If you are planning to stay for more than a day or two, the Inn at Northrup Station may be the place for you. Each room is a suite, which has ample living area in addition to small kitchenettes. The kitchenettes are small, but may be nicer than the kitchen I've got at home as they are equipped with granite counter tops, maple cabinetry and very cute little fridges/dishwashers/microwaves that are nice and shiny and probably function better than the ones I've got. And, as an added and completely Jackie-style bonus, the lobby has gigantic bowls of candy. Gigantic! Bowls! of! Candy! How can you go wrong?
As fair warning, the decor is excessively bright (check out their web page and you'll get the idea -- www.northrupstation.com), and if orange duvet covers are not your idea of fun, then I'd suggest looking elsewhere. For the size of room that you get, the prices are very reasonable ranging from $170 for a standard two-queen bed suite to the $200 kind suite that has its own balcony. The Northrup Station is nice enough to probably qualify as a boutique hotel, so these prices are reasonable, especially once you factor in the ability to cook at home and to sit on a real couch rather than the end of the bed while watching TV (of which there are two plasma screens in each room).
The hotel also has the added perk of being directly on the streetcar line. Although it is already within walking distance (albeit not for the elderly and those in heels) of our reception, the streetcar connects the two almost directly. Convenient, especially while drunk! Other local amenities, also within pseudo-walking distance, are the fabled "restaurant row" on NW21st, several brewpubs (including our reception site), several small local theaters in addition to Portland's premier professional theater at the Armory, and pretty much all of the overpriced boutiques that your heart may desire. And that isn't even including the downtown area!
