tho i'd beware of wandering around NW 23rd, as you might be overwhelmed by sudden urges to punch people in the stomach.

Go by there and you'll see why.

― kingfish da notorious teletabby (kingfish 2.0), Monday, 20 March 2006 16:40 (twenty years ago)

You could spend July 4th in Vancouver (BC) if you hate America, or you can spend it in Vancouver (Wash., across the river from Portland) where they have, I am told, the largest fireworks display west of the Mississippi. There's a great movie theatre downtown, and my then-bf and I went and saw Laurence of Arabia there on July 4th, and during the last half hour of the film we heard the fireworks outside (which were kind of appropriate enough) and then we went out and thought we'd catch the tail end of it and it lasted another half hour.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Monday, 20 March 2006 19:38 (twenty years ago)

speaking of bus people, they'll take you from Portland to Timberline Lodge (as in the Shining) and to the Coast

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 20 March 2006 19:44 (twenty years ago)

hah, a friend of mine went to PGE Park on July 4th for the advertised postgame fireworks... and it was a municipal display about a mile away!

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 20 March 2006 19:45 (twenty years ago)

I thought they seemed to be doing their own fireworks last year! But I watched from the other side of the river, so it was hard to tell.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Monday, 20 March 2006 20:55 (twenty years ago)

three weeks pass...

Well, I'm staying at least 3 nights at White Eagle. May be in Vancouver for July 4 tho.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 13 April 2006 20:18 (nineteen years ago)

eh we should have a seattle baseball fap

― jergins (jergins), Thursday, 13 April 2006 20:23 (nineteen years ago)

one month passes...

I may spend one night in the Governor Hotel just so I can have a nearby place to dump my Powells purchases, and cuz it's listed among this film's locations:

http://www.geocities.com/iluvmiko/mopisites.html

(obv I need to take a photo sleeping in front of the elk statue.)

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 14:37 (nineteen years ago)

or just go for the jupiter hotel, or one of the sheraton-type inns around the convention center, both of the which you can get to from the max train or the bus.

― kingfish doesn't live here anymore (kingfish 2.0), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 15:08 (nineteen years ago)

I would've gone for Jupiter but Governor is more convenient for the Burnside gay strip and Powells. :) I'm staying on the other side of the river the other 3 nights.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 15:38 (nineteen years ago)

The recently remodeled Mallory which is now renamed the Hotel DeLuxe (ugh argh gag) is open, I think. It was pretty good back in the day, I'm told.

That may or may not be the weekend my band is recording its next album, though!

― Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 19:36 (nineteen years ago)

xpost.

Haha! That elk fountain is right in the middle of the street! You might be able to dodge traffic and sit at the fountain to get a pic. Watch out for the buses though -- they cut pretty close to the fountain.

― righteousmaelstrom (righteousmaelstrom), Wednesday, 7 June 2006 13:52 (nineteen years ago)

but River and Keanu had no trouble!

no worries Chris, I arrive midweek, maybe you can duck out for a drink.

hey, suddenly the airfare at Travelocity has dropped $100! It does pay to wait.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 7 June 2006 14:21 (nineteen years ago)

stupid fucking airfares. i had to wait and then give in to get the ticket to this weekend's trip to knoxville. bleah. shit's more expensive than my holiday flights were last year, even with gas prices being that high.

― kingfish doesn't live here anymore (kingfish 2.0), Wednesday, 7 June 2006 14:28 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah I looked at the movie still and thought they did a good job of conveying that the fountain was located in a park (which the street the fountain is on does run between two small parks) -- but nope -- it's smack dab in the middle of Main street between 3rd and 4th Aves.

― righteousmaelstrom (righteousmaelstrom), Wednesday, 7 June 2006 15:16 (nineteen years ago)

The actual shot in the film is lower, you really don't see as much as in the still. But you see there's a RIDER on the elk? It's a crew member in makeup!

Apparently the current issue of BUTT Magazine has a guide to Portland! Hopefully St. Marks Books has a copy...

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 8 June 2006 14:28 (nineteen years ago)

seven years pass...

Thinking of spending some vacation time in Portland.

I've roamed the Internet for the big touristy stuff to do there, but can someone offer some stuff to do there in addition to that?

― c21m50nh3x460n, Tuesday, 16 July 2013 22:53 (twelve years ago)

What're you into? What days will you be here?

― Ze Meadow Morals Squad (kingfish), Tuesday, 16 July 2013 23:06 (twelve years ago)

I have a lot of interests and are fairly flexible.

I'd rather go and experience what the city has to offer rather than specifically look for the stuff I want.

But if I'd have to choose, I like hiking, nature stuff, architecture, records/music (obviously), books, etc. Museums/educational stuff is really cool, as well. Not a huge fan of seeing animals out of their natural habitat.

Um. Yah?

I can go any time from August onward. Is there a better time to go?

― c21m50nh3x460n, Tuesday, 16 July 2013 23:18 (twelve years ago)

are = am

― c21m50nh3x460n, Tuesday, 16 July 2013 23:18 (twelve years ago)

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