Clemson

Downtown Portland has definitely gone downhill quite a bit in the last 5 years. I live in SF and lived in NYC before so I'm plenty used to homelessness and drugged-out zombies on the streets. It's not as bad as certain areas of SF, but it's certainly heading in that direction. A lot of people, especially those from more suburban areas, are not used to seeing things like this, so people are giving warnings with good intentions. Just a few weeks ago I walked around downtown Portland and saw one person actively breaking into a car and another drugged out homeless person aggressively follow us for a few blocks after asking us for money.

That said, I think 10th and Yarnhill isn't too bad. Avoid the Old Town/Chinatown area.

StevenSeagalFan

I love this hotel, the basic room is a little small but other rooms are great. There's a McMenamins right nearby that has great food.

PTahCha

Without certification, by default chicken is not halal.

Not sure if this might change someone's mind, but here's a report for this lot from 2 weeks ago (July 2023) on SpotAngels.

born sleepy

Checked in Monday eve. "Upgraded" as an Exploder to a high floor. Whoopee... parking is $47 a night now which is outrageous, I mean where do you think we are, NYC? Risked the city ramp at 10th & Yamhill and so far no issues despite parking an enormous new Suburban. Much cheaper, $12.50 overnight, though the first night I pulled in there some half-naked guy having a bad drug trip was screaming gibberish at everyone and came at me as I was trying to go down the stairs. Yelled back at him and he backed off so I guess he wasn't all that f'd up. Once down on the street there were about five cops yelling at the guy to come down which he did as I was leaving.

Other than that, no problems. So far. Leaving the 'burban there over the weekend. I've been leaving the center armrest open and the seats upright so if anyone bothers to look inside before busting the windows they won't get anything besides an old cracked USB cable.

The room is a little small for my 11-night stay but whatever. Bedding is very hot for this time of year so that means cranking up the AC (it's been in the low 90s) and the only alternative was a thin cotton blanket I had delivered and later tossed aside as it was not sufficient even with the AC off. Comfy bed otherwise. I hate TVs bolted to the wall with no ability to connect my own things via HDMI; you have to use the Chromecast that's plaguing every Hyatt lately which does NOT work to display a PC screen or any content other than specific apps. It's also aimed right at the headboard; maybe some people like to sit in bed and watch TV but I find this very uncomfortable. There's a nice chair next to the bed but sitting there means viewing the TV, which does not swivel or pivot, way off-center.

There's a closet and a fridge each behind two screened doors that lights up when open, but the light stays on until closed. Kind of annoying, along with the under-bed lights that kick on if you have to go potty in the middle of the night (welcome to Pee Club, olds) which I find annoying as there's enough ambient light to fumble one's way to the bathroom and any excess light only serves to mess up getting back to sleep again. The bedside lamps are way too bright as well. There's dimmer buttons on each nightstand but they don't seem to do anything. There's curtains that can be drawn to separate the bedroom from the bath/entry but these seem kind of pointless.

Plenty of AC and USB plugs. Small desk and not very comfy swivel chair. Good-sized chest under the TV with a safe in one drawer.

So far have not used the restaurant, and probably won't given the preponderance of restaurants within a short walk. Been getting coffee there in the mornings and the first two were gratis and the next two were not (different servers). I don't mind paying but consistency?

Don't be afraid of the unhoused/addled; ignore them as they're not going to hurt you. Use common sense, don't gawk like a tourist, carry yourself assertively, and you'll be fine. Obvs don't be stumbling drunk at 3am. I carry a tiny flashlight that's extremely bright, mostly for work but after hours in case someone decides to mess with me as it will blind them temporarily. I usually have a pocket knife on me too but that's mostly for work than anything else.

futuramadramallama

This is one of the more amusing typos I've seen.

born sleepy

It was intentionally left as-is after auto-correct did its thang 😃

PTahCha

Did a 3 night stay last weekend, with a Parking inclusive package. Valet parking was efficient - takes about 5-10 minutes after texting to retrieve the car.

The hotel proactively texted me around noon, stating that the room was ready, so that was positive. Took advantage of the early check-in, and was told that suite upgrade was not available, and they can only upgrade me to a higher floor. 2 bottles of water were given.

