The Oregon Hotel Trail: Park Lane Inn & Suites

October 8, 2007 at 9:00 AM | by annie0007 | Comments (0)

HotelChatter Maven Annie0007 recently wrapped up a two-week jaunt through Oregon, taking her from the mountains and high desert to the lakes and coast. Along with the terrain variety, she stayed in a wide array of accommodations, from a 50s-style campground setting along a starlit lake, to a luxury cottage surrounded by deer and wildflowers, and a 1930s mountain lodge made famous in a classic horror movie. This week we'll be running her exclusive hotel reviews. If you have any questions, hit us on the tipline.

The first stop on our own personal Oregon Trail was The Park Lane Inn and Suites in Portland. At first glance, this all-suites hotel doesn't give great curb appeal: it sits at the top of a steep hill seemingly far away from the action of downtown, with a big cheesy AAA-Approved placard in the parking lot, and little signs of life in the lobby.

This is definitely a place to crash, not to party, although the 6am garbage truck just below our window seemed to conspire against us.

After 24 hours, we began to see the errors of our initial impression. The view off the balcony looks out on the entirety of the city, belted by mountains at every turn, the wistful haunting sound of a freight train off in the distance.

We got plenty of use out of the kitchenette's coffee machine, microwave, and mini-fridge (when in Oregon, drink beer!) And we stuffed ourselves with the complementary breakfast of yogurts, bagels, toast, and legendary Pacific Northwest coffee.

Pocketing apples and cookies from the lobby trays, we set out for brief walk up a seriously tilted hill, just a few blocks to Portland's jewel, Washington Park. From here, you can wander through Japanese gardens, the heady rows of brilliant, fragrant, watercolor roses, hop a shuttle to the Oregon zoo, arboretum, and light rail train back to the city center. From there, clearly visible in the distance, sits the wizened wizard, Mt. Hood.

The hotel is also just a few blocks away from NW 23rd Avenue, hopping with packed bars, restaurants, clubs, and a super-stocked Trader Joe's.

For us, though, the hotel was a home run -- a short walk to PGE Park for a night of rawkus and delightful AAA baseball, in a stadium that rivals the major league cathedrals back home.

Tripadvisor reviews pretty much gave Park Lane the same mixed/leaning-toward-good reviews. Great for crashing, exploring, and catching public transit, but not a destination in and of itself.

[Photo: Sbassett29]

HotelChatter

Select a Destination:

Oregon Hotel Guide / MLB Travel / → All Tags