Hotwire Hotel: 3* Portland (Airport PDX) Holiday Inn

[tilepusher]

I will be attending an event in May that will be held at the Holiday Inn Portland Airport. I haven't stayed in the airport area before and could use some input from those who have.

I will probably use Hotwire this time because

1. I don't what sort of transportation I'll have for this trip, so the closer I can be to the Holiday Inn, the better.

2. The airport hotels seem to be easily identifiable on Hotwire.

3. If I use Priceline I will have a high probability of getting the Red Lion, which judging from reviews I've seen, I would rather avoid.

Taking all of this into account, I'm aiming to book either the Holiday Inn or the Radisson. What I wanted to know is:

How does the quality of these hotels compare? Obviously, the Holiday Inn would be best in terms of location, but I'd rather stay at the Radisson if it's the better hotel. Has anyone stayed at both places?

The Radisson appears to be within easy walking distance from the Holiday Inn, but is it really? The path shown on Google Maps appears to cross a major road (NE Columbia Blvd.) twice. I want to make sure that getting to and from the Holiday Inn doesn't require a major detour or putting my life at risk.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[thereuare]

I called the Holiday Inn (you do so much for the board it was the least i could do :) ) and was told that there were no sidewalks but it wouldn't be that hard of a trip, although i'll add my own comment that i don't think i'd do it at nite, it's a half a mile so i can't imagine a cab being more than $5.

However, if you haven't already, i would start by seeing what is offered on HOTWIRE... have you seen if what you believe to be the Radisson and/or Holiday Inn are both offered? (HOTWIRE may make the decision for you as to which one to stay in)

What are the actual dates of your stay?

[tilepusher]

Thank you; I'm flattered that you went that far for me! :)

I'll be staying there May 1-3. The 3* currently on Hotwire is a match for the Radisson. Since my stay is 2 1/2 months away, however, I'm wondering if I should wait and see if the Holiday Inn comes up. If I do decide to stay at the Radisson, then unless crossing Columbia Blvd. is really dangerous, I'd much rather walk than pay for a cab to drive such a short distance (and I can probably get a ride back to the hotel from somebody). If there's the possibility that I'll have to take a cab, however, I'll need to factor that in when making my decision.

I think I have enough time that I'd like to get some opinions about the hotels and information about the area before I make my purchase.

[Colfax]

I've stayed at the Holiday Inn and Red Lion, both on Priceline. I haven't stayed at the Radisson or Sheraton, but I'm familiar with their locations.

None of these are fine hotels really, but the Red Lion is my last pick of the bunch. Priceline refunded my Red Lion stay due to construction noise (jackhammers). Plus the Red Lion parking lot was closed for repaving and customers were being directed to park a couple blocks away, in a shady neighborhood. The renovations are finished now but the Red Lion's location is still subpar and it's a long walk to the Holiday Inn.

Honestly I don't think I'd walk from ANY other hotel to the Holiday Inn. The Holiday Inn is sort of on an "island" by itself, far from any stores or gas stations, etc. It's an industrial and warehouse type of area, dark at night, and the adjacent residential areas aren't Portland's best . I think you're perfectly safe on the Holiday Inn premises, and walking from the hotel to your car. It's not a pedestrian friendly area though, not even in daylight.

To my mind the most desireable hotels near the Airport are the Embassy Suites (which never comes up on Priceline or Hotwire) and the Priceline 2.5* hotels (Residence Inn, Courtyard, Hilton Garden Inn, Clarion). Probably some of those 2.5* have been upgraded to 3* by now. 2.5* bids in PDX zone are almost always upgraded to 3* though, so that's not a safe bid either.

If you won't have a car I'd probably recommend staying at the host hotel.

[tilepusher]

Thanks for the information, Colfax. I was hoping to hear from you on this matter.

Your comment on both the hotels and nearby area agrees with what I've read elsewhere. I would like to stay at the host hotel, but I'd rather not pay the event's "special rate" ($95/night) for it, particularly if the hotel is not that great. I know a number of people who are going down to Portland for the event; I hope that one of them is willing to stay at a different hotel. Last year, this event was at the Holiday Inn Convention Center; I wish they hadn't moved it.

[phlewt]

I have stayed at both the Radisson and the Holiday Inn. I have always had a car when we stayed there, but I have also done quite a bit of walking around the area. Early May in Portland has some probability of producing some damp (drizzle) weather, but other than that, I do not see much danger in walking between the properties.

I much prefer the rooms in the Radisson to the ones in the Holiday Inn. If you wish to go to downtown Portland, both properties offer a free shuttle to the airport, and from there you can board a MAX train. I mention this because there are not a lot of dining options at either property, and downtown Portland offers a treasure chest of dining opportunities.

[tilepusher]

Thank you for your input, phlewt. I'm not concerned about the weather (believe me, I'm used to rain); I just wanted to make sure that the path shown on Google Maps was actually walkable, and that there wasn't a high probability of getting run over by a truck while crossing Columbia Blvd. From what I've read, the Radisson does seem to be the better hotel, though neither place draws a lot of raves. I like downtown Portland very much as well; for last year's event, I stayed at the Hilton and the Residence Inn Riverplace (hence my disappointment at the change in venue). I'm hoping that I'll be able to come down a couple of days beforehand and stay downtown again before I head for the airport area.

For now, I think I'll hold off on booking a hotel until I know who else is going and what their plans are.

[tilepusher]

I decided to revisit my search for a hotel in this area. When I searched for a room for 2 adults, I found that Hotwire is now showing a shortened list of amenities (shuttle, fitness, pool, business, high-speed internet) and no TA info. The same listing came up when I changed the search to 2 adults/2 children, which led me to suspect that it's no longer the Radisson (which didn't come up in previous searches for 2 adults/2 children). When I changed the search to 4 adults, the 3* hotel that came up showed the following amenities: shuttle, fitness, pool, restaurant, business, laundry, high-speed Internet. The amenities and TA info were a match for the Holiday Inn, so I decided to pay a little extra ($53/night) for the assurance of knowing what I'd get and the convenience of being at the host hotel. The total came to $124.91 after taxes and fees. I used the HOTWIRE link to start the purchase.

Thank you to everyone who offered me advice on this purchase.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Well thought out and researched... and you reap the rewards of a great deal which works perfectly for your plans.

Glad to see it worked out well, you saved money, and are staying at the host property... always makes things quite a bit easier.

Thank you for sharing your results with the board and using our HOTWIRE link to begin your purchase.

Have a great trip.

[Colfax]

Glad it worked out, tilepusher. Have fun in Portland.