The room layout reminds me of the new Marriott in Austin - the bathroom area is spilt as you enter - the sink is to the right of the hallway, while the bathroom is to the left with a sliding barn door for privacy, with shower and toilet enclosed. Small, personal tubes of BeeKind bath amenities were provided - same product is used at The Nines. There is a curtain available to separate the bath/closet area and the bed part. There is a refrigerator, iron, and a flashlight in the closet, along with a Keurig coffee maker.

There is a center console with two large drawers underneath the TV, and a small desk on the side facing the entrance. The desk has a backless chair, while a separate comfy chair is in the corner of the room next to the bed. Plenty of power + USB plugs next to the bed. Overall, the room was comfortable. Bear in mind that most of the floor is concrete.

Note: The elevator key is required for the elevator, and only works for your floor.

Despite of how it depicts on the website, there is only 1 restaurant in the hotel - Covit PDX. The "Market" is really a small glass enclosed box at the bar with different snacks and things for to go. All the menus, including breakfast, are here: https://covetpdx.com/



As mentioned in the previous post, I was given the same breakfast coupon for Globalist - 1 entree, 1 juice, 1 coffee per person. No issue with the bill at all, and I was able to add stuff to the dishes without extra charge, sometimes at the encouragement of the staff. Also, this restaurant automatically charges 20% gratuity on all bills, which is fine since all the restaurant staff were warm and friendly.

Here are a few breakfast selections:

Breakfast sandwich, with both bacon and avocado:



Veggie hash, with chicken sausage added (the kitchen decided to cut up the sausage, which works for me):



The breakfast burrito with added avocado was good as well.

The restaurant has a Happy Hour menu from 4-6, with discounted cocktails and food. The best deal is the smash burger and fries for $10. The chicharron next to it is $6.



Now here are the downsides:

Housekeeping does not place bottled water in the room. Instead, you need to request water from the front desk, they'll ask for your room number, look it up, and then hand you the two bottles. Rinse and repeat daily.

Housekeeping does a good job clear out trash, but does not replenish any amenities or supplies, like the paper cup that I used. No extra soap or bath amenities were provided other than the initial set.

The hotel is cashless, which led to this tip card left by the housekeeper after room cleaning:



You can leave tips via credit card for any amount, but the service company charges a fee for the privilege of not using cash. Similar barcode is available for valet, but minimum tip is $5.

Incorrect number of points were posted, as the F&B charge did not generate points, and the parking package rate was spilt into $5 valet charge and the remainder as room rate.

Overall, this is a plus for the Portland area.

skj

Are you sure the F&B outlet is operated by the property? Being able to charge to the room is not a reliable indicator.

I've been surprised by a number of HCs where restaurant spend doesn't earn points and I note this property is not listed here ...

Search Participating Dining and Spa Locations (hyatt.com)

PTahCha

Thanks for sharing the link. I guess buyers beware. And agreed! The inability to earn points should be an exception, not a rule. I guess we should add this to the wiki for the hotel.

sammybk

Just got back from a 3 night stay. Used a TSU to upgrade to a suite on the top floor. Very happy with the stay. $150 per night. The area right around the hotel was nicer than expected.

Breakfast was excellent. My mom ordered a second entree for extra vegetables, and still no charge showed up on the bill (3 adults, 1 child. 5 entrees)

The max runs direct from the airport to the hotel, although it's closed to the airport until October. We skipped a car and were perfectly happy.

jlflt385

I stayed here at lot during my business trip.
things I like:

Location is the best. You can walk to a lot of great restaurants within 5 minutes.
rate is cheaper than the nines or bidwel.
staff are very friendly.
Valet service is great.
breakfast is delicious, but kinda expensive if you don’t have globalist.

the things I don’t like:
it has concrete floors and it seems they don’t mop the floor between different stay. Even in the suite I saw stains inside the bathroom.
I requested slippers and it’s been out of stock for 2 months.
laundry bags are no where to found. Instead they offer trash bag.
house keeping service is really not there.
rooms on the 15th floor have a lot noise coming from the HVAC.
They don’t have EV charging in their valet parking lot.

