I am now about to recommend a hotel that is far, far, far too cool for me. This is a young and hip place that makes me feel geeky and deprived of a date to prom simply by walking through the lobby. (Side note, I did have a date to prom, which is good. But he made me buy my own ticket to prom, which was bad!) The Ace Hotel (www.acehotel.com/Portland) is billed as "vintage-mod", "boho grand" and as a "super-cool grass-roots hotel". Hummm... I think I'd go with the former rather than the latter (doesn't the use of the phrase 'super-cool' kinda by definition make it NOT so?). The Ace is actually the second hotel by the Ace group, the first of which is located in Seattle. Inspired by rock and roll bohemia, all 79 rooms at the Ace feature local and national artistry as well as recycled headboards (made from army ponchos, but rest assured they don't look like ponchos) and reclaimed wood desks and furnishings. The retro feel comes, in part, from the historic nature of the building in which it is housed. Built in 1912 (and used as a set while filming Drugstore Cowboy in 1989), the hotel has many vintage touches such as an old fashioned photobooth and vintage refurbished deep-soak bathtubs. And if you book one of the 14 suites, your room comes complete with turntables and crates of vintage vinyl.Did I mention that this place is waaaayyy too cool for me?
The Ace is conveniently located less than a block from Powell's bookstore, and is sandwhiched between downtown and the Pearl district. The downstairs coffee is some of the best in Portland (Stumptown, a local brewer, and their stores use amazing equipment from Italy to brew your daily upper). The street is very busy, and if you want a quiet night this may not be the hotel for you. And if you didn't manage to score a date for prom, I'm not certain they'll let you in the door. OK, that's not true, but if you do want to test out the digs they'll run you 100 (private bath down the hall) to 140 clams for a regular room with suites starting at 175. And that doesn't include the $20 parking fee. After all, being hip in Portland means you ride a bicycle, right?
