Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront — Hotel in Portland

Short Version (Quick and to the Point):

I stayed at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront from May 12th to 24th on the 12th floor. The king-sized bed room was comfy and well-equipped, although it lacked a microwave. The service was outstanding, and the hotel was super clean.

There’s no free breakfast, but the restaurant’s food was great, especially the burgers and desserts. The coffee shop was okay but nothing special. Valet service was efficient but costs $54 per night. Also, there’s a $30 per night destination fee you can use for food and drinks, but not for snacks at the front desk.

Overall, I had an amazing stay.

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Long Version (In-depth and Detailed):

Dates of Stay: May 12th - 24th Room Type: King-sized bed room on the 12th floor

I recently stayed at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront and had a fantastic experience overall. The hotel is situated in a prime location with beautiful waterfront views.

Room and Amenities: My room was equipped with a comfortable king-sized bed, a bathroom, a small couch with a coffee table, a TV, a mini fridge, and a coffee maker. However, I was disappointed to find that there was no microwave.

Service: The service was exceptional. Every time I had a question or an issue, the staff was quick to assist and always friendly.

Cleanliness: The hotel was impeccably clean and well-managed. The building’s interior and exterior, including the valet area, were spotless. My room was spotless upon arrival, and housekeeping did a great job of maintaining it, providing fresh towels and sheets regularly. While larger trash items like pizza boxes sometimes took a day to be cleared, this was a minor issue.

Food and Dining: There is no complimentary breakfast, but the hotel offers a coffee shop and a restaurant. The coffee shop, though not extraordinary, provided decent pre-packaged food. The restaurant offered a variety of meals throughout the day, with standout items like the burgers and desserts. The cake was not to my taste due to its fudgy texture, but the cookie with ice cream was delightful. All the food was reasonably priced.

Valet and Fees: The valet service, costing $54 per night, was worth its price. It keep your vehicle and valuables inside safe. The staff were helpful and efficient, and a five-minute heads-up was sufficient to retrieve my car. Be aware of the mandatory $30 per night destination fee, which can be used as a credit for food and drinks, though not at the front desk snacks. This fee is not itemized at the end of your stay, so make sure to use it daily.

Homeless Presence: While there were visible tents and homeless individuals around the area, they did not affect my stay or walking around during the day or evening. The hotel maintained a secure and comfortable environment.

Overall: My stay was exceptional, and I would rate it a 5/5. The combination of excellent service, cleanliness, and good food made it a memorable visit. However, all of this does come with a hefty price. For a 12-day stay, it cost me around $3,500. That was with room rate, valet, and fees/tax. This was expensed by my company; I personally would not have stayed for a personal visit as it’s...

I feel really bad, only giving this hotel 3 stars... it is not their fault that the "four-star", fancy aspect that I'd been going for was the same thing that intimidated me... Valet was new to me... and giving my keys to someone I don't know to park my car for me... who i don't know will take as good care of it as i do... who probably gets paid as little as the company is able... so I then don't have immediate access to it, or the things inside is strange and makes me feel trapped... My things were placed on a luggage cart for me and wheeled into reception. The boy was kind. The lady at the front desk, who's name I unfortunately don't remember, was very kind, sweet, and welcoming... but, she asked me questions that I considered strange: did I want a desk? I mean... don't all the rooms have a desk? I'm not used to having to say yes or no. She was kind enough to give me a room with a partial view (if I was comfortable being near the elevators... is there something bad about being near the elevators? I rather enjoyed the accessibility)... but I find myself relatively indifferent to my view... don't get me wrong, it's beautiful! And the view is one of the reasons I wanted to book this particular hotel... but... I'm not just sitting at the window gazing longingly at it... and watching the yachts make their way across the water almost makes me angry... The room reeked of clean and sterile when I entered. And while, yes, everything seems to be relatively up to date, it also feels very minimalistic. The "desk" is 1.5 to 2 feet wide, coming from the wall... and if I don't tuck the chair under it, I have to be careful not to trip over the bed frame... the room size is "cozy", meaning just a little small...

All in all, I get a very "cookie cutter", "once you've seen one, you've seen them all"-feeling... the "class" of it makes me feel like a grubby little troll... and that's just not how I like to feel. They deserve more stars... they really do... but this is my opinion... I will not likely be staying here again... and, while I would not recommend it, it's more due to my own insecurities than any failing of the hotel or their staff.

**Edit: so, I did stay here again, as my company is silly and would rather pay for this extravagance than a little "family" Best Western-type... However. Now that everything wasn't new, the experience was much better 😊 I've gone ahead and added that other start...

I am a Platinum Elite and spend a lot of time in Marriott hotels globally for work trips. I came into Portland for a single night. When I checked in, the front desk associate interrogated me regarding the rate I booked the room under - I produced an ID confirming I qualified for that rate (Note - in my hundreds of stays at Marriott’s this was the first time an associate implied she didn’t believe me). After asking for an upgrade and getting a long list of excuses as to why she couldn’t offer me an upgrade, stating they were oversold and there were no upgrade rooms available - then she finally after I continued to persist “found” a room. She asked - was a balcony really necessary? I said yes I would prefer that, in which case she rolled her eyes and typed something else in the computer then abruptly handed me the room keys.

The room was nothing special, considering other properties have upgraded me to suites with beautiful views numerous times - I was completely underwhelmed but did not have time to deal with trying to get put in a different room. Later that afternoon, I was walking out of the elevator past the front desk and that same associate that gave me the third degree earlier, saw my colleague and I and very obviously covered her mouth and whispered something to her coworker at our expense - my colleague saw this as well - real mature.

The next morning when I checked out, I asked a different person at the front desk if they were over booked and if that is why there was such a shortage of suites available for upgrade - she looked puzzled and told me they had plenty of rooms and occupancy was actually low - confirming that the original associate just didn’t want to offer me or my colleague any nice upgrade. It was very frustrating and made me have a bad opinion of this particular hotel. The property was not bad, but the customer service at the front desk convinced me that I will never EVER stay here again.

Oh and by the way - if you get a room with a water view, be prepared to listen to the train all night - that was another “perk” of my stay.

Very disappointing overall, especially considering if only the woman at the front desk would have just been a little more polite, I wouldn’t have such a bad opinion of this property. I can say the gentleman who works in the coffee shop was incredibly nice and my visit there was certainly the...