The Ace Hotel Portland

The Portland Ace! If you are an avid a follower of All The Blogs like I am, the Ace will be old hat to you by now. Of course, the Palm Springs Ace is (possibly) the most famous, but Portland was the first, and the minute I found out we were headed to Portland, I begged for a brief stay.

Staying at a good hotel has been a priority of mine for a while. No funky smells and no creepy desk employees– very important. Located in a good part of town, with cool amenities (we loved the Saguaro in Palm Springs and The Moonrise in St Louis for the aforementioned reasons) really make the experience worth the extra cost due to saved time and overall enjoyment factor.

Although, I’m a sucker for a free continental breakfast. Something not offered at fancy-schmancy places. Sad face.

We left the wedding reception a bit late, drove an hour, then checked in at The Ace after dark. Even so, I enforced my crazy blogger “put your luggage down and don’t touch anything” rule so I could snap the room before settling in. The photos are a bit grainy since they were taken at night.

Holy sliding wood panel, Batman. The barn-door style panel closed over the window, and was a nice touch. Blocked out the light and a lot of the sound. Enhanced the cool factor. Slid smoothly. I also soaked in the antique-style moldings and appreciated the wallpaper made from dictionary pages. Staying in creative places is so inspiring–I found a lot of ideas I’d like to emulate in our own home!

Small details were appreciated, like the sweets provided at check in (above right) and the extensive snack and drink options. Against our better judgement (I know it would have been cheaper elsewhere) we very thoroughly enjoyed the spring water, corn chips, and salsa.

Here’s the irrational part (we humans tend to be irrational beings). We paid the associated price for having a “cool” hotel, but didn’t even have our own bathroom in the room. Say what?

We had a little sink area, perfect for washing up, brushing teeth, putting on and taking off makeup, etc, but the real bathroom part was two doors down and shared by the rooms near us. It was strange, but surprisingly easy to get used to. The shower was super luxurious and I never had to, well, wait in line or anything to use the facilities. What a revolutionary concept! Or, should I say, a throwback concept–the building was really old and this is probably how most hotels used to be, and possibly still are in many parts of the world. Definitely a first for me (barring Hostels) but did not diminish my stay!

The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that the old loft in Kansas we used to live in was at one point a hotel in this style. In that apartment, each room had a doorway accessing the hallway, and each room was about the same size (if not larger) than the room we stayed in. Epiphanies all over the place!

Of course, we were in one of the cheapest rooms at the Ace. Spend more, get your own bathroom. Such is life.

Monday morning we finally got to snag a spot (and a photo) in the iconic (and normally packed) lobby. Adjacent Stumptown Roasters does not have any tables or anything to sit at and enjoy their coffee, so patrons usually relax here. Of course we took some photos in the old-style photobooth as well, which I assume is an Ace staple since the locations in Palm Springs and Downtown Los Angeles have the same thing.

I was about ready to move in permanently! Cool location, cool decor, comfortable bed… and cable? Yeah, I so could have moved in permanently. Highly recommended.

Need a recommendation for where to stay? Check out my Your Turn section.