I'll be visiting Portland, OR in June for a Friday - Monday and other than a day trip to Multnomah Falls area on Saturday, I would prefer to use public transit. Can anyone tell me which Marriott property has the most convenient access to public transit? I'll be keeping the car in parking most of the time.
NIce restaurants, coffee shops nearby would be a plus as well.
thanks!
Faith
The Portland Marriott City Center and the Courtyard Portland City Center are both ideally located in the old downtown and close to light rail, bus and trolley. Will the car be a rental or are you driving into Portland? I am guessing the nightly parking fee will be high. I use only public transportation when I visit Portland (I fly in). No shortage of restaurants and they have dozens of food trucks/trailers permanently located in the downtown. I highly recommend Grassa at the corner of SW Washington St. and SW 12th Ave. casual with home made pastas, just a few blocks form the Marriott. (grassapdx.com). Enjoy, it is a great weekend visit!
I agree with curiousone. The Portland Marriott City Center is very centrally located with great transit connections nearby. There's also superb dining within easy walking distance. I wanted to try Grassa as recommended, but didn't have time. I LOVED Tasty n Alder, though, and is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere now. Pioneer Plaza is also very close by. Location is definitely the biggest strength of this property. Waterfront is kind of away from central Portland, so I wouldn't choose that property. There's also a Residence Inn that looks pretty good in the Pearl District, but is a little less convenient than City Center.
For more info, check out my blog post on the property: Hotel Review: Portland Marriott City Center
Marriott City Center is very close to the rail stop and a wonderful hotel and as the others have mentioned right in the midst of downtown with many dining options. Your parking fee will be pretty high regardless of where you decide to stay so if you don't need the car for anything but your trip to the Falls you may consider taking the rail from the airport if flying into PDX and renting a car from a downtown rental location.
Another excellent day trip is Mt.Hood and Timberline Lodge.
The Portland visit is actually a piece of a larger trip. We are flying in to Seattle for a Mariner's game then driving down to Portland the next day. After Portland, we are then driving to Cannon Beach for a few days before driving up the coast and then back to Seattle. So I'm sort of locked in to the rental car, which I'm ok with.
So far the Marriott City Center seems to be the popular choice.
What about the Courtyard Convention Center or Residence Inn Downtown/River Place?
Thanks for all the info so far!
-Faith
The Downtown Portland OR hotels | Portland extended stay hotel | Marriott Residence Inn has some restaurants around it yet isn't in a central location for downtown. Have not stayed at this location, but have been in the lobby and it's a very nice property yet a bit of a walk to the center of downtown. Most likely it would depend on what suits your needs the best, but if you want to be IN downtown I'd pick the City Center Marriott.
The RI DT/River is in kind of a no-mans-land. There is trolley and bus service nearby, but not much else. I would take RI Pearl District over this one. The CY Convention Center is on the other side of the river. I would take the downtown CY over the convention center.
I just remembered that the RI Pearl District is right next to the AMTRAK station. I would be very concerned about train noise.
We like Marriott City Center, and the daily 5 p.m. complimentary toast (with a local brew) in the lobby bar. Parking is less expensive ($19 in September 2015) in garage across the street (north end of the hotel).
And if it's a clear day on your drive down from Seattle, DO stop at Mount St, Helen's visitor center!!
If you want to stay outside of the city there's a Residence Inn at Cascade Station (right next to the light rail) very near the airport.
THank you everyone for the help, suggestions and tips! I think we are going with the Marriott City Center and definitely adding some restaurants as well as the Mt. Saint Helen's visitor center to our to do list!
Although many others have signed in with helpful answers/suggestions, here are a few additional ones, with earlier post I submitted as well: Portland, Oregon - City of Bridges
If you're planning to visit Multnomah Falls, you'll need an auto to take full advantage of this area: Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge near Portland, Oregon - You can have lunch there with spectacular view of the falls, and afterward you might want to drive along the Columbia River to Hood River and then drive south toward Mt. Hood. At Government Gap, drive up Mt. Hood to the Timberline Lodge and perhaps stay for the night, or just have dinner - http://www.timberlinelodge.com/
The Portland Marriott City Center and the Courtyard Portland City Center are both ideally located in the old downtown and close to light rail, bus and trolley. Will the car be a rental or are you driving into Portland? I am guessing the nightly parking fee will be high. I use only public transportation when I visit Portland (I fly in). No shortage of restaurants and they have dozens of food trucks/trailers permanently located in the downtown. I highly recommend Grassa at the corner of SW Washington St. and SW 12th Ave. casual with home made pastas, just a few blocks form the Marriott. (grassapdx.com). Enjoy, it is a great weekend visit!