We've never been to Portland, Oregon, but have heard it's a fabulous city. Can anyone recommend a good hotel--mid range--that's in the thick of things? Also, will we need a car?

Portland has the reputation of having the second or third best public transit in the USA. You might want to think about a car however and drive along Pacific Coast highway. One of my favorite small towns is Coos Bay - go out and eat on the bay front/wharf. Used to be a place there that served the most incredible cranberry apple pie.

Anthony Bourdain just did a show on the pacific northwest. Found a couple of great looking restaurants.

My favorite place to stay in Portland has closed since the owners retired. I don't have a new place to stay. Previous to staying at the Portland B&B, we stayed at the Mallory. It has gone upscale and is now the Hotel Deluxe. Their sister hotel is Hotel Lucia.

I've enjoyed staying at B&Bs in Portland. The White House, Heron House and Lion & Rose have been around for a while. The Lion & Rose is a block from where I'm used to staying. It is about 6 blocks to the Max train so it is convenient for staying. One other place to stay is the Kennedy School which is part of the McMenamin's hotels. McMenamin started as a local brewery and has now expanded out to a chain of both restaurants and hotels. They can be funky since they have a hippy background.

I've found that I like having a car in Portland. You can get to Downtown, Pearl and Nob Hill (21st NW) area via public transportation (MAX or streetcar) but if you want to get to any of the other neighborhoods, you will need car. You can also do a day trip up to Columbia River which is stunning. Take the slow road up through Crown Point, the small falls to Multnomah Falls. If you want to do any wine tasting, I recommend a drive out to McMinnville or Dundee which are in the Yamhill Valley wine area. Cannon Beach is also a good day trip but with 5 days, I'd recommend staying in town, and day trip only to either up the Columbia or Yamhill Valley.

The food in Portland is fabulous. I've eaten several times at Wildwood. Paley' Place is always recommended. If you want to taste the most local food and a very unique experience - check out Park Kitchen Restaurant.

Citysearch does also have a good set of recommendations for Portland. Check out some of the places above and post if you have any questions.

Can you provide more details (time of year, length, obligations, travelers, personal interests) about your trip and interests?

You're right that Portland is diverse! As a displaced Oregonian, I can attest that we've memorized the "Your two hours away from anything!" lecture subliminally provided by the tourism department. Two hours from the coast, skiing, vineyards, and the high desert. In Portland itself you have hiking, art, great food, and music. It will really, really depend on your interests. If there will be a beer lover with you, the Portland metro area has more than 36 breweries (the most of any metro area in the word!). And, McMenamin's (as Marta already mentioned) doesn't bottle their beer, so Portland is a keen place to enjoy their brews on tap. Each pub often has its own unique brew brewed onsite. The food is fantastic. If anyone traveling with you is a coffee drinker, the opportunities are just as wide. Portlanders live for their coffee! Just do a google search on "Portland coffee roasters". There is also the fantastic and quite large Portland Saturday Market.

As for places to stay, if you are looking for hotels, I would recommend the Hotel Vintage Plaza . Their restaurant, Pazzo Ristorante , down on the first floor is at least worth lunch and makes for a fantastic dinner night out. Marta's B&B suggestions are spot on!

As for other dining suggestions, it all depends on tastes. There is fantastic international food and the local chefs are passionate about using NW ingredients year round. You'll find many, many restaurants with seasonal menus. You can read SlowTrav restaurant reviews of Carafe (mine) and Park Kitchen (Marta's) to get our raves over these two fantastic places.

As for whether or not you need to rent a car, it all depends. I would first check out Trimet, the metro area's lightrail and bus system. There is a free streetcar around downtown and free lightrail service in Zone 1 (mostly downtown). There is an extensive light rail and bus system available. It is robust, timely, clean, and efficient. The Trimet website also has a trip planner, so you can decide if it makes sense to use mass transit during your stay.

If you think you need a car, before you get a rental for your whole stay, consider a Zipcar. There are lots of choices with hourly rates between $9-13/hour or $66-77/day (plus a MINI convertible for $95/day) at a wide variety of locations across the city.

It also pays to bring a wireless device or laptop to plan on the fly. Portland has numerous wifi hotspots.

