We just returned from a 5 night trip to northern Oregon - focusing on the Mount Hood area and the City of Portland. I wanted to share our hotel booking (and staying) experiences. When looking to stay in the Portland area, I first check out http://travelportland.com/. Operated by the City's tourist bureau, the site often offers some amazing deals on stays in area hotels. It was hear that I found out about the Resort at the Mountain. Not exactly in Portland - actually 50+ miles to the east - it was nonetheless covered by the site which offered a far lower price than did the hotel's own site. The rate also included continental breakfast at the hotel and a discount coupon book for Portland area restaurants, shopping and attractions.
The Resort at the Mountain was really quite a find - nicely designed two-story buildings built around a central garden area with outdoor pool and hot tub. Breakfast is served in the resort's main restaurant - Altidude. Apparently few people book this particular package, since the restaurant's waitstaff had a hard time determining exactly what was included in the continental breakfast! The first morning we received a fruit plate and two muffins, plus juice. And they charged $7.50 for our daughter since the "special" only included meals for 2 people. The next morning, we order two of the fruit plate - muffin - juice plates and then an egg-toast-bacon breakfast. And we weren't charged anything! Go figure.
The rooms themselves were great - comfortable bed, nice patio with chairs, flat screen TV and a very nice shower with rainfall showerhead. Very quiet room as well. The Resort complex also had a putt-putt golf course, lawn bowling and/or croquet - all at no additonal charge. There's also a golf course and spa (at, of course, an additional charge). The Mallard cafe serves lunch and dinner - we loved our dinner there - reasonable prices, though the setting is a bit like a large conference room rather than an intimate cafe.
As a side note - we had lunch at the Ram's Horn bar at Timberline Lodge - 20 or so miles from the Resort. WONDERFUL food in a great setting with views of the ski slopes.
Now, when it came to actually staying in Portland, the best deal was NOT through travelportland.com but directly with the Marriott Courtyard-Convention Center website. They had a bed-and-breakfast deal (not continental but full buffet) that was lower priced even with the $12 per night parking fee. The hotel is a 5 minute walk from the Max rail line to downtown Portland (and within the free ride zone), making the journey to downtown restaurants and sites a breeze. Rooms were fine, quiet, though with softer-than-I-prefer mattresses. And the breakfast buffet was simply great, with made to order waffles, egg dishes, etc.
Whenever booking hotels, always check out several websites - you never know where the best deal will be found on any given occasion.
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