samosa

They are both small, Hi Lo has better restaurant and is in a more accessible/tourist friendly area, though lots of homeless. Vance is really next to a school and business area. I have had better luck with upgrades at HiLo

FlyingFrZ

Thank you for the reply.

I suppose I'd rather be in an area by the tourist hot spots. I Iive in Southern California so I'm used to the homeless. Not sure if the homeless in Portland are more pushy and violent that I should be worried about.

GoSh4rks

As of last Memorial Day, the Hi Lo was not in a very good part of town.

Eujeanie

Our kids (40s) say the homeless problem is not as bad as it was, but we had the misfortune several years ago to run into one who threatened our lives when we wouldn't give him anything. Looking back he was a crazy one-off, but it's spooked us from going back for years.

I've never thought of Portland as having any real "tourist attractions" per se right in the city - maybe the Chinese Gardens? Art Museum? Historical Society? We've been to all of them. A lot of the attractions are right outside the city in the big park but you really need a car for that.

The only one of your choices I've stayed at was the Nines, it was "pretty" back when it opened, cool concept being an old Department Store - art work of mannequins, big shoes, that type of thing, but you don't have to stay there to see that, just walk around the upstairs lobby if you're in the area.

mildfrequence

I stay at HI Lo with frequency and I've never had a problem. I've also regularly had (modest) upgrades to the larger rooms.

WillBarrett_68

Just spent three nights at the nines a couple of weeks ago and there is notable homeless population in the area, and the Hi-Lo does seem to have a stronger concentration (it gets higher as you get closer to "old town") but tbh the number of people seems pretty mild compared to LA or SF.

In any case, you might also consider the bidwell or the moxy.

mildfrequence

I feel a need to point out that the distance between most of the bonvoy properties downtown is pretty minimal and if one is in a lousy area then they pretty much all are. Again I've had no problems at Hi Lo, but the same is true with the nearby courtyard, and the AC. You can easily walk between all of Nines, AC, Bidwell, Hi Lo, Courtyard, and Moxy as far as I'm concerned. Even the waterfromt Marriott is only like 5 blocks from that AC...

FlyingFrZ

I noticed that as well. That's why I was curious about the Vance since it looked to be in a different general area than the rest in DT Portland.

Seems like the HI LO is my best option.

Eujeanie

FlyingFrZ, where do you "need" to be in Portland for your business or whatever?

Where in So Cal do you live?

I think a big difference in So Cal, and correct me if I'm wrong, but it's a car culture so you may be driving past the tents, but in Portland you'll be walking. More like San Francisco.

If you're just looking to spend a night in a nicer area and have a good dinner, how's the Pearl these days (I'm asking the local posters here)? Would that be a better option for this person?

FlyingFrZ

I don't have a set location I need to be in. I'm meeting someone for an hour, so anywhere near downtown Portland should be fine.

I don't really mind walking past tents and camps as long as I'm not constantly accosted. What hotel in the pearl area would you recommend?

mbluecpa

We’ve stayed at the Residence Inn on the edge of the Pearl a couple of times in the past year and liked the neighborhood. It’s pretty quiet at night with quite a lot of residential development nearby, but feels a world removed from the surroundings of the Nines (our former go-to).

Eujeanie

There seems to be more Hiltons in the Pearl than Marriotts....our kids used to live right there, on Glisan, so we never had to stay in a hotel, I just remember lots of great restaurants, many which seem to not exist anymore. I can recall Hoyt some number, Andina (still there), and did Vitaly abandon Portland completely? Been to 3 of his restaurants in the past, now can't find any of them.

Paley, that was his last name, Vitaly Paley.

ElevatorEnthusiast

This is just an anecdote, but I've had bigger problems with aggressive homeless folks in the central part of the US (Midwest) than on the West Coast. Sure, there's a bunch, but my hunch is that they're a bit more mellow (if you know what I mean). Portland wasn't my favorite city and can be pretty ugly with all of the boarded-up areas (at least in 2021), but I didn't have safety issues.

FlyingFrZ

Decided to go with the HI Lo. Will definetely post my experience. Thank you everyone for the advice


​​​​​Update: Flights into PDX cancelled today for heavy snow. Looks like I won't be staying at the HI Lo afterall

The hotel was courteous enough to cancel my reservation without a penalty. I'll probably just stick with the Moxy since it's cheap.

kennycrudup

I remember a thread a while back where it was rumored that MI was going to make a "Millenial-Friendly" brand that didn't have desks or closets and I thought someone was pulling our legs ....

... then I stayed at the PDX Moxy.