Heathman Hotel — Hotel in Portland

A lot of what I'm going to write will probably sound nitpicky but keep in mind the Heathman is supposedly one of the nicest hotels in Portland with an incredible reputation. These are not things that should happen in this kind of a hotel.

In short, I would recommend staying at the Governor (now the Sentinel) or the Benson over the Heathman.

The bed was the most uncomfortable thing I've ever slept on. I don't really like hard mattresses but I can usually deal. This was the flattest, hardest mattress in the world. I've slept in Holiday Inn Express beds that were more comfortable.

The room really wasn't that nice for the price. It was small, the chaise was cute but not really practical to sit on. There were chunks in the wall where they hadn't bothered to fill in holes after they moved the toilet roll. The furniture had bent legs in some places. So my luggage slipped right off, that was fun.

The mini bar wasn't fully stocked. Which was kind of fine until I found out that the way they charge for the mini bar was housekeeping counting the items after check out. The person at checkout didn't really seem to understand why I was so annoyed. (I barely slept in an overpriced shabby room to start.)

I mean sure, it's not going to break the bank but I'd rather not get charged for things we didn't eat or drink after someone didn't stock completely. It's worth noting, we didn't even check in early or on time. We were like 40 minutes late.

How THE HELL are you supposed to order room service? Instead of a useful little book of things you can do, like how to order in room service from the hotel restaurant/bar, there was a book on plants and and a Portland magazine. The Portland magazine may have been useful but um, literally where was anything relevant to the hotel services and its 4 stars?

Oh and a list of food carts that were probably closed. I scanned the QR code by the TV and it popped up with the menu from the restaurant and a pop up that asked me to "book now" for either the hotel or restaurant. The menu wasn't formatted for mobile. It wasn't easy to make restaurant reservations.

The TV was old so if you wanted something in the background you were stuck with basic, basic cable or an HDMI cable to use the TV as a monitor. You couldn't sign into Hulu, you couldn't cast to it with other Samsung devices or Windows...

The pros:

Ok pillows Location Nice check in staff Very good soundproofing

All of this was highly disappointing for what's supposedly one of the oldest and most prestigious hotels in Portland. I had to travel to Eagle, Idaho last year for work and I stayed in a Hilton Garden Inn and it was better in every single way. Actually in comparison to every single room I've stayed in over the last couple years for work travel or leisure trips - this was the worst of them. I'm staying at the Atomic hotel in Astoria next month - I'll bet it's better.

Overall I was just really disappointed. It seems like it's coasting off its reputation and location. Any attention to detail in the rooms and service has been totally lost. If you want some old Portland charm - definitely choose the Sentinel...

I arrived for a conference around 10 am. I had my office book my stay back in July. I arrived and gave the concierge my name. After he continue to click for five minutes I asked if there was anything wrong. He said they couldn't find my name and perhaps they spelled it wrong. I gave them the name of my office director thinking they put the reservation under her name. Nothing. I pulled out my confirmation email with all of the details. He took it and the clicking began again. I waited, again after a few minutes I asked if anything was wrong. He said I had no reservation and asked if I was sure that the room was paid for. I pointed to the confirmation sheet with the credit card charge noted. Still nothing. I called my office and they assured me that it was settled. Then the concierge said he would need a credit card authorization signed by my office. I had them email my office the information. While waiting for this authorization, the concierge asked me for my credit card. I asked why? He said for incidentals. On my guard I asked how much the charge would be. He said $300 to be held on my card and released 5-10 business days after the end of my stay. I told him that was ridiculous. He then offered $250. I said no. $200? NO. Then he said I need to speak with my manager. I hoped the manager would come out. NO. I waited another few minutes and he came out and said, ok no card needed. Then I was given my room key, without an apology or a thank you or an enjoy your stay. I went to my room and as I was about to open the door a lady exited. We greeted and I asked was that her room. She said it was and that she hadn't checked in last night so perhaps that was why they gave me the same room. Livid, I went down stairs with the lady in tow. I told them someone was in my room. The response...that's not possible. I said the lady is right here. She stated that she was not checked in and she handed them her keys and walked out. A shrug and then I was given a second room key...thankfully this room was not occupied. I requested that my room be made up each day of my stay and that never happened. Every time I walked into the lobby to go to my room I was asked "Can I help you with something?" and I explained I was a guest. On check out I noted that I had borrowed some books from the library and I left them in my room. I was told that I needed to bring the books to the concierge to make sure I returned them...so back upstairs I went to get the books and handed them over. After scanning the books, even though I didn't have to go through this when I got them, they said I was free to leave. Free to leave! I will never, ever, stay in this parade of awful hotel. No apology from the staff, no chagrin at their incompetence, just a be happy you are allowed to stay here attitude. Glad I was only there for...

This hotel is great, my husband and I really enjoyed our brief stay! We came up just for one night (from Salem) for a concert out at Edgefield which had no rooms - just didn't want to mess with driving home and be able to drink/enjoy ourselves. The hotel was really fantastic - very clean and cool, historic yet contemporary. I booked directly through Heathman's website and got a deal where our room came with $115 meal credits which was awesome. We were upgraded to a suite which was comfortable, modern, spacious and had everything we would need. ||The highlights: I think I slept the best I ever have in a hotel! The bed was really comfortable and when I shut the suite doors, it was SO QUIET. I didn't hear ANY noise outside our room, which is really amazing for an older building and right downtown. (note: earlier in the evening I could definitely hear the symphony next door, but it wasn't annoying or anything). The shower was great - very hot and good water pressure. The room amenities were more than we needed (did not take advantage of the $10 mini bag of chips, hah). TV was easy to figure out; light controls easy to manage, etc. The in-room coffee service was a delightful french press with surprisingly great coffee! (One thing missing: a mini fridge. Real fresh cream would've gone much better with the french press, but this is a quibble.)||The downsides: check-in was a bit archaic - no app, no online checkin, no mobile keys.... we had to wait in a line, which I haven't done for a hotel in MANY years. The line stretched out the door right at checkin time, 4 pm. The valet parking was also a JOKE - we circled the block 4 times hoping a spot would open up to unload, even waited with flashers on for 5+ minutes, etc.... no one ever came. We also witnessed a car accident because the area for passenger unloading is so poor, it was inevitable (clearly.) Wound up just self-parking in the garage across the street for $16 versus the $55+tip I had been willing to pay to not hassle with it, so it was all fine in the end... but be prepared to have to tackle some issue with transportation unless you're taking a ride share to this hotel.||The restaurant on site was fantastic - and had surprisingly good prices on food for a fancy hotel restaurant. I was trying to use my entire credit and asked for a bottle of wine to go which was WAY over-priced however ($66 for a bottle of rose that Safeway sells for $28...) The service was excellent and the coffee and mimosas were fabulous, however.||I would totally come back again! It seems like it would be just ideal for catching something at the Schnitz. I look forward to it! (I will bring my husband's smaller car to better navigate the...