Kimpton RiverPlace Hotel — Hotel in Portland

When we first checked in, I really liked this hotel. It's got a good location, right next to the Willamette, and the decor in the common areas was very nice. The room itself is very spacious and we ended up with a two-bedroom suite even though we didn't need it (I suspect it was because the hotel was sold out with every room being used). However, upon returning to the room on the first evening after dinner out, we found ants in the room. There were ants in and on the room's dining table, which is used for minibar-type foods, such as small bags of M & M's, potato chips, granola bars, etc. Then, in the bathroom, we found the same problem - ants. An inspection of the bed found an ant there, too (luckily only one - maybe he was lost). I walked down to reception to ask for another room, but, unfortunately, there were none to be had, and short of moving to a different hotel, we were stuck. They offered to send someone to clean the ants, and we accepted. They also said that they would have someone spray the next day in the room, but we declined. We definitely did NOT want to stay in a room that had been sprayed with POISON, and the fact that they offered that was crazy to us! The gentleman they sent up that evening to clean was very nice, but perplexed by why we had ants. I asked him to take away the minibar foods, which he did. I figured out why there were ants, though: the housekeeping was atrocious. Upon looking under the bed, there was an unopened juice box and a Milk Bone dog biscuit (this is a pet friendly hotel), along with a lot of crumbs and other debris. Pulling aside one of the bedside tables revealed more crumbs, and the area behind the other showed a lot of dust and an abandoned key card. The cushions of the sofa bed in the second bedroom revealed A LOT more crumbs, of the CheezIt variety. There were dead bugs inside the light fixture above the dining table. Additionally, the air grate in the ceiling of the bathroom was CAKED in dust. The gentleman from the hotel who assisted us with the ant removal saw all this. After he left, we discovered what appeared to be poop (we cleaned it off with alcohol on a wet wipe) below the bathroom light switch and toilet paper holder, and lots of dust in the corner of the sink vanity, as well as mold growing on the underside of the sink basin. No one ever contacted us to follow up, although we did get a $50 food credit at the restaurant from the front desk employee when we first reported the ants. However, we think that a manager should have talked to us - especially keeping in mind that the rates for this hotel are not Motel 6 rates. All in all, this CAN be a nice hotel if they greatly improve the housekeeping. GREATLY IMPROVE THE...

This review should be qualified by saying that Portland is truly a walking / transit / taxi city and so there really is no "bad" hotel in SW Portland. Having said this, staying waterfront should not discourage anyone who is interested in visiting attractions such as the food pods, Pioneer Square, or even the Rose Gardens.

Portland is divided into four primary quadrants. The Riverplace is in the SW corner of the city, offering views of downtown, the docks, and the waterfront. I hope the following review gives you a good idea and "lay of the land".

Location: very good - walking around the city, we saw other hotels, including "The Nines", and "The Monaco", the latter also being a Kimpton property. Both are closer to center city, so it really depends on what you are looking for and looking to see. The reason that the location is not a big deal, is that it is only about 10 minutes to the Max / Trimet (Public Transit) system. Cross the street, walk two blocks to 2nd street, hang a right and go down to Yamhill, pay your $5 and you're set. We took the transit to visit the Rose Garden / Japanese Garden. If you are visiting Powell's Books or catching a Timber's Game, the route is also the same. We were fortunate enough to catch a Blazer's game as well and so you take the tram in the opposite direction "across the river." (Willamette).

Service: very good. Courteous staff, bartender, front desk etc. The only complaint was that the doormen on staff upon our arrival, were busy chatting and did not greet or offer luggage assistance. This being said, the others who we saw the remainder of the stay were fine. I happen to be of the opinion that newly arriving guests are most likely tired from a flight and would like attention. Housekeeping is good, but just so you know, there is no turn down service.

Food and beverages: very good - excellent staff, who are attentive and make good conversation. Definitely have a meal at Three Degrees - as with most of the food scene in Portland, the cuisine is creative and fusion based.

Amenities and cleanliness: no complaints - hotel is clean, as are the rooms. The rooms are basic and the bathroom is on the small side, but fine. Water pressure a little weak, but the hot water is hot. Portland has softer water, so just a heads up.

Other useful info: As a photo hobbyist, having the location provided by the Riverfront, gave me ample opportunities to shoot the city / waterscapes over a 4 day and rainy stay. The shots I posted are about 2 minutes from the hotel. 5 minutes from the closest Starbucks (located in a business center) Our room had windows that fully opened (great for photogs) About 5 minutes from Waterfront restaurants i.e McCormick...

This place has gone down hill. The Kimpton hotel chain was bought by the Holiday Inn chain. Since then, they took away some of the previous perks such as "raid the mini bar" and the free evening wine hour and free wifi. Now you have to pay a "resort fee" of $25 per night for the wifi snd wine hour. The bad news is that they automatically charge you the $25 whether you use the wifi or wine hour or don't use it. I protested the $25 fee and got it removed from my bill at check out.

I had lots of problems with the hotel. They are upgrading the lights to automatic so that everytime you enter the bathroom the lights go on. The problem was my room had a bathroom tub with a big window in front, so if I tried to take a bath in the dark and keep the windows open to enjoy the view, the lights went on automatically and everyone who would have looked at the window would have seen me naked. There was no way to turn the auto light feature off.

Be aware of the loud and crowded annual Dragon Boat weekend event that happens just outside the hotel. They set up loud speakers with continuing announcements and music going from 7:45 am to 5 pm on Saturday snd Sunday. It was really loud and even when I put a pillow over my head in bed, I could hear every word of every announcement in my room. I wished that the Kimpton Hotel would have warned me about this annual event when I booked. I wanted a relaxing weekend escape where I could sleep in and relax.

There has always been a problem with the ice the provide in bags from a cooler in the lobby freezing into big blobs that cannot be easily broken. The hotel put up a sign to not bang the ice on the side of the cooler, but what are you supposed to do then, bang it on the marble bathroom counter edges?

The river side views are great, but very pricey.

The hotel used to seem like a charming in city retreat that was worth the high prices. But now it just seems like another...