Holiday Inn Express & Suites Portland-NW Downtown by IHG — Hotel in Portland

Stayed 4 nights, starting 16 May 2018.

Staff - 5/5 Hotel staff was friendly, professional, helpful, welcoming, and patient. The staff made countless contributions to making our stay enjoyable, and we cannot express enough how much we appreciate their efforts.

Room Decor - 4/5 The comfortable, upholstered chair, the floor-to-ceiling window curtains, and the carpet all expressed colors and patterns which the 1970's would very much like returned. The rest of the room was less dated. The desk was a timeless wooden design, and the desk chair a contemporary mix of plastic and upholstery which spins over wheels. The wooden dresser and TV stand each had what appeared to be lovely granite counter-top surfaces. Beautiful stained wood crown molding ran the perimeter of the room and entry area. Nightstand, desk and floor lamps matched styles as brass with white shades, with overhead lighting in entry and bathroom.

Room Appliances & Tech - 5/5 A/C worked well. TV was a 42" with DirectTV included. The WiFi availability was great With our travel router connected to the hotel WiFi, it was like being at home with our Chromecast, phones, tablets, and kindles. Nightstand lamps each had an easy access 120v socket in their bases. Desk lamp had two 120v sockets and an rj45 Ethernet socket. A fridge and microwave sat in the TV stand, under the TV. Keurig coffee machine on the desk. An iron and ironing board were in the closet area. A hair dryer was resting in its base on the bathroom wall.

Room Bathroom - 4/5 Shampoo, conditioner, face&body soap, lotion, shower caps, and vanity kits (qtips, cotton balls, nail file) awaited us in the bathroom. And washcloths and bath and hand towels. Shower pressure was weak, but the shower head switched to a less-spray-more-direct-stream mode to help those washing long hair. No obvious soap dish by the sink, so we the set wet bar of soap on the nice countertop. Bathroom had lights and exhaust fan, no heater or heat lamp (which is just fine as far as I'm concerned). Shower curtain was light weight and hanging from a bar that curves out beyond the tub, and could be a hassle to manage. Tub was a comfortable size and clean. Twin toilet paper mounts let you always have a backup roll ready to use. Unfortunately, the toilet flushed aggressively enough to regularly splash its contents out of the bowl.

Pool & Spa - 5/5 A large, beautiful room of stone-colored tiles housed the pool and hot tub. Three of the four main walls had light-distorting glass blocks forming large window areas letting in daylight. The spa was documented to be 102F, which is what it felt like when we used it. A button on the wall turned on boldly strong jets (and bubbles!) for the desired time period. The pool felt comfortable, I can only guess that it was 80F or more. An open shower for rinsing off and shelf of pool towels is on the wall near the entrance. Check for and claim a clean pool towel on your way in so you don't get stranded without one. There is no lifeguard or attendant on duty, so bring a buddy if you can. Upright chairs and chaise loungers sit around the room. Some hoist / chair lift for disabled guests sits, stowed and covered, next to the pool. Pool's max depth is about 5 feet, so no jumping or diving is allowed.

Breakfast - 5 of 5 Breakfast selection exceeded my expectations. Staff kept the dishes stocked right until the end of breakfast, so even though we arrived very late into the breakfast window, we still got plenty of what we wanted.

Neighborhood - 4/5 The boutiques on NW 23rd Ave gave us a lot to explore within walking distance of the hotel, and the Lyft rides to Union Station and elsewhere in Pearl and Downtown areas were incredibly brief. Nearby manufacturing seemed to cause some localized ozone stink (outdoors only) during business hours on weekdays, clearing out on evenings and weekends. Walking a block south to the boutiques leaves the smell behind.

Overall - 4.7 of 5 We loved our stay and will definitely consider returning here if we find ourselves back...

APATHY WITH A SMILE.||||That should be the motto for the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Portland-NW Downtown. But before I get into the reasons why, let me share the positives with you:||||Location.||Complimentary parking.||Complimentary breakfast.||Generous counter space in the bathroom.||Green Mountain Coffee Pods.||Pool and hot tub.||||Now for the not-so-positives..||||NO HOUSEKEEPING DURING OUR ENTIRE STAY.||||Despite bringing this issue to the attention of the hotel staff and receiving a promise that our room would be cleaned, housekeeping didn't bother to clean our room during our multi-day stay. Our beds were not made. The towels were not replenished. The carpet wasn't vacuumed. No note explaining the reason why. They simply didn't show up. Unbelievable.||||INEFFECTIVE KEY CARD SYSTEM.||||The key cards keep failing resulting in multiple trips to the front desk.||||The staff are quick to blame anything and everything under the sun (with a smile of course!) for their ineffective key card system. While certain objects can demagnetize the cards, it shouldn't get to the point where you've exceeded your daily goal of steps from walking to and from your hotel room door _ times because once AGAIN, you can't unlock the door because the key card has died.||||So if I were you, I would book a room on the lower level or better yet, just ask for a cot next to the front desk. You'll save time and get all the coffee pods you want.||||NO LOCAL DIALING FROM YOUR HOTEL ROOM PHONE||||What should have been a quick local call to a local restaurant turned into a near 10 min ordeal of repeated calls to the front desk only to be told that some code needed to be removed from the phone and that I had to wait to give it time to take effect (???).||||It would have been faster for me to send a note via carrier pigeon than to use the phone (actually a PROP) in my hotel room.||||HOTEL NEEDS PEST CONTROL ASAP||||I discovered our uninvited guests crawling on the wall and on my bed (see the attached pic).||||Maybe they know how to place a local call from the hotel phone?||||"MS. HAPPY"||||If the Holiday Inn Express on NW Vaughn Street in Portland, OR were to launch a campaign with the goal of promoting its apathetic culture, "Suvena" should be the face of that campaign.||||Her unsmiling, unwelcoming and dour demeanour reeks of not only apathy but also, a not-so-subtle contempt towards the guests of the property.||||CONCLUSION||||It's pretty obvious that the management at this property are part of the problem and not, the solution. No performance management coupled with ineffective HR practices has contributed to a culture of apathy where breaking promises and failing to meet the bare minimum standards of hospitality (see above entry about no housekeeping) is not only tolerated but encouraged.||||Please do not stay at this property. You've worked hard for your money and you...

This hotel is slightly inconveniently located if you are there to scout out Portland. If you like to walk, you can walk six blocks to the streetcar and then find your way around fairly easily . There are some OK and interesting restaurants and bakeries nearby, and there is a food co-op within a couple of blocks. The staff was pleasant. The bed was comfortable and we slept well so it must not have been too noisy. This is the good stuff. The overall experience was really disappointing. We are travelers and often don't spend a lot of time in a room generally, but because of how we had things scheduled for this visit, we did spend a bit of time in the room. The television (which for some reason seems to be on satellite) and telephone were not functional (I had to use my phone to call them long distance to ask them to fix the TV and telephone) and though they tried, the staff were not equipped or able to address these problems, and though we were told the problems were unique to the floor we were on, the staff wouldn't move us to another room, even though we are what they call Priority Club members, meaning that in the past we have been somewhat loyal. We were told that we would receive a compensation that we agreed upon but they have failed at that as well thus far. So, considering that the very nice staff were ineffectual, and that the breakfasts are dreadful, we will not stay here again and I don't recommend it at all. I am sorry to say something that may hurt a business but I think they need to make some changes before I can offer a...