Originally Posted by
jpdx
I've been following this thread for a while, biting my tongue. But because I never stayed here I didn't want to chime in and ask, what are you people thinking, raving about a cookie-cutter chain hotel at the airport and eating breakfast at IHOP. In Portland!
But: I just completed a two-night stay here, so I suppose I’m now eligible to join the conversation.
I stayed here on graduation weekend, and rates were eye watering. $249. For a Hyatt Place. At Portland airport. Even on random summer dates I checked, rates hover well above $150. Which is way too much for what they have to offer.
It's a standard HP with the standard HP smell and the standard HP amenities and the standard HP breakfast, and while that may be a good thing in, say, Reno, in Portland it means that you're missing out. Unless you're here for a quick overnight layover, any hotel downtown will be preferable (or indeed Airbnb); I'm just shaking my head why anybody would pay in excess of $200 for this place.
I found the airport noise to be very bothersome, but somebody above said they didn’t have any problems, so I’m inclined to believe that it may be dependent on wind direction and/or which way your room faces. I looked out over the parking lot (which is right under the approach path when planes land to the West), and the noise from landing planes was deafening (it does slow down at night, but there are some airplane movements after midnight and well before 6am).
I have “stayed” (mostly, mattress runs) at dozens of hotels in Portland, and to me, HP, HIX, aloft, etc are all interchangeable. I would say the HP costs about $100 more than it ought to, and there are numerous hotels that are preferable to it (and/or vastly cheaper). There are no meaningful status benefits with HPs, and IMO it’s a really bad idea to stay at HP PDX for anything but a single overnight layover.
I've stayed at the Portland Hyatt Place dozens of times over the past 3 years when I have a layover before or after a PDX flight. I do agree with other posters that unless you are at the airport for a layover, it would be better to stay in the city center - Portland is a fabulous city, with so many cool shops and restaurants to sample.
That said, there are times when you need an airport hotel. The rates have varied, with winter rates in the low $100s with an AAA discount or the now-gone My Elite Rate, and summer rates ranging up to around $180-190 with discount. If it's ever been more than that, I have looked elsewhere (SPG has a couple of properties in the area).
Personally, I've never found airport noise to be an issue at the HP PDX or other airport area hotels. Connecting room or hallway noise is more problematic for me - at any airport hotel - so I always ask for a non-connecting room facing the runway or landing path. Don't judge - some of us really do like planes and airports.
In the past, I was one of the hotel's strong supporters. Now? Not so much, and I'll probably be looking elsewhere more often when I pass through Portland. Over time, the service quality has declined at this hotel.
The first 2 years I stayed there I found the staff to be quite accommodating and helpful. Diamond recognition was automatic. Rooms were clean. For a while the property even had a "Happy Hour" with discounted wine and appetizers in the evening, bringing people to the lobby area who might otherwise have been working in their rooms.
But over the past year there's been (what I think is) excessive staff turnover. Staff forget to ask about preference for Diamond amenity. I've had staff loudly announce room numbers when others are nearby - a no-no at hotels, especially when the guest is a solo female traveler. Last fall I had to wait hours - no hyperbole, literally *HOURS* - for my room, despite it being booked well in advance and having Diamond status. Internet connection speeds were abysmal - consistently around 2 Mbps or less - but this is one problem that has recently been fixed. One visit I kept stepping on pebbles and little briars that had not been vacuumed up. During another stay I found a broken coffee maker in the room. When I reported it there was no apology from front desk staff, and absolutely *zero* effort to either replace it or to make things right.
During my most recent stay last month, I found a large, sticky stain under the desk and several more disconcerting sticky spots on the carpet throughout the room. The carpet was definitely past-dates and long overdue for a shampooing. And there were hairs plastered to the wall in the shower. Combine the sticky stains and gross shower -- it makes you wonder whether or not other areas of the room were cleaned ...
Two or three years ago, this was a reasonable property to use if you were a Hyatt Passport member and need a hotel for an airport layover. But in my opinion, not any more.