I love Portland, OR. I really do. I would move there if it didn’t rain so damned much. The people are interesting and engaged and into books and coffee and vintage and local food and making things by hand and music and the outdoors. It’s actually a lot like Brooklyn, which is probably why I fit right in there.
And the campus HQ is the Ace Hotel, where my family and I stayed for a week just recently.
The Ace has everything you need and nothing superfluous. The rooms are simple, but ingeniously designed, very confortable and super affordable. Which makes a big difference when you are staying someplace for 5 or 6 days. Yet nothing about the place says ‘budget’. Even my father, who is the King of airplane upgrades and of booking suites at the fanciest-hotel-in-town, enjoyed his stay here.
The toiletries are from Malin and Goetz, so your hair actually feels good post-shower. There’s a Stumptown coffee joint just to the right of the lobby and Clyde Common, one of Portland’s most delicious eateries is on the left. And they provide room service, which rocks. Please try the fried chick peas if you go there. Please. They are tiny crisp flavorful pieces of heaven.
Oh and there’s also a bonified, old fashioned black and white photo booth in the lobby. That spits out real photos (instead of those digital ones.) And it takes credit cards, so you can painlessly go into debt making all sorts of fun photo projects.
speaking of which, click below for lots more photos…
a few great things:
Room 215 has been transformed into a breakfast room serving up European style breakfast (oatmeal, pasteries, toast, cheese, cured meants, hard boiled eggs, fruit, OJ, coffee, tea, granola, etc) for $8. Yep, 8 bucks. All you can eat.
The stairs tend to be the way to travel as the raw wood paneled elevator takes it’s time getting to where it’s going.
Our room had a huge b-movie poster up on the wall.
And an ingenious bedside table.
My sister had this very appropriate painting on her wall. She’d probably sleep all day if she had her druthers. Being the mother of a two year old is a cruel joke on her, in this respect.
Evan B. Harris’ intricate and fantastical mural graces the walls between the third and fourth floors.
The hotel business center offers up Mac’s for guest use, a big couch and wingback chair for comfort and a bunch of groovy school supplies (erasers! rubber bands!) perched atop a huge beautiful cabinet.
And for all you typography fans, in each bathroom you will find some verion of the letter A.
Last but not least, a fellow traveller. Just one small detail from the above mentioned stairwell mural. This dude clearly stays at the Ace when he is in Portland.
And so should you.
