The Docent's Collection - Thompson Block — Hotel in Portland

We stayed here June ‘22. I booked direct 5 nights @$455 +taxes- high but I wanted the kitchen & location. We arrived 6PM Sat. Later found it on booking for $300 a night. All automated. Apps open building & apt. doors. We settled & were pleased with decor, then noticed the parking lot view. Big bummer. Then we slept; a most terrible sleep. I'd reserved a king bed but this was noticeably smaller. & very indented. My back was in pain after a nights sleep trying to climb out of the indentations. It was Sunday & there's no front desk, so we stripped & flipped the mattress ourselves ($455 a night). We figured we were fine until business hrs. Monday. Then I received a text Sunday at 10:24AM to "Please take a moment to let us know about your first nights experience". I responded: Beautiful space but my thoughts/1st impressions View is the back of parking lot/Brick wall. Why not disclose prior? 2.Windows double sealed shut. Why not disclose prior? 3.Window shades dont sufficiently block sun on sides, need drapes or wider shades Bathroom has sliding barn door that doesnt seal + minimal fabrics to absorb sounds- loud unfortunate echos throughout apt. from bathroom TV only streams. Husband is a tech guy & it took an hour. Needed our home cable account to stream channels 6.The biggest issue was indented bed & its not a true King but a “hotel king” (plz Google) why not disclosed? I received a text 2 hrs later from 'Avery' He replied- windows are sealed for safety (?) & apologized for the indented bed; he could send maintenance on Monday- the response we were hoping. Then wrote "Id like to learn more about your other concerns & how we can best communicate to our future guests" He ended "It is always our goal to exceed your expectations & provide you with great service. If you feel your Urban Home is not the best suited for your visit & you'd like to leave, I can refund the remainder of your stay" To revert immediately to refunding monies is not how to address concerns about a guests stay. especially one we planned out & spent $2500 on. We were on a jammed vacation, & his job is hospitality - not for us to leave early? Monday at 9:15AM, typical 'business hours', I rang the office, hoping to speak to a more seasoned hospitality employee. Instead we got voicemail - twice. So I texted the number & asked when are business hours, & Avery responded "Good morning, Our team is currently preparing for other guests, but I will try to call a little bit later around 10:30am" I responded, “this is unacceptable, we are current guests & have patiently waited 48hrs to address our issue of an ill suited & small mattress. We also have tickets for an excursion at 10am. This is impeding heavily on our little & expensive vacation." Avery called me highly emotional. Heavy breathing & a very high pitch voice.He said I had written "lots of complaints"- you mean the survey you sent me on my 1st impressions? Within 5 minutes, Avery threatened to cut off our automatic keys to front door & apartment & told us to “vacate the premises by 11am”. I've never been treated so emotionally & in such a volatile way from a "hospitality" host. He also said they use "Hotel King Mattresses". Apparently cheaper run places do this. 4 inches narrower than Kings & made by Serta- A big detail not disclosed. Most importantly, the conversation with Avery was unprofessional, he seemed emotionally unstable. His response didn't fit the task at hand. As a therapist I knew this didnt have to do with us, but it was ruining our vacation. I repeatedly said the manner he was speaking was unacceptable, "please take a deep breathe & tone down the emotion". I asked to speak to someone else, he responded "there are only 3 people who work here". Stunning. Avery then hung up on me. Ultimately we got our money back, but we had to cancel plans, repack & find a hotel.

*Note from Docents- "Guests at 121 MIDDLE an urban inn receive optimal care from a well-trained staff. Whatever it Takes to ensure your needs are met during these times” sadly this was the opposite...

First time in Portland, Maine and I’m someone who takes time and tries to provide an objective review of a place, product, etc.

So, without further ado, here are my thoughts:

Location - Centrally located. Essentially everything we had a need for (other than the airport or Port Head lighthouse) was within walking distance.

Security - If you put aside the fact that we were about 300 feet away from the police station, the entrance was controlled by an app that only let you in if you worked at the building or were a guest. This eliminated any passers by just “stopping” in for whatever reason.

Layout - I (obviously) never saw any other room, but ours was very nice, modern and was fairly clean (there were bread/cookie crumbs on the carpet in front of the television). A full kitchen, microwave, coffee maker and refrigerator were very nice to have as well. The place was very quiet from outside noise. Don’t know if we had extra thick windows or there was simply a lack of traffic. The only noise we had was from an upstairs neighbor who liked to walk around in high heels at midnight. Had we known there was an upper floor, we’d have requested that. But you can’t really fault a place for having someone above them.

Operations - This is a very minimal place. The keyless entry is an example of that. The television was set up to use Google Chromecast. If you know what that is and how it works - you’re a few steps ahead of me. Wife and I eventually got enough of it working using some of our streaming apps, but I can only imagine an older demographic trying to get it to work. I doubt they could. There were no local channels and the instructions were fairly difficult to understand. Then again we were on vacation, so watching TV wasn’t the utmost importance for us.

On the whole, it was a nice place to stay. I don’t know if I’d go back to the same place, but it’ll probably be a while before I’m in Portland again. Our contact, Tony, was very responsive, though we did bump our flight back as we didn’t get the feeling that our room would be ready early (we were set to get in at 12:30 with check in time at 4:00 and I’d talked to him asking if we could check in early. He didn’t give us a very reassuring feeling). We then moved our flight to 2:00 to get in at 3:30 so we wouldn’t have to spend the afternoon with our bags. Ironically, we got a message at 1:15 saying that the room was ready. Oh well, better safe than sorry. Still, it was a bit of a departure than the standard “hotel” room and made for a nice,...

A Contemporary Oasis in the Heart of Historic Portland

You’d be forgiven if you passed the Docent Collection’s Thompsons Block at 121 Middle Street and only noticed the beautiful exterior of a perfect example of a Second Empire architecture. This spectacular building was built almost immediately after the Great Fire of 1866 in the fashion of the times and is magnificent in its detailed façade. Nestled in the center of this historic building is the discreet entrance to contemporary accommodation of superb detail delivering the best and most comfortable of mod-cons of the 21st century. A personal event led me and my friends to search for a two-bedroom place in Portland and this lovely space popped up. I was surprised to find such a place in Portland and pored over the detailed website before confirming a 4 week stay. This was s a big commitment for us - we were looking for a great location, with restaurants, activities and shopping within walking distance. And we wanted a modern apartment style unit with two bedrooms, two baths and a full kitchen. We were after extra comfort in a prime location! Well, I can happily say that Docent met and exceeded all our expectations. The apartments (from studios to 2 bedrooms) are thoughtfully and very tastefully designed. This is your best friend’s modern home! Full kitchens with a strong supply of cooking equipment (and dishwasher) make “home-cooked” meal prep easy. The quality of the kitchen is second to none. Bedrooms had king size beds with great, comfortable mattresses and high-end bedding. The living room is appointed with beautiful, designer furniture and large screen TV (each bedroom also has a large screen as well). This is all complimented by carefully curated original artwork on the walls. For those of you who want to peruse this, the website gives a very good, real view. Lastly the service is great. The team are always available by phone for all your needs, its more akin to say an AirBnB digital entry (no hotel check-in desk) but we did have some requests for service which were all promptly responded to. I don’t normally gush over a place, but Docent deserves it. I highly recommend you try this lovely spot on your next trip to Portland. It really is modern oasis for the discerning traveler! Bravo and thank you to the...