Warriorconcept

In the middle of a 3 night stay and got the same suite upgrade (no TSU), experience largely mimics yours. The loud banging is still present by the way which is odd but never woke me up. The breakfast is very good by the way and the coupon covers everything including tip. Have been encouraged to get multiple drinks and no extra charge on bill yet. Did not receive the globalist bag but did arrive very late after the EWR mess on Friday.

PoincianaKings

I stayed here a couple of weekends back. First stay was a Friday night. Then checked back in on the Sunday night. I was traveling with my wife and two young kids.

Friday stay

Check in experience was odd. I was proactively told that I had been upgraded to a twin studio room which was the best available room that could accommodate our party. I had already worked out before arrival that due to occupancy rules we wouldn't be getting a suite. Was given a coupon for breakfast. No welcome gift. The oddest part was the bellhop / vallet experience. they came to help with our bags but just left the bags in the lobby. After 45mins we called down to ask where our bags were. We were told "Oh you are the family that didn't take the bag cart up to your room after checking in"...I thought the whole idea of using the bell hop was they would bring your bags up! Bags arrived about 20 mins later.

Room was nice but it was clear that housekeeping hadn't done a great job. Two televisions but only one remote. A number of the lamps didn't work. The records for the record player were missing.

Sunday stay

Check in much smoother. Again upgraded to the studio room on the basis that we couldn't be accommodated in a suite. We didn't use the bell hop this time. No welcome gift.

Room was much better than the Friday room. We had two remotes, working lamps and records for the record player.

Had breakfast the next morning. Lots of food. Staff very accommodating and happy to do substitutions for my fussy kids.

I would stay again but found the stay not as good as other Centrics.

atourgates

Just completed a 4-night stay.

Short Version:

The Good/Excellent

• Price as Points/and Cash (9k points is decent, and $90/night is an insanely good deal for this property)
• Breakfast (Quite good, and a standout for the price)
• Rooms (Spacious, comfortable and I like the aesthetic)
• Location (Assuming you like downtown PDX, I do)

The Not Great

• Lack of basic stuff in the rooms (No water glasses of any kind, no corkscrew)
• Front desk service (Oh, you want a water glass? We don't really provide those, why don't you check at the bar and see if they'll give you one?)
• Messing up confirmed Globalist room requests
• Expensive ($50/night) Valet Parking (for non Globalists) and no EV Charging Option
• Some street noise on lower floor rooms

Overall: At $90/night (like it was during our stay) this hotel is an insane deal and everyone should stay here. Even at a more normal $150-$200/night, it's still offering a very nice experience, especially for globalists with breakfast.

Longer Review:
This was our second stay at the Portland Hyatt Centric, having stayed previously in the summer of 2022. We were in town visiting family over Thanksgiving and were surprised to find that rooms were available on points, a decent value for points and just $90/night as cash! While I was tempted to pay cash to save points, I've been trying to be better about using vs. hoarding award points. So, I booked 2x rooms for our family for 4-nights, on a combination of points and free night certs. I also called the globalist line to apply (expiring before I'll be able to use them another way) suite upgrade certs. I was able to get both rooms confirmed, even though I shouldn't technically be able to stack suite upgrades on top of free night certs.

We arrived Wednesday afternoon, and had no trouble checking in. We were placed on the 3rd floor (the front desk clerk said it was "the biggest room in the hotel") in an accessible king suite, and a 2 queen across the hall. The second room wasn't the suite we'd had confirmed, but honestly it worked well for our needs, was close, and I didn't want to deal with the hassle of complaining to the front desk and getting it fixed, so I didn't. As a side note, the last time we stayed here they also messed up a confirmed room request, so it seems like this might be symptomatic at this property.

The rooms were comfortable. The accessible suite was enormous, and even the 2-queen felt spacious. I like the decor. I'd ask for a higher floor next time, we were over a streetcar route that was quite noisy, and one night there was some pretty loud dance music that filtered pretty clearly into our room.

What was odd was the missing "standard amenities" you'd expect in any hotel: no glasses of any kind, and no corkscrew. When I went down to the front desk to ask, I got told, "Oh, we don't put glasses in rooms. You can ask at the bar and they might give you some."

