Last month, Dad and I headed to Portland for a mileage run on United, where we decided to spontaneously book our hotel stays on a whim to make it more fun. Using some referral credits with HotelTonight (related post), I was able to score a room at one of Portland’s finest downtown luxury hotels, The Nines for just $15.
Since the NCAA was in town during the few days that we were there, hotel prices were on the rise and availability was limited, but I’ve been eying HotelTonight’s Portland availability for a few weeks prior to our trip to get a sense of what to expect. I noticed that The Nines was consistently available on a day-to-day basis and was priced around $159; however, the app listed the property at $195 ($225 with taxes and fees) during the NCAA. I redeemed my $220 in HT credit for the room, which left me paying $15 out of pocket for the night.
Since The Nines is an SPG property, I also received points for the stay, as well as 500 bonus Starpoints for declining cleaning service via their “Make a Green Choice” promotion (related post). For only $15, I ended up with a night in one of Portland’s prime hotels and a total of 812 SPG Starpoints. Not too shabby.
The Nine’s is located in the heart of downtown Portland on SW Morrison Street, adjacent to Pioneer Square. Directly outside of the hotel, you’ll find the TriMet MAX Light Rail which makes getting around Portland a breeze. In general, I found the city of Portland to be extremely efficient and accessible via the MAX Light Rail and also by foot.
The hotel lobby and check in is located on the 8th floor, and you’ll see in the photos below that the rest of the hotel has a beautiful open floor plan, allowing fantastic panoramic aerial views of the lobby from the floors above. There is also a gigantic dome window on the ceiling which radiates natural light throughout the entire hotel, which I thought was a nice touch. We were given a room on the 11th floor which was very spacious and nicely decorated in a “vintage-meets-modern” manner. Below are some photos to reference:
Very large and trendy room featuring two double beds
Updated flat-screen TV and blue chairs to brighten up the room
Cozy sitting area with great views of Pioneer Square below
The mini-bar nook
Very large bathroom with vanity seat
The shower, bath, and toilet
Looking down at the lobby/hotel's open floor plan from the 11th floor
Gorgeous ceiling dome window allowing natural light to permeate the entire hotel
Aerial view of the hotel's lobby and restaurants from the 11th floor
Trendy and modern decor in the lobby
More trendy/abstract lobby decor
No doubt one of my favorite domestic hotels and absolutely among Starwood’s best and brightest.
The Club Lounge here is the BEST I’ve ever experienced (as they get their food from their restaurant – Urban Farmer – which is incredible by itself). They serve only local/regional beer and wine, too. Additionally, Departures (on the roof) has some of the best cocktails I’ve ever tasted and views to match.
I only wish I could stay here again and again.
and then there’s the hiccups. The lounge serves Grant’s (?!?) as their sole scotch. The trendiness results in the evening nosh consisting of virtually raw steak (okay-unbelievably rare) which is really fatty. On the flip side, the breakfast is great-which is good because it’s the only way to get a newspaper-which is important to me each morning.
Check in and out can be efficient and friendly or an absolute mess. I got one of each on my last visit.
The rooms are trendy and gorgeous. And silly. The photos show that of the two windows (and be very careful because some of the rooms only have windows that look over the atrium and not outside) the drapes block one completely and the other one in half. Portland is a very dark and rainy city. This is stylish but dumb. I really wanted to love this hotel but I don’t. I do like it quite a lot and if they fix the hiccups, it could be great. Its location is flat out perfect….
Enjoyed reading this review! You scored a great deal at The Nines. The lobby has improved since we were there in July. Here is a link to my photo. http://frugaltravellawyer.com/2011/07/14/the-nines-lobby/
I loved the Nines! It was my fav hotel when I would travel to Portland for business. It looks like the 2 bed is bigger than the king as my room was cute, but very cozy. I too liked the urban farmer for breakfast and the Departure for HH. The Departure has one of the few views of downtown Portland.
I’ve been thinking about going there, so thanks for the info. I thought rooms booked through 3rd-parties weren’e eligible for points. Has this changed?
Great lounge with free alcohol all day ! Just ask and they will make you some great cocktails !
I love hotel Monaco (a Kimpton hotel) right around the corner