Tiramisu

I’m planning a 1-2 month stay in the Portland area and am looking for clean, safe and reasonably priced hotel or apartment. I don’t need to be downtown (and would prefer a safe area). Would anyone happen to know of any decent short term apartment rentals, corporate stay places or not-too-expensive hotel options? I’ve looked at Airbnb but am not a fan of staying in other people’s homes.

dlaue

Try Homewood Suites in Vancouver, WA, across the river from Portland and in a very quiet area.

djp98374

Why are you going? Is this for a job assignment --if so is it Portland or hillsboro or some other suburb?

Will you have your own transportation or do you want to go carless?

Tiramisu

Thank you. I’ll look I to it. I think that is a Hilton chain so maybe I could even use points. Will check.

Tiramisu

Sorry for the late reply. I will be having a car at least for the first 2 weeks or so. It seems really expensive though ($1,000 for a week from the airport is steep!) so it’d be great if I could do without one.
I’ll be working but I won’t need to go to a specific office, it’s more fluid, like visiting stores, restaurants etc and then doing a ton of modeling and statistics at home. I don’t need to be centrally located but would need to get into the city a few times for data gathering.
I am not familiar with the suburbs but looked at Hillsboro and Beaverton and they both look good. I would even consider something further away but there don’t seem to be many long term stay options in e.g. Salem (if I could find a better priced rental car).
Ideally, I’d like something furnished, with small kitchen/ette, near public transportation, good Wi-Fi, and some grocery stores. A gym, pool or hiking trail nearby would also not be bad. It could be a short term apartment rental but I’m not keen on going through a whole lease process for just a few months.

djp98374

on the car limit it to a one day or weekend rental. You can get around to most areas on light rail/ street car/ buses.


many grocery stores are easy access near light rail stations.

in Portland the main grocery stores are

Safeway— there are two in downtown along N/S street car lines
Fred Meyer — there are 3 one just outside of downtown core near N/S line. Therr is one at gateway transit center where 3 lines meet. There is one in Gresham near a blue line station
Whole Foods— there is one downtown a block from N/S streetcar line
Trader Joe’s— this is along I-84 a couple blocks from red/ blue/ green line in Hollywood neighborhood. A target is here too.
Albertsons — therr are a few but not many near stations
Winco— this is near gateway station and a Fred Meyer

the end of green line is a shopping mall and across the street is a large shopping center.
where the Fred Meyer is in Gresham there is also a large shopping center there.
along red line near airport at cascade stations therr is a large big box shopping g center and the next station has a target.

there are others. I’ve traveled to Portland frequently without a car. There isn’t much you can’t get to.


given your length of stsy look at short term furnished rental Or a long stay thru a bedroom rental via Airbnb. Some apartments have furnished 1 br stays.

with hiteks you coukd look at some of the lower cost hotels to stay at that come with kitchens like extended stay, toenplace, homewood, candle wood I think is the one under ihg/ holiday inn that is designed with small kitchens

you might have to call and negotiate on rack rates for long stays.

hotels will have WiFi as should room rentals. Short lease furnished apartments might not come with paid WiFi.


the city itself has 5 directional regions. These are in quadrants using burnside ave and the willamette river as the dividers. Because north of downtown the river goes diaganol, this splits the NW into a N and NW. north of the rivers turn. I think MLK Is the divide.

the N and NE are the more industrial/ blue collar areas. Downtown post Covid has had many businesses closed with office buildings being pretty empty. The north side of downtown is more residential. South side of downtown is where Portland State university is located.

when lookingfir places..look at closeness to the main lines.

southern part of metro Portkand ( Tigard tualitan) does not have a light rail line. They have fuses but youare more likeky to need a car if you stsy here. Same with Vancouver. From some areas of Vancouver there are bus lines that connect to light rail stations.

from Vancouver you have Amtrak line connecting downtown Vancouver to downtown Portland

Tiramisu

Thank you! thank you! Thank you!!! This is so incredibly helpful!
I haven’t had time to respond until now as I was packing and traveling. I am actually in the area now and have been for a few days. I started out with one of the suite hotels as suggested by you and the other poster. I got a car and choked on the rate but I really needed one for the first few days ($450 for three days and then I even had one day paid with points). I’m in Vancouver now and have driven through Portland, up and down the MLK etc several times already.

The vehicle has now been returned and I’m trying the transit system. As for housing, it looks like I will have to go back home again for a meeting pretty soon, maybe already next week, but then return again, so I still have some time to decide. It has been helpful to drive around and see the various areas. I have talked to a few hotels and can get good size rooms for just under $100 per night. AirBnB might be cheaper.

I’m tempted to try a new car rental agency, Kyte, though im not sure how reliable they are. Their rates are less than half the other agencies. They claim to cut cost by not having rental facilities or staff but park their cars at remotely located big lots and have “Kyte surfers” deliver them to clients. Ill have to look at some reviews.

