Where to Stay: Hotel Modera

There is a new hotel in downtown Portland that may be a good option for the wedding. The Hotel Modera opened this summer after a complete gutting and renovation. If you book early, you can get a rate of $139 per king sized room with your choice of a view of the cute courtyard or the city proper. By clicking on the special rates button, if you enter the code TZOO you can also get free parking (normally $27 a night). Although the location is a bit farther away from our reception than other hotels we have recommended, the Modera is still in the heart of downtown Portland. The streetcar is close by, which makes it a simple step to the reception! For more information, check out www.hotelmodera.com.

Where to stay... Ace Hotel

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?

Where to stay -- Hotel Fifty

When we initially decided to review hotels in the downtown Portland area, we went through many moments of severe sticker shock. Granted, downtown is a nice area and all, but paying upwards of $300 for a basic level room seemed a bit much. We were pleasantly surprised to find Hotel Fifty, which although not the cheapest stay in the Portland area is very reasonable for its highly desirable location (FYI, rooms at the Riverplace Hotel, 3 blocks up the street, were more than double the price!). Hotel Fifty is located directly on Natio Parkway and across from the waterfront park. Our waterfront park covers most of the downtown area and is home to many of Portland's festivals, including the Rose festival and the Food & Wine festival. Even when nothing 'special' is going on, the waterfront is a nice place to relax. There is a large fountain that the brave can play in during hot weather, and the downtown portion of the waterfront is part of the Springwater Corridor bike path which goes up and down the Willamette river. And the waterfront isn't the only location plus -- Hotel Fifty is blocks away from the Max line (which can take you to such far flung areas as Beaverton, St. John's and Gresham as well as a direct connection to PDX), a few more blocks from the Streetcar line (which will take you directly to our reception) and all of the glories of downtown Portland. You may not even need a car...

The hotel itself is in the middle of a major renovation, and unfortunately when we visited we could only view the older rooms. These were, however, quite nice (why remodel?), and many offered views across the river. The rooms were standard in size, although the bathrooms seemed a bit more spacious than your average hotel. The newer "theme" of the hotel is to be a bit more modern, and the decor was planned to be very simple and minimalistic. Anyway, the room rates range from $150 - 200 per night, but if you book before August 31st you can get a 20% discount. Check their webpage for more specials at www.hotelfifty.com.

**update** HotelFifty, despite being brand spankin' new, made Frommer's list of best Moderate Hotels in downtown Portland!

Where to Stay: Inn at Northrup Station

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!

Where to Stay: Silver Cloud Inn

We have been looking at hotels in the area and have decided to post reviews of them periodically here so that you can make an informed decision when it comes to staying in beautiful Portland. Luckily, our wedding falls after the busy summer season, so good rates are available. I would also highly recommend several local bed & breakfasts, and if I have time I'll post information on them.

OK, the first hotel that we are going to cover is the Silver Cloud Inn. The Silver Cloud Inn is a part of a small chain of hotels in the Seattle/Portland areas. It is located between the NW23/21st area and the Pearl District in the alphabet blocks. While not directly located in a trendy spot, it is easily within walking distance of two of the biggest hot spots in downtown Portland. And since we are having our reception in the uber trendy Pearl District, this means that you are close enough to the reception site to park your car and walk or use the local streetcar, which runs directly in front of our reception site (Bridgeport Brew Pub). When we took a brief tour of the rooms, they were standard hotel fare but had the bright side of being slightly larger than expected (for example, in the double queen bed room, there is a full sofa & table). The hotel staff is extremely friendly, and I expect that they might actually enjoy working there! Happy employees = good sign. Maybe they are happy because plasma TVs seem to be everywhere. Hey - I wouldn't complain! Room rates are going to run you about $160, unless you go for the jacuzzi option (I find jacuzzi s that are out in the open in the bedroom area kinda freaky, so I wouldn't but hey - do what you will!) in which case you will have to shell out an extra $20. This hotel is functional and doesn't have much in terms of style (boutique hotel, this is not), but it is very serviceable and a good price. Check out their website, which includes a pretty complete virtual tour, for more info. www.silvercloud.com