Thanks. I was just hoping for like a 5 (nines) versus 4 (W).

I liked the Nines better - but I'm biased as the W vibe is not generally my thing.

The Nines had an artsy, warm feeling to it with smiling and gracious staff. The W is overly artistic, angular, with an uber-trendy staff.

It depends on your thing ... you know?

Thanks. That is a great way of putting it. Onto the W.

I did late checkout yesterday after three nights at the Nines and flew home to NYC late last night. As always, I printed the reviews of this property and carried them to the hotel, and found them very useful. I will try to address some of the points that had been raised by many of you since the hotel opened. Overall, I agreed with those who thought this was one of the best Starwood properties in the US, and certainly the finest Starwood property we had stayed at in the Northwest.

Three days prior to arriving, I received an email from the manager welcoming me to the hotel and asking if there was anything I might need. I replied that we would me most appreciative of an upgrade, if it were possible.

Upon checkin, I was asked which two ammenities (yes two) I would like. I chose the points which have not posted to my account although my stay has posted, and selected a $10 credit from the minibar (I used it for a local chocolate bar). (RTW STAR ALLIANCE had posted early on that the hotel was not providing points as ammenities) When the clerk returned with our keys, I asked her if she had assigned us to a suite, and she said no. I then asked about a corner room, and again she said no. She went back to the computer and then came back in about a half minute with another room (I thought about RTW STAR ALLIANCE'S room over the Macy loading dock, or D B Kings noisy inner lobby room). She said the hotel was fully booked and she was able to find me a room on 14 (1446) which turned out to be 5 floors up overlooking the lobby. The room chart had two different configurations of lobby rooms-the ones on the left side of the lobby were square, and the ones on the right side were rectangular. Room 1446 was the size of most rooms on the right side of the hotel, and was an average sized room with a marble bath. We listened every night for lobby noise, but perhaps because we were on the top floor or were exceedinly tired, we were not disturbed by unruly guests or their pets.

The SPG lounge is on the 12th floor directly behind the elevators, and it is one of the finest Starwood lounges in the U.S. I immediately picked out Douglas Hout, who it turns out, manages the concierge services for the hotel, and who is a pillar of service where ever he works (he also covered the lobby concierge service on Sunday Night), Colin who was exceedingly helpful and Mandy also caught my eye and helped us with some of our plans during the day. My wife was impressed with the lounge the one day she tried the lounge for breakfast, and the two nights we came by following dinner about the town.

Centurion will be pleased to know that the Marmaduke-sized dog has been banished from the lounge, and as pointed out here, the policy on admission of pets immediately changed after the incidents had been reported here. One day later, Douglas told me a new policy was written and all non-working dogs will be banned from admission. Douglas even had noted that this change in policy was immediately reported on this board just after it was introduced. Interestingly, he told me that the lounge is not classified as a place where food is prepared by the local government, so there are no rules that pertain to kitchens. (Food is prepared in other places and then brought to the lounge. Douglas explained the lounge is catergorized similar to an outdoor BBQ). The quality of food in the lounge is outstanding as special care has been taken to make every offering an art form, and it is of the highest quality.

My wife ate lunch at the URBAN FARMER and enjoyed the presentation of food. I walked the entire hotel, checking out the ballroom, the meeting rooms, the exercise room, and the Departure Lounge on the roof which had an interesting sake tasting. I would suggest that having a drink on the roof overlooking the river is something that every guest should do on a day when the weather allows sitting outside.

The origin of the name of the hotels appears to be controversial, as some employees suggested The Nines represented the nine floors of the hotel. Others thought that the original building was a clothing store where locals went to dress to "The Nines".

What could make the hotel even better? Well, my wife would have enjoyed an indoor pool. However, I suspect this will never happen during the life of the hotel. There were small little problems that kept coming up, but I suspect that with a few more months of experience and seasoning of the staff, these problems will disappear.

Overall, we rated this hotel as one of Starwood's finest U.S. properties, and would return here in a flash. I suspect that the Benson, the city's finest old hotel already has lost significant numbers of guests to the Nines. Also, I suspect that the Westin and the Nines will together need to develop a strategy so that they both succeed, as many like me who previously stayed at the Westin, will now choose The Nines.

Great hotel, great staff, fine food, and interesting architecture.

Nice follow-up. Appreciated. Now I need to check my SPG account for amenity during this stay. Thanks for reminding me.

What amenity are you talking about? If you are looking for the 500-point welcome amenity, you can forget about it. The only Luxury Collection hotel currently authorized to give the 500-point amenity is the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

The Platinum amenity as mentioned by Life_Platinum. He received one and was allowed to make two selections. One of which was points. That all being said I would ask. That should be enough of a hint.

FWIW, The Nines is not authorized by The Luxury Collection brand to give out 500 Starpoints as a choice of Platinum welcome amenities, so they have been asked to desist from this practice going forward.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

No comment.

That's odd. As you can see from this thread, this is one of the better Starwood properties in the country - you'd think Starwood would want to maintain all available perks.

It's not odd at all. The 500-point Platinum amenity is NOT a part of the benefits for stays at Luxury Collection and St. Regis hotels in general. It has nothing to do with the Nines itself, but is a part of the brand standard for those two chains within Starwood. Two grandfathered exceptions apply to the Palace San Francisco (which used to be a Sheraton long ago) and the St. Regis Houston, but that's it.

FALSE! Why does everyone forget about the US Grant :confused:

Does this property not update Plats to a suite if available? I have noticed that most reviews have not included an upgrade to a suite.

It's NOT false and I am not forgetting about the US Grant. You just don't know all the facts. I can see how you would be confused (:confused:) as the master thread on the 500-point welcome amenity still lists the US Grant as being authorized to give out that amenity. But William, the Starwood Lurker says it is NOT true in this more recent post:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/11480848-post60.html --- "It's actually down to just two now. It turns out that the US Grant was not given permission to do so, though in fact they did for awhile against brand policy."

William, can you fix the confusion by editing your own post at:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/8077165-post1.html

looking to book a stay in Portland in November. . .will mark the 3rd year my DH and I have been together (not our anniversary, just from when we met).

I haven't told him yet but I booked airfare on Southwest when they had a 48 hr sale with $30 ea way fares. . .couldn't beat it. 2 RT tickets from Spokane to Portland were $160. I'll get grandma to take the kids so we'll have two nights away for just adults.

Thinking of the Nines but which of these is really the best deal?

Currently I can get a AAA rate of $125 for a basic room (and hope for upgrade) or for about $80 more they have this deal:

(edit: choice of TWO)
* Complimentary Valet Parking
* Breakfast for two in Urban Farmer or from In-Room Dining
* Welcome Amenity that includes chocolate dipped strawberries and your choice of a bottle of Champagne, Cabernet or Chardonnay
* Dinner and a Movie (one on-demand movie of your choice and a $25 In-Room Dining credit)
* 4:00pm Late Check-Out
* Complimentary Room Upgrade (based upon availability)
* 1,000 Starwood Preferred Guest® Starpoints
* Complimentary Morning Coffee Service
* Signature Gift from the Nines (choose one): Bracelet, Cuff Links or Bathrobe

I'm probably going to use points for the 2nd night (we'll be checking out early so don't need the breakfast and all) but are the extra above worth paying $80 more?