New Lounge hours.
 

FYI. Mon to Thur 7AM to 10 PM Fri 7 AM to 11 PM Sat 8 AM to 11 PM Sun 8 AM to 10 PM

This is a dog friendly hotel. I do not have an issue with dog friendly. I have an issue with a guest using the club lounge couch and having his huge dog up on furniture. We are not talking about a lap dog. We are talking Marmaduke size animal having his rear against cushions where people rest there arms. Do I blame the hotel?... NO. Do I blame Nines employee, Doug, in the lounge? NO. I blame the guest who thinks his dog is his wife and whose animal is leaving fecal and urine matter on new hotel furniture in the club lounge on June 19,20th to the point where I am disgusted. More later...I just got back from a 5 night trip two rooms.

NINES STAFF AND MANAGER ARE EXCELLENT even though I had some problems that could not be solved.

Most pet friendly hotels have policies against dogs in public areas and those that don't almost certainly do against dogs in areas where food is served. I am assuming that is not the case here?

I met that dog in the elevator. Let us just say that the back of his butt got way too close to my pant leg. A couple with a small dog had it sitting on the chairs this morning. I wonder what the health department would think about these animals being around food eating/serving areas. I do fault the staff in the Lounge and owners. These were without doubt NOT service animals. I also have a problem with the couple for whatever reason with a crying baby/child feeling that they need to leave the door prop open so that the entire side of the hotel's guests can hear. The logic is lost on me. Maybe they could not stand the noise themselves.

Unless the owner told you the dog was not a service dog (or assistance dog), you would have NO way of knowing that. You can't tell just by looking at the dog or its owner. I have a friend who works at Amtrak and if the passenger says his dog is a service dog, they must treat it as one. No visible identification, doctor's note or certificate is required. Many service dogs are there for "psychiatric support" and no doubt some crafty owners are using this exception illegally to take a non-service dog everywhere, which causes problems for the owners of real service dogs.

Thank you. I am well aware of that. Crafty would be the word. It still does not keep one from being disgusted by the thoughts in the past couple posts.

My wife and I are planning to stay at The Nines this Friday to Monday and will report back if the hotel has still gone to the dogs.

Life_Platinum. You will enjoy it. Even if it is has still gone to the dogs. The Lounge offerings continue to be nice. The service is pretty good. Blanche the Concierge has a great personality. I would keep from the backside of the Hotel. That also the Macy's loading dock/garbage area and it does get noisey. Sorry to have just missed you by a few days.

Thanks RTWSTARALLIANCE. It would have been nice to be there at the time you were.

Very enjoyable stay
 

Just got back from a Thursday-Monday stay. My wife and I had an excellent time. We got a great rate on the club floor. I would recommend if you aren't on the club floor to pay a little extra and get access, it's well worth it (if you drink).

The room was very well done, albeit a little small. Bathroom was a bit on the small side, but had beautiful marble. King bed comfortable. Large flat screen. Internet is free, although was a bit slow for me at times. When we would go out we'd put the maid service sign on the door and when we got back our room was nicely made up. Also got turndown service each night which was prompt and efficient.

The lounge offers a wide assortment of beer and spirits. Breakfast was European style with bagels, croissants, cereal, fruit, yogurt, coffee, tea, fruit infused water, etc. They don't offer hot items, and for that you'd need to get room service or go down to the Urban Farmer. The service in the lounge was outstanding. Colin, in the morning, would go above and beyond the call of duty. For example, one morning, I got there late and they didn't have any papers left, so he offered to run across the street to pick one up for me. I politely declined, but it was a nice gesture on his part. Douglas and Mandy were excellent as well.

Departure upstairs is a nice little spot to go to. I hear it's the place to be on Saturday, but can't confirm. Good views, although I didn't get anything to eat or drink there.

The hotel is perfectly located with buses, and the Max stopping right in front of it. There is no need to rent a car if you plan on just staying in Portland. And if you do, there is a Hertz about 3 blocks away, and an Enterprise as well. We went hiking on Mt. Hood and instead of paying the $35/day valet fee we just rented a car and left it on the street overnight on Saturday, as parking is free on Sunday. Also there are plenty of garages you can park at for around $9/night.

The only downside to the stay was I wear a little guard on my two front teeth that prevents me from grinding at night. I left it in a cup of water and cleaner on the sink, and the maid mistakenly threw it away, I think. Now that's $500 down the drain (pun intended), and completely my fault, but it put a little damper on my stay.

Lounge policy change in regards to pets.
 

There was a change in policy in regards to pets this past Monday. We do not have a pet so I did not have a reason to get a exact clarification. Maybe Life_Platinum can provide us with exact update during his stay this weekend. FYI.

And if you ever wondered! Hotels monitor FT.

Trip Report
 

I'm a little bit late posting this one, but just wanted to comment on my excellent stay at the Nines. I am a Plat. and was initially give a King room on the Club floor (M-F). It was a nice room, if somewhat small and very well appointed. The hotel itself is very nice, although I'm not sure I would eat at the Urban Farmer due to the prices and all of the other great places to eat in Portland.

As my sister and niece were driving down on Thursday night to meet up with me, I went to the desk to see if it would be possible for them to upgrade me to a suite for that night. They looked for a second and then let me know that if I would be willing to move off of the club floor that they would upgrade me for the entire stay (still with club floor access). This was great and allowed me to have a very enjoyable visit with my sister.

The club lounge. What to say here. For a domestic Starwood, this is one of the best club lounges around. The staff is extremely helpful, friendly and informative. We told the concierge two cross streets and mentioned that we were meeting someone at a restaurant and she immediately told us the name of the restaurant and how to get there.

The food (cold) and drinks were also top notch. They will make you a latte or capp. in the morning (or any other time) and have decent almost top self wine and liquor for free. I'm generally not a fan of Pinot's, but they had an excellent local one that my sister and I enjoyed in the lounge instead of trying to drag a sleeping infant around the city.

I can't say enough good things about the staff at this hotel. YMMV if you do not get to experience the lounge, but I would not hesitate to stay here again over any other hotel in the Portland area.

Kudos to the Nines.

P.S. I didn't see any dogs, but for people from the Midwest or East Coast, Portland is definitely more "progressive" about animals and everything else. I'm surprised there wasn't some stinky Greenpeace hippie in the lounge hassling me ....;)

I just love this property. It's my new basis of comparison for luxury hotels.

I recently completed a 5 night stay at the W in Hong Kong ... my partner and I kept comparing things there to "how they do it at The Nines ..."

And. How did they compare? I will be at the W HKG in a couple weeks with hope. Know the W has no Lounge. Thanks.

I put a pretty detailed trip review of both hotels on their respective master threads.