Hotel Recommendations for Portland Brewery Trip

We'll be in Portland in March. Can anyone give a good recommendation for hotel(s) nearby/close to breweries, good pubs, etc?

Any helpful info would be greatly appreciated from this Texas BA.

Thanks!

Is your goal to walk / use public transit primarily?

The hotels downtown or in Lloyd Center are the most central (but sometimes pricy although March might not be too bad).

Assuming you're reasonably fit, you can walk from Downtown to Bailey's, Deschutes, Bridgeport, Henry's, Hair of the Dog, Cascade, Green Dragon, maybe The Commons, Beermongers, and Apex too.

Upright is in the Lloyd Center district, and from there you are a short bus or MAX ride into downtown or SE to hit everything listed previously.

If you wanted to look for something cheaper, but still rely on public transit, you might look for something near the airport where you can take the Red line MAX in, or north along the Yellow line. Either option is only ~15 minutes from downtown.

Great info. Thanks kscaldef.

I've stayed at the Park Lane Inn & Suites when visiting family in Portland. It's not super fancy, but it's clean and adequate, especially if you are not going to be spending much time in your hotel. It's near Burnside and SW King Ave. Public transportation in Portland is very easy to use, so getting around shouldn't be a problem.

Definitely visit HotD, Cascade, Laurelwood, Amnesia, Horse Brass Pub, Belmont Station, Rogue Public House, etc., etc.

www.airbnb.com

We've used airbnb for Seattle trips and it is a great website. Depending on your comfort level, there's everything from dirty flophouses to nice private condos.

I would second the recommendation of airbnb, having just done the reverse of your trip. I flew out from Portland and spent four days in San Antonio, followed by four days in Austin. Stayed in two converted garage apartments, for less than $80 per night. Beats a hotel any time. Portland is small enough that you can easily get to the majority of the good brewpubs using leg power or public transportation

Another option for budget-conscious folks is the Banfield Motel on NE Sandy and 37th ave. It's not fancy, but it's only 5 blocks from the Hollywood Transit Center on 42nd and Halsey. From the HTC you can take an easy MAX, bus, and/or streetcar ride to just about anything worth visiting.

A very helpful bunch here.

Many thanks.

I also say airbnb

and with the new Streetcar line you can get from upright, to cascade, hair of the dog, commons and within about 10 blocks of apex and beermongers, all on the east side.

Just spent 4 nights at the Hotel Monaco. They've got great rates, and free valet parking if you're a AAA member. Also a rental car was only $15 per day out here. Fantastic trip.

Does anyone know about the Kennedy School? Was planning on making a trip up there on the fly, curious if its fun and how far/close you are to the breweries?

Not much to add to what Brian told you (I also think it a fun place, though I haven't been in some now). However, definitely do make a reservation before heading up. As it's the off season, you may not have much problem getting a room, but in the past I know I had to make a reservation at least several months in advance if I planned to stay there on a weekend. Also, when you call them (I'd call, rather than using McM's online reservations system), tell them you want a room on the NE Jessup St. side of the hotel. The rest of the rooms front NE 33rd Ave., which tends to be a very busy, very noisy street. Unless you are a VERY sound sleeper, you'll be a lot happier on the NE Jessup side of the hotel.

Cool thanks for the info. How far from there is hotd, deschutes, rogue, cascade? Public transportation work or will we need to drive

It depends on your dedication to the cause, but you'll probably want to drive to/from the Kennedy School.

HOTD and Cascade are pretty close to one another; roughly 4 or 5 miles from Kennedy School I'd say? I'm sure you can take public transportation over there, but I'm not sure what number bus to use. Rogue and Deschutes are both over in the Pearl District, on the other side of the river. Figure they're about 5 or 6 miles away. Again, I'm sure they're accessible by bus, but I don't know the liines.

As for Brian's comments about Kennedy School, at one time the lodging price included a voucher for breakfast (in fact, I think the hammerhead package during the week also included a voucher for dinner). It was truly a great deal, and I can only assume the McM's discontinued it because they were having no problem filling the place, with or without breakfast included. My understanding was that the vouchers were also a hassle for the staff, as folks would try to double up vouchers (getting two vouchers, even though there was only one guest), and also trying to use it for items that weren't supposed to be included in the voucher deal (beer, wine, etc.). Anyway, I think it's been at least 3 or 4 years since the lodging price included breakfast. The rooms are good size, and there's a lot to see and do at kennedy school, so I'd encourage you to visit if you have a mind. Good luck.

You guys have been more than helpful. Thanks! I think if we do end up coming we will be there for Zwanze day if not ill be here in Oakland. If anyone is interested in some plinys just message me and I can haul some up if I do end up coming there. Still joy sure though but if I do I have no problem bringing them

It's a generous offer, but both draft and bottled pliny are distributed in Portland. Bottles tend to disappear pretty quickly once they hit the bottle shops around town each month, but usually draft pliny can be found around town during the month. Usually...

Here is a map I put together of breweries, bars, restaurants (many vegan places) and coffee places I like... still a work in progress, but a decent place to start
http://goo.gl/maps/XwuEN

Have visited several times and really enjoyed both Kennedy School and The Crystal Hotel. Kennedy is great if you want to just chill, bounce around the bars there, and then catch a movie.

Sipping a CaFTW in the Hotel Monaco right now - I'm not footing the bill but would recommend the multitude of complimentary robes and in-room stuffed animals

I like your style.

i stayed at hotel 50 when i went. great location right on the river downtown, walking distance (right across the bridge) from hotd, short bus ride from cascade. not terribly close to upright but the public transportation in portland is amazing and it's a like 30 minutes by bus and tram. the room was pretty nice, you can get a river facing room if you ask. food carts nearby, pretty good all around.

Well if your interested in other nor cal stuff just let me know.

also, find somewhere with boneyard beers on tap and drink them. RPM specifically, of all the amazing beer i had on my trip i think that was the best (aside from adam from the wood). they seem to be on tap at a lot of places but try to find RPM specifically, i had it right after pliny and it was as good at worst.

Hop Venom > RPM

I'm guajolote, and I approve of this message.

disagree, but hop venom was very good too. suge knight was the other one i got to try, delicious as well.

Agreed, but there's just something about the RPM that I really, really like. It just seems a lot more drinkable than the Hop Venom, for all that the abv. is still over 7%.

Agreed. Love them both, but I find Hop Venom to be a bit more consistent & balanced batch to batch. RPM is great, lighter body but has more of a resonous piney thing sometimes where Hop Venom tends to get a bit sweeter and more of that passionfruit element. Both have that dank Boneyard backbone though. No love for Bone-A-Fide? I dig that pale...


Anyone noticing a difference in the lower ABV version of Hop Venom? That booze was hidden so well to begin with, but for some reason I feel like the punch is off now.

It's sounds like you're leaning toward the Northeast, but thought I'd mention that I stayed at The Jupiter in the Southeast, and while I loved the location, I found it to be overpriced. My friend thought our room looked like IKEA threw up all over it. I plan to use Airbnb on my next trip.

Hotel 50 would be my choice based on its central location proximity to public transportation