Anyway, thank you again for your detailed reply! It has been tremendously helpful to me!

MSPeconomist

In case you haven't already discovered it, there's an area at about the first light rail stop from the airport that has some big retail stores and also some newish airport hotels, including some extended stay properties (which would be completely furnished and have limited housekeeping service and free breakfast). You should be able to get a long stay rate on the hotel chain's website or by talking directly with the front desk manager or general manager.

You can also go to hotel chain websites and search for only extended stay brands (Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, and element for Marriott, Hyatt House for Hyatt, etc.).

Don't forget to sign up for the chain's "frequent sleeper" program to earn points and status. It might make sense to get the hotel chain's cobranded credit card too.

djp98374

First one is hood, there is a residence inn and a short walk to holiday inn express. It’s a farther walk to country inn and suites. The HIE opened about 5 or so years ago. The RI us a few years older.

vcascade station area started opening up when the housing bubble was about to burst.p in 2007.

at cascade station there are other hoteks across the street from the shopping center. Hyatt place or hyatt house, aloft, a a couple others.

there are a bunch of airport hoteks on the other side of 205. Townplace and candle wood are there and I think spring hill. Airport shuttles to airport. It’s about a mile walk to the nearest trimet station of park rose ( one after cascade station).

djp98374

Therr is a residence inn and hyatt house across the street from each other along the street car line between downtown core at university of oregon medical center ( called OHSU). This area is another newer development area. The waterfront campus area opened up in 2007 and they have been building a bunch of other buildings since. A few years ago a new outpatient clinic building opened up down there.

because both are near the hospital, they might be more willing to do longer term rate negotiations.

it was pre uis ly…residence inn does sleep study work fir the medical center where they have specially designed rooms on a floor.

Tiramisu

Yes! I did notice this and after staying a few nights I did shop around for deals. It’s been quite busy here with many places fully booked, but I was able to get a couple if weeks at a decent rate. Thanks!

Tiramisu

Thanks! I asked but they were apparently quite full (maybe from traveling nurses). However, I took your advice and went out to Clackamas where there also is a hospital and was able to get a few weeks at a reduced rate there. I actually liked the area for its space, safety and for easily available food when I got home late. I’ve been able to have a car most of the time, except for a few days when they were sold out, so driving hasn’t been bad (and I find it very easy to drive here). I used a bunch if points to get free days at Hertz. They charged $156 per day for a vehicle at the airport so it was worth it. Now I have a good relationship with Hertz on SE Stark and get good weekly rates.

djp98374

withanyware you usually get better rates at non airport sites. You usually have a concentrated amount in an area where there are dealerships and repair shops. The only risk is that the car tend to get higher miles on thrm befire they get traded in. That increases chance of maintenance needs but if you are staying local to the site it’s less of a risk.

near the university hospital therr is residence inn and hyatt house across the street. You can get full because of patients fan ily staying there, and outside medical in town. The area also is generally better than downtown core area. Since Covid thr downtown pioneer square area had the various protests and marches going on during the geirhpge Floyd/ police issues as well as a neonazi protest and that area is heavily retail with office buildings so many many stores closed. That area is where most downtown hotels are located. And you also have a homeless problem. The area the RI and HH don’t have as big of a problem.

Tiramisu

Yes, it was quite shocking to see the area downtown around Pioneer Square. Not to mention the Apple Store - looked like Port Moresby in the 80s. I have gotten really good deals on hotels there but chose to go elsewhere, plus I didn’t want to either park on the street or pay $30 per night for parking. And while I do like the city and Oregon, I have to say that it’s extremely dirty and full of trash everywhere, plus homeless of course. Even residential areas are not well kept with overgrown yards and lots of houses falling apart or seemingly owned by hoarders who litter their whole yard with junk. Many many vehicles are also really old too. It does feel a bit like a developing country. I guess I haven’t been here long enough to see the nicer parts yet. But I really do like it and the people are absolutely lovely!

i have found a few sites that rent short term apartments so I may try to move to one soon. For now, I quite like my little cheap hotel. It even has a small pool.

piyush

I need to be in Portland for 2 months later this year for work. My work will primarily be around Swan Island. I will have a car.

I have been given the following options -

Hotels -

Residence Inn Portland Downtown Pearl District
Residence Inn Portland Downtown Riverplace
Hyatt House Portland Downtown

Furnished apartments -

The Carson
Portland Astoria

Which of these should I pick based on safety, restaurants/shops and drive time? I will need a kitchen/kitchenette.

Any other good options? I looked on TripAdvisor and the Inn at Northrup Station and the Mark Spencer Hotel had good reviews.

Thank you!