Tiny Digs Hotel of Tiny Houses Portland — Hotel in Portland

The Merlot House is a beautiful space that is not designed for human habitation. I’m not sorry that I stayed once, because it was fun to see how cleverly the wine theme was used throughout (wine-patterned curtains, wine bottles hanging from the ceiling, cork used in various creative ways, books on wine, a bed headboard with lacquered wine-bottle labels, etc.), but I won’t be going back.||Here are some of the issues that reduced my level of comfort:|1. The door lock panel has gray numbers that contrast very poorly with the black background. You can barely see the numbers unless the panel is lit up, but in order to make the panel light up, you have to hit a number. Since it’s hard to see the numbers, you are likely to hit the wrong one. Then when you enter the correct code, it will fail.|2. When you step inside, you’ll see a couple hooks by the door. The hooks are okay for holding jackets or sweaters, but so low that if you have a full-length coat (as I did), it will drag on the floor.|3. Similarly, there is a tiny “closet” that includes a few hangers that could be used to hang shirts or blouses, but not anything longer—and it is the ONLY storage area available. You will be dressing out of your suitcases, and stepping over and around them for the duration of your stay.|4. Ironically, there is a kind of ledge close to the (very high) ceiling that includes decorative wine bottles and a couple of large hampers that would be great for storing clothes, if you could get up there. Which you can’t.|5. There’s only one sink, and it’s not in the bathroom. This is probably fine for a single guest, but would not be great if there were two—one person could be using the sink for washing dishes while the other needed to wash their hands.|6. The sink is the highest one I’ve ever used. I’m five four, and I had to stand on tiptoes to spit out when brushing my teeth.|7. Under the sink, there are some shelves and drawers filled with guest amenities that I didn’t happen to need. There’s a sliding door that I moved, to see if it concealed any usable storage space (which it didn’t). The door immediately fell off. I put it back on its slider thing, moved it again, and it fell off again.|8. There’s a single hotplate for cooking. I was expecting more. Also, the pre-stay instructions included a cautionary note about plugging in the hotplate and the electric room heater at the same time (circuit breakers might trip). So when I wanted to heat up water for coffee, I had to unplug the heater.|9. There were dishes, cups, glasses, and silverware, but not one pot or pan. I had brought tortillas and cheese from home, thinking I could make myself a quick meal after traveling. Couldn’t.|10. I drank my first coffee out of a glass, because the cups are on the opposite wall from the hotplate and the dishes, and I assumed that, like the pans, they were missing.|11. The shower has low flow, and I couldn’t get it hot enough. ||On the plus side, the bed was fine, the house felt super-private and secure, and the location was great....

The Merlot House is a beautiful space that is not designed for human habitation. I’m not sorry that I stayed once, because it was fun to see how cleverly the wine theme was used throughout (wine-patterned curtains, wine bottles hanging from the ceiling, cork used in various creative ways, books on wine, a bed headboard with lacquered wine-bottle labels, etc.), but I won’t be going back.||Here are some of the issues that reduced my level of comfort:|1. The door lock panel has gray numbers that contrast very poorly with the black background. You can barely see the numbers unless the panel is lit up, but in order to make the panel light up, you have to hit a number. Since it’s hard to see the numbers, you are likely to hit the wrong one. Then when you enter the correct code, it will fail.|2. When you step inside, you’ll see a couple hooks by the door. The hooks are okay for holding jackets or sweaters, but so low that if you have a full-length coat (as I did), it will drag on the floor.|3. Similarly, there is a tiny “closet” that includes a few hangers that could be used to hang shirts or blouses, but not anything longer—and it is the ONLY storage area available. You will be dressing out of your suitcases, and stepping over and around them for the duration of your stay.|4. Ironically, there is a kind of ledge close to the (very high) ceiling that includes decorative wine bottles and a couple of large hampers that would be great for storing clothes, if you could get up there. Which you can’t.|5. There’s only one sink, and it’s not in the bathroom. This is probably fine for a single guest, but would not be great if there were two—one person could be using the sink for washing dishes while the other needed to wash their hands.|6. The sink is the highest one I’ve ever used. I’m five four, and I had to stand on tiptoes to spit out when brushing my teeth.|7. Under the sink, there are some shelves and drawers filled with guest amenities that I didn’t happen to need. There’s a sliding door that I moved, to see if it concealed any usable storage space (which it didn’t). The door immediately fell off. I put it back on its slider thing, moved it again, and it fell off again.|8. There’s a single hotplate for cooking. I was expecting more. Also, the pre-stay instructions included a cautionary note about plugging in the hotplate and the electric room heater at the same time (circuit breakers might trip). So when I wanted to heat up water for coffee, I had to unplug the heater.|9. There were dishes, cups, glasses, and silverware, but not one pot or pan. I had brought tortillas and cheese from home, thinking I could make myself a quick meal after traveling. Couldn’t.|10. I drank my first coffee out of a glass, because the cups are on the opposite wall from the hotplate and the dishes, and I assumed that, like the pans, they were missing.|11. The shower has low flow, and I couldn’t get it hot enough. ||On the plus side, the bed was fine, the house felt super-private and secure, and the location was great....

We recently stayed in the Rock & Roll tiny house. It was a comfortable stay & a unique experience which we were looking for. With any place, there are pros & cons. Overall we would stay at Tiny Digs again but maybe try a different space.

Things we loved: free parking, kitchen with fridge & full kitchen items, cute living room to hang in with games, fairly comfortable bed, hot shower, skylight & air conditioner in bedroom, fire pit & hammocks, great location next to convenience store & great restaurants, the ease of key pad access, good privacy, in a local neighborhood so it felt very safe.

Things that could use improvement: I LOVE bright colors so I was happy when booking that the inside is bright green, but being in such a small space with all that lime green got to be too much for my comfort. All the rooms are themed which is so cool however, there are breakable themed items that take up usable space which we had to move out of the way for the space to function. These things are cute for photos but the space could be adjusted for better usability. ( Glass grapes, vintage shave cup, big glass cup on kitchen table, this one made me nervous- a very breakable Marilyn Monroe plate by the foot of the bed in a tiny loft, 2 vintage phones just for decor.) Being a tiny house we expected it to be tight living which we are okay with but carving out a space to put our clothes maybe where the very cute record player is, would be a smart idea. The loft is cozy but we had to pull the mattress to the center of the room so we wouldn't hit our heads getting up.

Small adjustments would make for a much more lovable experience. Rock & roll is street side so it gets a little noisy if your a light sleeper. We had earplugs so it was ok. There are reasonable quiet hours, but then why put the giant LOUD metal artistic circle gate that you have fight with to keep it quiet?! We felt rude having to go in & out because if the stupid gate.

Parking is free but because the bar down the street gets busy on weekends we had to park blocks down. * Dont park on NE 27th Ave!! Its Very tight & there were car mirrors that got damaged from cars driving by. Try for a spot around the corner on NE Flanders St which is much wider. You still might want to tuck your car mirrors in just to be safe.

Overall we recommend Tiny Digs. We would stay there again but try a less vibrant house next time. Thanks Tiny Digs for the...