The Francis Hotel — Hotel in Portland

My husband and I stayed at The Francis Hotel for five nights and absolutely fell in love—with both the property and its ideal location.

We typically avoid B&Bs and lean toward larger hotel chains for consistency. While The Francis isn’t a B&B, its small size and intimate vibe give it that cozy feel—without sacrificing privacy or amenities. It caught our eye during a last-minute trip planning session, and now we’re not sure we can ever go back to standard hotels! We even asked about fall availability at checkout—we’re already planning our return.

Of course, everyone has their own preferences when it comes to lodging. As someone who grew up with a parent in the hotel industry—and who now works in hospitality myself—I’m especially particular about cleanliness, service, and overall experience. Here’s a breakdown that may help others decide:

Pros: -Immaculate, spacious rooms – We had a corner terrace room, and it was wonderful. -Complimentary coffee, tea, and water daily – The coffee was especially good, and having access anytime was a lovely touch. Also, a lovely welcome drink - which was so needed after our long drive up. -Exclusive use of common areas – Comfortable, quiet, and never crowded. $15 breakfast vouchers for Twinflower Café (their sister property)– Delicious food and a great value. -Excellent location – Right on Congress Street, close to Old Port, great restaurants, and nightlife. Easy to walk to places and it felt safe. -Free parking – A huge perk in an area where parking can get pricey.

No major cons, just a few things that left us scratching our heads:

-We interacted with three front desk staff members throughout our stay. While all were friendly, a few situations left us feeling confused or brushed off. Upon arrival (late in the evening), we weren’t informed that the main wall switches controlled most of the lighting in the room—including the bedside sconces. Naturally, we turned off the sconces at the switch near the bed when we were ready to sleep. The next morning, we couldn’t get any of the lights to turn back on except in the bathroom and foyer. When we approached the front desk for help, the staff member seemed surprised we didn’t know about the wall switch setup and only offered assistance after we asked multiple times. A quick explanation at check-in could have saved us the confusion and inconvenience. On day three, the glass-door mini fridge in our room began blinking like a strobe light at 5am. When we told the front desk, there was confusion about the issue. After explaining it a few times and confirming that yes, flashing lights in the dark early morning hours are indeed a problem, we were told someone would look at it. When we returned late that night, the fridge had been moved out of its built-in space and left in the middle of the foyer—without any note or explanation. When we brought it up to the night staff, he also seemed unsure why it was left like that and suggested we move it ourselves if it was in the way. The following morning, the same staff member told us she had left it out intentionally so it could "cool off," and again said we could just move it if needed. While it may seem minor, this kind of casual handling of guest issues doesn’t align with the standard of service we expected—especially given the otherwise high quality of the hotel. On our final day, the fridge started flashing again—indicating that the issue hadn’t actually been resolved. We let the front desk know before checking out so that it could hopefully be addressed more fully before the next guest arrived.

Bottom line: Despite a few bumps in communication, The Francis is a gem—beautiful, well-located, and thoughtfully designed. The staff means well, they just have a different approach that maybe aligns better with others. The atmosphere, comfort, and amenities won us over, and we’re already looking forward to our next stay. Oh, and make sure you bring umbrellas as they don't have any on site to...

The Francis feels really strange to me. It seems like it almost knocks so many different aspects of hospitality out of the park, but continues to fall just short of great. The location of this historic building is wonderful for on-foot travelers, with at least a dozen restaurants within a 5-20 minute walk. There's a Walgreens and a 7/11 just a block away for any last minute toiletries, gas, and snacks. But location isn't everything...

My wife and I purchased a queen bedroom at about $250 per night (after taxes and fees) for 6 nights. We sprung for the "Romantic" package, which included a bottle of prosecco, a small bouquet of flowers (not roses), and chocolates that were decent at best. I don't recommend this package to anyone, as the price increase was not worth it for what we received. The room was admittedly much smaller than the photos on their website had lead us to believe (about 10' x 12') -- with an odd lack of furniture for us to settle in with. The kitchenette/mini bar left a lot to be desired, with only instant coffee, a mini-fridge barely large enough to fit one night of leftovers, and no microwave to heat those leftovers up in. The bedroom was admittedly immaculately clean, and the bathroom looked to only be 9-10 years old.

I attempted to leave the hotel one morning, only to get locked in the hotel's mudroom. The front door wouldn't open, and the rear door locked immediately behind me. I had to call my wife to come downstairs and let me in. On the way back in, I came in through the side door using my electronic fob, only to hear an elderly couple banging on the same door I was just locked in. I let them in, and the woman yelled "we're getting the hell out of here!". This was my first experience in a long chain of bizzarre happenings at the Francis.

The housekeeping schedule is bizzarre. You text the concierge on days you want your room cleaned, but housekeeping could knock on your door at any time. Why is a simple 'Do Not Disturb' sign on our doorknob not enough is beyond me, We had left our room from 9-2:30, and received a knock at around 3:30 from housekeeping. We asked her to come back later, meaning -- we're about to leave for dinner, can you come back then. We received a knock 30 minutes later. Great. I suppose we never specified HOW MUCH later. Another day, we left for breakfast and returned at 10am-ish, and our room had already been cleaned.

The Wayside Tavern, a cozy bar with delicious food that shares a footprint with the Francis, is unfortunately closed for breakfast and lunch. Another missed opportunity by the Francis to provide breakfast to guests in the shared sitting areas. This would be especially nice on Monday - Wednesday, when a lot of breakfast joints in Portland are closed. The music that plays at the Wayside starts at 5pm, and will play until 10-11pm at night. The bass echoed through the paper thin walls and kept us up. My wife and I ended up putting on headphones and fell asleep to a podcast. We were woken by fire trucks leaving the station across the street with their sirens shrieking.

One day, my wife and I went down for a nap at around 3pm, and we were awoken by the fire alarm in the Francis going off. We hopped out of bed, got dressed, and ran out the door. This is another instance of things being weird... Every hallway and stairwell door in the hotel, which are usually left open, were closed -- almost as if this fire alarm was a planned drill. Unbeknownst to us, we ran outside and waited in the rain for the fire department to come and clear the building for entry. Call it an anomaly, call it whatever you want, but upon reentering the building, we were told by the concierge that we needed to wear masks while in the building. No kidding, I was more worried about burning to death. After having been woken from my nap, I was less than thrilled by...

My wife and I stayed at The Francis for one night as a mini staycation to get out of our house while staying safe during COVID. While at the Francis we never felt like we were putting ourselves at risk as the hotel did a great job of ensuring minimal interaction while still providing a high level of service.

For our stay, we booked a Historic King along with the "The Full Francis Experience". This experience really elevated our stay and is probably even better in COVID times. When we arrived at our room an amazing bottle of red wine was waiting for us along with two lovely negronis in the fridge for later.

My favorite part of the Full Francis Experience was the personalized Adventure Guide to the city. This guide was personalized based on a survey we were asked to fill out prior to our stay and it was very apparent that they identified restaurants and activities that aligned with our interests. We included in our survey a note about our dietary restrictions and the guide did a great job at pointing us in the direction of amazing restaurants that we could both enjoy. To top off a great short staycation, we were treated to a delicious breakfast from Tandom bakery across the street.

Beyond the Full Francis Experience, the room was great, the staff was awesome and the overall hotel was gorgeous. The hotel is nicely located in Portland and if the weather had been a bit nicer (cold horizontal snow) we could easily have explored the majority of the city on foot (if you enjoy walking as we do).

Overall my wife and I were looking to use this little trip as a way to reset while staying safe from COVID and our stay exceeded our wildest dreams. I can not recommend the Francis...