Hotel deLuxe — Hotel in Portland

First and foremost, I should note that I have lived in the suburbs my whole life and haven't traveled often so my opinions are probably very biased and not necessarily applicable to the average person. That being said, I stayed at Hotel deLuxe for 3 nights over Labor Day weekend and thought it was 3 or 4 stars at best.

Service- Exceptional! The first night we checked in, the woman at the front desk gave us a map and circled all of the places around town that we should go see. Even though we didn't actually use any of those recommendations, I did appreciate knowing I could rely on local expertise if needed. The next day, I had to call down to the front desk to ask for housekeeping in the evening because of a mistake on my part (more on that later) and they happily sent someone up to clean and bring us fresh towels even though it was technically after hours.

Rooms- Average. Like I said, I've lived in the suburbs my whole life so I'm used to a lot of space. This room, however, was comparable to a very tiny bedroom. This isn't necessarily a deal breaker for me because the only time I spend in my hotel room when I'm on vacation is to sleep and shower, but it still felt a little claustrophobic for two people. The part I disliked the most was the fact that the bathroom has no lock on the door, no exhaust fan, and no counter space. I had to use the window sill for storing things I would immediately need after I showered, and then the nightstand in the bedroom for everything I could grab after I got dressed.

Beds- Amazing! When I'm at home, I wake up every morning feeling achy and breaky. As soon as I stand up, my back, shoulders, and legs pop. But the beds and pillows at Hotel deLuxe were insanely comfortable. No bones or joints popping for me over the Labor Day weekend!

Location- Pretty good. It's not central Downtown but everything is still within walking distance. If you prefer to be closer to popular restaurants, coffee shops, etc. then this hotel is probably not the first choice for you. I didn't mind it because I prefer to not be in the middle of the popular spots anyway and it was only a 20 minute drive to PDX (Portland International Airport).

Parking- Ridiculous. $31 to valet and $27 to self park in the garage across the street. Per night! Again, I'm from the suburbs where parking is always free so it kills me that we had to spend $81 to park our freaking rental car.

Cool Amenities- The hotel offers you the option to "go green" and skip the room cleaning service which is pretty cool. I wasn't really thinking the day after we got there and threw all my towels on the floor out of habit. There's a card on the desk in the room that asks what your personality is (green, tree hugger, or old school) so I circled the old school option (meaning I wanted house keeping to come by and give us new towels) and hung it on the door. Well apparently you're only supposed to hang the card on the door if you want to "go green" so house keeping skipped my room that day. When I realized it in the evening, I called and they sent someone up to clean our room the same day. That was very much appreciated since it was my fault for misunderstanding how to use the card appropriately.

All in all, Hotel deLuxe is a nice place to stay in Downtown Portland. Do I plan on staying there again on my next visit? No, probably not. I expected more considering it was almost $200 a night, but I think I'll stick to my less than $100 hotels that offer a free breakfast buffet in the mornings. I don't really do fancy...

I dont usually write reviews, but I wanted to share our experience here because we had such a good time! My husband and I have stayed at Hotel deLux two times in the past 2 years. We have thoroughly enjoyed both visits. We are in our mid twenties, and felt like were some of the youngest people staying there, but we didnt care! The hotel is charming, with an old hollywood theme and lots of art Deco details. Sure it's not the midcentury-modern that other Portland boutique hotels are sporting right now, but I like Hotel deLuxe's style for different reasons. It feels almost like you've stepped back in time, when the culture of traveling and STAYING at hotels was very different than today. And while it feels like you could be in an old movie when you are there, the space has been updated just right to keep the present-day luxuries and creature comforts. I love how they've re-done the bathrooms in the rooms with marble tile floors, and white subway tiles for the shower/bath. The porcelain sink pedestal is also super cute with chrome finishes. (the soap they provide also smells really good - it's made with different essential oils.) The room also has a cute bar cart with local coffee + tea, snacks, and a mini-bar in the fridge. (Note that they provide you with a coffee maker, and water kettle + tea pot, not always the case with american hotels, a touch we really appreciated.) There are also outlets and USB plugins on each side of the bed. (We have stayed in king suites both times, the first time they actually upgraded us because it was our anniversary!) We had room service for breakfast, and were very impressed. (Two poached eggs, bacon, home fries, English muffin with butter and jam for $13) The portions were really generous. The homefried potatoes were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside - not an easy thing, esp considering it was brought to the room on a steamy covered plate. (We love homefries, can you tell?) We loved lounging in our room with the robes they provide, and there is even a "pillow menu" so you can have your perfect sleep set-up. (Although we did not take advantage of it). One really fun thing was we brought our 9 month old Australian Shepherd with us this time, and they provided a giant fluffy dog bed and water + food dishes, a toy, and even treats. Our pup LOVED staying there! Another thing to note: Hotel deLuxe is just over the freeway from the Pearl District + Shopping + Restaurants (Tasty and Alder is our favorite!), so you can totally walk everywhere, but it is super nice that it's a few blocks off the main area so the streets around the hotel are quiet and peaceful and there is ample street parking. I would highly recommend staying at Hotel deLuxe if you are considering staying in downtown Portland. Get a suite, treat yo self! We plan to stay there again next time...

Loved the service and the vibes but what really got me and why I'll be staying here again is that my room had a nice light up beauty mirror. One of those that has bright lights around the mirror and you can flip over for a magnified view (I've attached a pic). Personally, when I'm traveling for work I pack my own LED mirror and its a hassle because it takes up sooo much space in my suitcase. Anyways, the fact that they're provided in the room? Done deal, I'm coming back. But moving on from that..... Service was stellar. I got to Portland a day earlier then expected and had to add on an extra day. I basically ended up with two separate bookings from two different sites but the front desk was not only able to combine them into one booking with only one check in, but also upgraded my room to a king bed. Parking garage had issues when I was leaving, so instead of having customers have an extra hassle of waiting to pay until it was fixed they just opened the gate and let everyone out and said don't worry about the parking fee. To me, that's great service. Rooms - I didn't expect to enjoy the old Hollywood glam that the hotel advertised but to my surprise, I did. They had classical music playing when you entered the room and the mp3 player looked like a retro radio, that was pretty cool! What I really loved about the rooms though was that they had different environmentally friendly options for how you wanted room service, for example you don't need more towels but you do want the sheets changed, or vice versa, or you don't want either. And they gave you a $5 credit at the bar for choosing the most environmentally friendly option. Changing/outlet-wise it was nice that they had both outlet and USB charge options. Only slight downside is the room was nice and cozy for myself but I could see how it might feel a little small if another person was staying with me. But with all the other perks and their amazing service I'm more then happy to...