Hotwire Hotel: 2.5* Portland, $99, Downtown-Convention Center?

[WillTravel]

Amenities:

Smoke Free Rooms

Complimentary Breakfast

Pool(s)

Laundry Facilities

I don't see one like this on the list. Could this be the Residence Inn? Any other ideas?

[tilepusher]

I saw this listing before, and my best guess at the time was also the Residence Inn Lloyd Center. It would be unusual for a Residence Inn to rated only 2.5* by Hotwire, but it appears to be the best fit for the amenities and Tripadvisor information.

[WillTravel]

Maybe it could be the La Quinta Inn Portland Convention Center? That only has a TripAdvisor rating of 3 (and Hotwire says 4 for this property), but we have seen this match is not perfect.

The reason I'm inclined to think Residence Inn is that "smoke-free" signals Marriott, and TA matches.

[WillTravel]

Maybe the Holiday Inn Express Suites Portland Airport‎?

The Airport thing threw me off, but it's actually a couple blocks from the Convention Center, and Holiday Inn Express in Seattle is 2.5* on Hotwire with similar amenities.

[thereuare]

I'd wait for Colfax who knows the area well and may have a guess.

[tilepusher]

According to the hotel website's map, the Holiday Inn Express (Airport Area) is about a mile from the Airport, on the other side of the 205, which clearly puts it in the Airport zone. The Holiday Inn Express on Stark St. is also in the Airport zone.

[WillTravel]

Maybe it is La Quinta after all. I did a Vacation Package search (which I should have done at first), and see that La Quinta Vancouver comes up, which is obviously not in this zone. However, the La Quinta Vancouver (Washington state) has Smoke-free Rooms as an amenity and it is 2.5*, so it's not too much of a stretch to think that La Quinta Convention Center would have the same. And as mentioned, Residence Inn is usually 3* on Hotwire.

Thanks for the location info about Holiday Inn Express. I get very frustrated with those small Hotwire maps.

I am still making the decision about when to go and where to book, and may choose direct booking (through a BB link if possible, of course), but I will let you know the final outcome.

[tilepusher]

It's possible that this hotel is the La Quinta (the hotel website shows only non-smoking rooms), though that would make the Tripadvisor information quite inaccurate (would that be grounds for a refund?). But there's also a listing for a 2* in the Convention Center zone for $69 with the following amenities: complementary breakfast, pool, fitness, laundry, high-speed internet, golf, tennis; the best match for these amenities appears to be the La Quinta. So if the 2.5* is the La Quinta, what's this one?

I find that Priceline has far better deals for Portland hotels. Is it critical that you have a non-smoking room (or some particular amenity)?

[Colfax]

Thanks for your endorsement of my Portland wizardry, thereuare, but tilepusher does just fine without me! A couple days ago, in a different thread, I was asking HIM for advice on Priceline bidding in Portland. I left Portland a couple years ago now so I'm a little rusty on the bidding up there. In Portland tilepusher knows what's what!

As for that 2.5* in the Convention Center zone...

I don't think it's La Quinta either. LaQuinta's only $95 at LQ.com these nights; less than the $99 Hotwire rate. And the TripAdvisor ratings don't match.

ResInn is more likely---TripAdvisor rating and number of reviews match. And ResInn is $129 your nights, a better "fit" with the $99 Hotwire rate. My reservation is like yours...2.5* seems a low rating for a ResInn on Hotwire.

But I can't think of another hotel in the zone with pool and complimentary breakfast besides LQ and ResInn. Shilo Inn has breakfast but no pool (none mentioned on website anyhow).

I lean towards ResInn then, but with doubts.

Look forward to hearing what you ultimately come up with, WillTravel.

[WillTravel]

I'm not worried about smoke-free rooms (I almost always get one anyway, and I can live with the occasional exception). But the Hotwire zone looks smaller than the corresponding Priceline zone (or am I wrong about that - it's possible given the maps), and if I narrow down the possible hotels, then I have a much better control of the location. I would also like to have a fridge (a nice to have, but not a necessity) and if it is a Res. Inn than I think that would be included. Anyway, good food for thought. Thanks again.

[thereuare]

Thanks for your endorsement of my Portland wizardry, thereuare, but tilepusher does just fine without me! A couple days ago, in a different thread, I was asking HIM for advice on Priceline bidding in Portland. I left Portland a couple years ago now so I'm a little rusty on the bidding up there. In Portland tilepusher knows what's what!

Yes, we're in agreement, tilepusher's knowlege and contributions to the forum and other members have not gone unnoticed (and they're very appreciated)... just thought given the uncertainty of this particular property more opinions would be better than less. :)

[Colfax]

It's true Priceline's Convention Center zone is larger than Hotwire's, but I don't think that's relevant to your stay. The potential hotels in Priceline's CC zone but not in Hotwire's zone are low rent places near Sandy Blvd (e.g. Banfield Motor Inn) that are most likely rated 1* on Priceline, or 2* at most.

I'd probably stay away from Priceline for this trip, unless you're willing to accept the risk of upgrade to 3*. Almost all 2.5* bids in CC zone are upgraded to 3*. Bidding 2* you could get Jupiter or Inn at Convention Center, which I also don't think are what you want.

[WillTravel]

What I have done for now is book Holiday Inn Convention Center, through the BB link, for the Entertainment Card rate of $106 per night. This is cancellable, it's non-smoking, a fridge and microwave are in the room, and there can be up to 5 people staying in the room (albeit for an extra fee per extra person). So for now, until I have absolute certainty about what I want to do, I think I will stay with this option.

[tilepusher]

There's a good chance that I'll be coming down to Portland on the same weekend as you are to attend an event at the Holiday Inn Convention Center. If so, my initial plan is to bid for a 3* in Downtown Portland and use MAX to get to and from the Holiday Inn. Would that be a viable option for you?

[WillTravel]

I'd consider it, but the problem is that I see an unknown 3* hotel as a little too uncertain to make non-child travel companions agree to ahead of time. But I'll definitely keep that option open.

[Colfax]

Adding to the stew...

I found this on Holiday Inn Convention Center's homepage:

The hotel is now 100% non smoking. The hotels multi-million dollar renovation and conversion to Crowne Plaza will be complete in May 2008.

No exact date in May given for the conversion. I wonder if construction will still be in progress in early May?

[essxjay]

As of today, the signage is still HI.

[Colfax]

Thanks for the update, essxjay. If you see this, WillTravel, did you end up staying at the Holiday Inn? How was it?