I did, and the bartender (like the breakfast staff) was quite nice and accommodating. But it was weird that glasses (particularly) weren't provided, or available from the front desk.

The valet experience was very good and convenient, though for a non-globalist paying $50/night (especially if you've only paid $90/night for the room) to park your car is wild. There's plenty of cheaper public parking garages nearby, but while some "PDX is a lawless wasteland" fears are overblown, car windows really are getting smashed fairly regularly, and I wouldn't risk parking in a non-secure location overnight in downtown Portland at the moment. It was frustrating that (especially considering the price) EV charging isn't available. This was one of our first EV road trips, and we had to rely on fast chargers since we weren't able to charge overnight at the hotel.

If I wasn't getting free Globalist Valet, I'd probably opt for the $20/night Southpark garage that's on 9th and Taylor, and seems to be well secured + offers EV charging.

Breakfast was a standout, as was the breakfast globalist treatment. We were given "coupons" that explained Globalist breakfast benefits, which were quite fair and given for both rooms (not a requirement of the program, but something I've been given on every qualifying stay when I've booked 2-rooms). Every one of the dishes we tried (and we had the whole menu between us by the time we checked out) was good, and some were excellent. On-par with a breakfast you'd go out to in Portland. Even the espresso drinks were Portland-standard, and the service (especially the first 2-days we were there) was excellent.




Avocado Toast

2 Egger

Breakfast Burrito

Breakfast Sandwich

Globalist Breakfast Voucher


We used the health center every morning. It's not particularly large or impressive, but it has the basics and was never overly-crowded during our stay.

Stuff Nearby
Like I mentioned, we quite like this part of Portland. Here are a few of the spots nearby I'd recommend:

• Never Coffee - Right across the street, excellent coffee.
• Lil' Shalom - Same block as the Centric, small outpost of Shalom Y'all, excellent Middle Eastern quick bites and good Happy Hour value
• Multnomah Whisky Library - Same block as the Centric. Member-only club, but it's possible to get into the green room and even the main area just by showing up and getting on the waitlist. Easy to put your name on since it's next to the Centric. Excellent cocktails and a spiritual destination for Whisky lovers.
• Powells - I'm not sure if it's possible to visit Portland and not know about Powells, but on the off chance, it's just a couple blocks from the Centric. Plan to get literally lost in there, find books you never intended to buy, and spend far too much money but not regret any of it.
• 23rd / the Alphabet District - A little over a mile away from the Centric. Easily walkable. My current favorite shopping/restaurant/strolling neighborhood of Portland. My two favorite stops are Snow Peak (out-of-my-budget but still fun to look at Japanese camping gear) and Paxton Gate (odd preserved animals, bones and curiosities).

Is Downtown Portland a Post-apocalyptic Hellhole?
Short answer: no, though it's not perfect. Like I mentioned above, there are real problems like car break-ins, and homelessness. On the other hand, from my (visit the city once or twice a year and almost always stay downtown) perspective, things are getting better, not worse on the homelessness front, and there's clear investment and progress in terms of how downtown PDX looks, and is maintained.

As a reference point, one night of our stay my wife was going to come meet me a few blocks from our hotel around 8PM. I asked if she wanted me to come back and meet her. She poked her head out, saw plenty of people walking around and told me there was no need, she felt totally comfortable walking on her own.

You'll probably see some unhoused people, some who might be visibly high. You probably shouldn't park your car someplace unsecured. You'll also still be in the middle of a bunch of great shops and restaurants and entertainment venues, in a vibrant area that seems to be on much more of an upswing than a downswing. I wouldn't choose to live in downtown Portland, I love visiting there.

HaleiwaFlyer

I would also add to that list of nearby eats:

Daily Harvest (breakfast): I skip the globalist breakfast to go to Daily Harvest every single chance that I have.

Grassa (Italian)

Toki (Korean)

Both self parking and valet is expensive in Portland, and is pretty much 50 dollar additional on top of the room charges at both the Centric and Regency.

I moved my business to Hyatt Regency due to the better gym, but the Centric has the better food options. I'll book the Centric when the Regency is priced out due to conferences.

Off topic: The Ritz just opened, so there is another new lodging option in Portland near the same area.