The Royal Sonesta Portland Downtown — Hotel in Portland

I would suggest avoiding this hotel at all cost. The location of the hotel is in a part of town that should make any out of towner feel uncomfortable. The hotel, while decorated in a fun unique way is dated: you have to request a refrigerator, the bathrobes have tears and holes in them, the heat in the room didn’t with the first half of the stay, and the room phone didn’t work the entirety of my stay. I mentioned all of these to the front desk multiple times with no solution offered.|The worst part is they don’t care about keeping you out in the cold. I had an issue with my apartment and needed to find a place to stay. I had a card on file and would check in nightly to re register my room key and (so I thought) settle the balance. 4 days into my stay i was told I would have to settle my balance in order to extend my reservation. I was confused but was also told my card had been charged 100 only one night so I thought it was in regards to that. I passed by the front desk multiple times a day and not ONCE was I stopped and informed of a major balance owed. No email. No contact. Only after checking in was I told I owed in excess of 600$!!|Shocked but still wanting to stay there I had a family member help and they were sent a credit card authorization form. I called the front desk and told them I’d like to pay in full for the night while we were settling the debt. They agreed and mentioned making sure the incidental charge was covered, which it was. Only after booking through a 3rd party site, paying in full, and arriving at site was I informed I would not be granted a key. ||I was livid as I was told it would not be a problem. They wouldn’t budge. I had spent the only money I had to pay for the room in full and was told I was basically on my own. ||The crazy part is - when I called the first night I asked the guy at the front desk if they price match as I know hotels prefer you book via them and not third party. He told me I should absolutely book directly with them - so imagine my surprise when I discover that by booking through a 3rd party website (in addition to paying their asinine 30 a night fee) my balance owed would be less than what I owed ! Even with a few nights of payment clearing the total amount I owed was almost double what I would have paid for the entire stay on a 3rd party. ||They should have no issue believing the front desk guy told me as such because when I checked in he never once gave me any information, didn’t check my id, told me about any fees or amenities, and straight up mislead me so I’d book through them and owe at an almost 200% markup. ||TLDR: issues I bought up were ignored. I was mislead about booking direct. I wasn’t informed of an outstanding balance until it had racked an exuberant amount. I was told I could make a separate reservation. Paid for said reservation only to be left out in the literal cold. ||This place doesn’t care about their guest at all. They only care about milking you. Avoid...

I would suggest avoiding this hotel at all cost. The location of the hotel is in a part of town that should make any out of towner feel uncomfortable. The hotel, while decorated in a fun unique way is dated: you have to request a refrigerator, the bathrobes have tears and holes in them, the heat in the room didn’t with the first half of the stay, and the room phone didn’t work the entirety of my stay. I mentioned all of these to the front desk multiple times with no solution offered.|The worst part is they don’t care about keeping you out in the cold. I had an issue with my apartment and needed to find a place to stay. I had a card on file and would check in nightly to re register my room key and (so I thought) settle the balance. 4 days into my stay i was told I would have to settle my balance in order to extend my reservation. I was confused but was also told my card had been charged 100 only one night so I thought it was in regards to that. I passed by the front desk multiple times a day and not ONCE was I stopped and informed of a major balance owed. No email. No contact. Only after checking in was I told I owed in excess of 600$!!|Shocked but still wanting to stay there I had a family member help and they were sent a credit card authorization form. I called the front desk and told them I’d like to pay in full for the night while we were settling the debt. They agreed and mentioned making sure the incidental charge was covered, which it was. Only after booking through a 3rd party site, paying in full, and arriving at site was I informed I would not be granted a key. ||I was livid as I was told it would not be a problem. They wouldn’t budge. I had spent the only money I had to pay for the room in full and was told I was basically on my own. ||The crazy part is - when I called the first night I asked the guy at the front desk if they price match as I know hotels prefer you book via them and not third party. He told me I should absolutely book directly with them - so imagine my surprise when I discover that by booking through a 3rd party website (in addition to paying their asinine 30 a night fee) my balance owed would be less than what I owed ! Even with a few nights of payment clearing the total amount I owed was almost double what I would have paid for the entire stay on a 3rd party. ||They should have no issue believing the front desk guy told me as such because when I checked in he never once gave me any information, didn’t check my id, told me about any fees or amenities, and straight up mislead me so I’d book through them and owe at an almost 200% markup. ||TLDR: issues I bought up were ignored. I was mislead about booking direct. I wasn’t informed of an outstanding balance until it had racked an exuberant amount. I was told I could make a separate reservation. Paid for said reservation only to be left out in the literal cold. ||This place doesn’t care about their guest at all. They only care about milking you. Avoid...

I stayed two nights at the Royal Sonesta Portland Downtown, and the experience was disappointing from start to finish. Let me break it down:

✅ Pros: Check-in convenience: There’s a short-term 15-minute parking pull-off right in front, which made arrival less stressful.

Security presence: There’s a door guard on duty at night. He was polite but very serious, and it felt reassuring at first.

Front desk staff (Dustin/Justin): He was nice and welcoming.

Lobby aesthetic: At first glance, the lobby looks beautiful—vintage, gem-toned, velvet, and bougie Victorian. It gave us hope.

That’s where the good ends.

❌ The Reality: Undisclosed Fees: Priceline listed the rate as ~$87/night. What they don’t tell you is that the hotel charges:

$50/night valet parking or you can risk parking on street.

$75 non-refundable pet fee (even if your dog’s the size of a purse)

$200 refundable deposit up front

$6 Evian water in the room (not complimentary).

Be prepared to pay more than double your nightly rate after fees.

Pet-Friendly = Piss Floor: We were placed on the second floor because of our dog, and it reeked of animal urine the moment we stepped out of the elevator. It smelled like they just gave up on ever cleaning that floor.

Aesthetic Horror Show: Our room looked like a fever dream. The walls were plastered with black and white wallpaper covered in hundreds of finches. Yes—birds. Everywhere. The chair was covered in black-and-white camouflage, like a Mossy Oak couch from a duck blind. It was ugly, chaotic, and uncomfortable.

Tiny room, useless mini-fridge, and overall claustrophobic layout. Nothing luxurious here—especially not for a supposed 4-star hotel.

Lazy service:

Food and drinks we had delivered to the hotel were never brought to us or even announced. One of our orders sat up front until it went cold.

Staff never followed up or offered basic hospitality—not even a courtesy call.

The elevator for the parking garage was broken during our stay, and no assistance was offered. We had to wait around for the slow service elevator every time we wanted to come or go.

Unprofessionalism:

On day two, the security guard was noticeably ruder.

We never received a receipt for our stay—despite being promised an email at checkout. So I don’t even know what they officially charged us in the end.

🛑 Final Verdict: The Royal Sonesta looks good on the outside but is a logistical and aesthetic nightmare once you're in—especially if you have a pet. The finch-themed room was an abomination, service was apathetic, the extra fees were excessive, and the smell on our floor was unbearable.

I’ve stayed in many hotels and tried to give this one a fair shot, but this is easily one of the worst hotel experiences I’ve had. I would never return and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone—especially not pet owners or anyone booking through third-party platforms like Priceline.

*I didn't bother...