The Nines, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Portland — Restaurant in Portland

Flew into Portland for five days for a conference, and thanks to a good conference rate, convenient location and SPG branding, decided to make The Nines my home for a few days. Took the MAX Light Rail over from the airport, which conveniently drops you off within a block of the hotel.

The Nines occupies the top floors of the historic Meier & Frank building in downtown Portland. The bottom five floors of the building are now a Macy's department store, and floors six and seven are occupied by meeting spaces and ballrooms for the hotel, so upon entering the hotel's elevator lobby at street level, you head up to the eighth floor to visit the front desk and check in. Despite the busy nature of the hotel (it was sold out for the duration of our stay), check-in was smooth and swift. Wandering around behind the desk will put you in the middle of a beautiful modern atrium, with half of the rooms in the hotel having windows that open out into the atrium. Each floor also has a large balcony space that opens out into the atrium that is open during the day for guests to enjoy. The Urban Farmer restaurant also resides in this atrium, and although we did not eat a meal here, the bar area and decor is fantastic.

We had an 11th floor room facing out to the street which offered some nice views of downtown Portland. I found the room to be very comfortable and very well appointed, luxurious without being over the top. The mini bar was well stocked and prices were reasonable compared to some other recent stays of mine, though unfortunately our refrigerator in our room didn't work for our entire stay, despite two separate calls to the front desk to try to get that resolved. Though this was disappointing, the hotel provided a generous apology in the form of a $50 food and beverage credit at checkout. The bathroom was also fairly large, and the BeeKind bath amenities are now counted among my favorites anywhere. Really great to have a dimmer on the light switch in here, as we all know what a rude awakening it is to have to turn on a bright bathroom light when coming in from a dark room at night. The only thing I would have expected here were things like cotton balls and q-tips to be available in the bathroom, as those seem like standards for a five star property and were not present here. This wasn't a big deal to us though. Turndown service is also provided unless you take part in the Make A Green Choice program, which provides bonus loyalty points for declining housekeeping services each day.

We did have drinks a couple of times in the upstairs Departure restaurant, which is a beautifully designed space mixing up really great cocktails. We unfortunately didn't get a chance to enjoy a meal here, which was really disappointing since its chef (Top Chef contestant Gregory Gourdet) was recently nominated as a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northwest, but it just gives us good reason to come back for a return visit. We also enjoyed cocktails one afternoon at the rooftop lounge, which provides some really fantastic views of downtown Portland and the surrounding landscape.

The interactions we had with the staff were always fantastic. Mae checked us in and gave us a good rundown of the hotel as well as some the surrounding area. We were always greeted with a smile and a hello by the door and valet staff, and when calling down to request things for the room the requests were always addressed promptly by the person on the other end of the line. Some other reviewers have mentioned that the staff seemed too laid back and lackadaisical, but I found that to be one of their more endearing qualities. The interactions we had with them seemed authentic and not forced, which I really appreciated.

All in all, this hotel earned its five star rating from me in spite of the minor hiccups we experienced during our stay. On my next trip to Portland, The Nines will undoubtedly be the first place I look for a place to stay. I can't wait for another opportunity to spend a few days...

I've been to a lot of hotels all over the United States. I can't count the number of hotels I've stayed in and I don't know how many of them I've reviewed, but I have to review The Nines. (Sorry it's a long one).

This experience at The Nines, was hands down, probably the best hospitality experience I've ever had personally. From the moment I arrived, I was treated royally. Jason was the first person I met. He was part of the bell/valet staff and he helped me get to where I needed! He helped me figure out where to go, what to do and how to navigate the area. All of the the staff went above and beyond. They were friendly, they were inviting, they treated me like I had been staying at The Nines my whole life. I got an early check in, late check out, and the valet staff helped me find my way to various places. Overall, the staff at The Nines provided me elite service.

If you plan to stay at The Nines, here is what I can tell you.

Urban Farmer has the best deviled eggs period. Get them. No matter what, get them. Everything I had to eat in that place was wonderful but those Deviled Eggs are next level good. The Staff was top notch and the bartenders can sling you booze or coffee, whichever you prefer.

Departure is the other place to eat and it's on top of the hotel. Everything I ate in that restaurant was delicious. I had 4 things - and there wasn't a single bad bite. Not one. I opted for ala carte, but I bet I would have been equally satisfied with the 3 or 5 course meal plan. It was late when I went and my server obliged my need to chat and visited with me.

Prices were comparable and reasonable considering it's a Hotel and I felt that I would have paid equally for less food in other locations.

My room was a king bed facing inward and while I had no access direct sunlight, my room was quiet, spacious and had a bed that will put you to sleep faster than your Mother's arms. The air conditioning blew cold air when I needed it. The bathroom was very modern, the toilet was a bit weird for me and the grout in the shower looked like it needed a scrubbing (but I'm being nit picky). However, that shower washed the sweat from walking the city right off me. Even the complimentary shampoo, conditioner and soap was lavish and amazing. I might just buy some of that someday from the hotel's online store. I'm telling you, that stuff was so fresh and clean, if you're staying here, just leave your shampoo/conditioner at home so you can have room in your bags for shopping and use what the Hotel is providing. The complimentary coffee maker was pretty awesome. Ask for a mini fridge to store left overs from Urban Farmer or Departure, (if you manage to have left overs), or to store some cold drinks.

Sheryl and Cruz helped me at the concierge. Cruz sent me an email, got my order and notated it word for word in the system. Sheryl made sure I had everything I ordered and that it was done right. They both gave me suggestions to eat and I opted for one of their recommendations.

The front desk staff were amazing. They gave me a late check out and took care of any and all of my needs. They must take lessons on how to having soothing voices, because they all make you feel at ease when checking in.

The staff at The Nines sets the bar very high and it was wonderful.

I will close with this.

My hope for the hospitality industry is that maybe other hotels will send their staff to stay at The Nines to see how a hospitality crew can take care of a guest. If you're considering The Nines, just do it. I hope your experience will be as...

Overall: I was underwhelmed by this experience. We booked a king room and were placed on the 12th floor in the hall with construction. There was loud fans and debris, and it was unsightly. I was disappointed by this as we had been anticipating this hotel for years before being able to afford a cheaper room here. I would call it an average hotel with some luxury amenities. I wish they had either a hot tub or baths like their lower priced competitors in the neighborhood. The concierge folks were the best part and offered a lot of friendly help getting our luggage to and from. Matthew left a great last impression of what was a fairly mediocre experience.

Room: the superior room has 1 chair, and 1 desk in addition to the bed. The windows look over the indoor atrium. Our bed’s sheets were ripped upon arrival. The room was dusty and the amenities were minimal for the price. I enjoyed the complimentary slippers and nespresso. The shower is so small, I wished they had a bath. It was challenging for 2 to eat room service together. The fridge is packed with an expensive mini bar (sodas/gatorade were $7+ for mini size, shots started at $12+) which left no room for our drinks or leftovers without moving everything out and into the closet. TV had basic cable options and the guide doesn’t work, so you just flip channels until you find something.

Dining: I have always loved the Urban Farmer for a nice meal. However, the hostess expressed her annoyance that we booked a reservation for 7:30 just 10 minutes before. She told us we can wait in the lobby and order drinks while we wait for a table. The 1st waitress was equally annoyed that we only wanted drinks from her while we waited for a table. Once seated at our table, we ordered appetizers. Our waitress didn’t take our entree order until well after we finished apps, which made our dinner take 2 hours from being seated to getting the ticket. We skipped dessert as a result; my favorite part. The food was good, but their winter menu is limited and lacks some flavor. The steak was good at least… I never took a picture because we were either overwhelmed with too many plates on the table or none at all. We weren’t offered the option to charge it to the room like other guests. I suppose we didn’t look like the type of people who would stay there. What happened, urban farmer? Departure was amazing and the service was great! We were in and out in 1.5 hours and always had food on the table. Our waiter was great at helping us pick a sake bottle. Every bite was consistent and well made. I felt the money was worth the experience and I look forward to coming back to the restaurant. It had a great view of downtown as well!

Room service: the $16 Bloody Mary is advertised to have candied bacon. We ordered this for breakfast 2 days in a row, neither came with bacon. The second day they forgot the vodka and salted rim, too. It was good tomato juice, though. Not worth $16. The red eye gravy was so thick and coagulated, which is not red eye gravy at all. It should be very thin and viscous. The same for the bernaise. Thick and separated. The steak was fine and the homemade english muffin is great. The woman who brought our meals was professional and the...