The Sunday Seattle travel section has had numerous features on the Pearl district in Portland. Nearby, and a reason to have a car, are the Japanese gardens - gorgeous! The downtown shopping core is pedestrian friendly, however!

I have stayed at Hotel Vintage Plaza, great hotel and wonderful downtown location, have also eaten at Pazzo, fun place, loud but fun.

Yes the saturday market is also a must...there used to be some old funky British style pub called The Elepphant and Castle down by the market not sure if its there anymore or not...Portland's a great town and there is also a really great Greek restaurant downtown, can't remember the name right now...will see if I can find it.

We spent almost two weeks in Oregon last year sandwiching wineries and the coast between two stays in Portland. Our hotel of choice was the Inn at Northrup station (http://www.northrupstation.com/) which offered a great rate in the spring. It is located just around the corner from both Wildwood and Paley's Place (as well as many other restaurants within walking distance). The hotel is on the streetcar line and since it is outside the free downtown transportation zone, you are given daily streetcar passes along with your free wifi and breakfast. We had wonderful meals at Jakes
Famous Crawfish Restaurant, Paleys, Wildwood, Fenouil, Caprials. Portland is a very walkable city and we enjoyed the market, Chinese Garden, zoo, Powells for books, antique hunting in the Silkwood neighborhood. We used a combination of car and public transportation (parking was free at our hotel) since we were going to be heading to other parts of Oregon but the public transportation is wonderful in Portland. Enjoy your trip.
Marilyn

Marilyn,

It is never too late to write a trip report! You've listed some classic Portland eateries and a great place to stay. I'd love to read about your trip sometime. As a native to Portland, it is sometimes hard to see it from a visitor's point of view and I love to see what travelers think of the city.

Thanks so much for your suggestions, everyone. I still haven't made a booking and hope that it's not a problem since we don't arrive until August 18. I lean toward the B & Bs--the only problem is that so many have cats and I am terribly allergic. Of course they all claim that the cats don't go in the rooms, but I've never known a cat who couldn't find a way into where they weren't supposed to go!
For so many cities, a car is just a nuisance, but it sounds as though in Portland it would be an asset. About five years ago we went to a wedding in Seattle and then rented a car and drove down the coast, making one inland foray down the Columbia River Gorge (stunning!) and to Mt. Hood. I've considered using the car to drive to Astoria (is that worth it?) and now Coos Bay is on the short list. But I don't want to shortchange Portland itself. Oy. How lucky am I, to have such a dilemma?

For a coastal day trip from Portland, I would probably recommend Cannon Beach instead of Astoria. You can do it as a day trip and the coastal scenery is stunning around Cannon Beach and Ecola State Park. Astoria is interesting since it is at the mouth of the Columbia but to me it is more bit of a working (logging) town. Cannon Beach is pretty touristy but I just love the beach and scenery. But it would take a full day so keep that in mind.

BTW, Coos Bay is too far for a day trip from Portland.

Echoing the call for Cannon Beach over Astoria. Yes, it's touristy, but gorgeous. I cannot say that Astoria is gorgeous - I actually remember the people I visited even went to Cannon Beach. It is wild and open, with the raging ocean. Even in inclement weather it is stunning. Astoria is, as Marta said, a working town.

There's a reason why Cannon Beach is more touristy than Astoria -- the beaches perfect for walking on, the views, and more views, and then there are the views. United Airlines actually uses Cannon Beach (a gorgeous photo of Haystack Rock) in the little promo videos they run on the plane.

Now, Astoria has Fort Stevens State Park (for Civil War & WWII fans) and Lewis & Clark National Park (for pioneer fans), so it is not a complete waste of time. It just lacks the substantial views that you get at the state parks down the coast.

Coos Bay and Newport Bay are really too far south for day trips from Portland.

I would suggest making a loop out of Hwy 26, Hwy 101, and Hwy 6. Either go out 6 in the morning with the intention to hit Cannon Beach at sunset (my personal favorite!) or take 26 to hit Cannon Beach in the morning and get some Tillamook ice cream at their factory before heading back towards Portland on 6.

In either direction, hit Oswald West State Park named in honor of the state governor who declared all tidelands a public highway and gave Oregonians our gorgeous beaches to enjoy for nearly 100 years, now. (Gov. Tom McCall made the entire coastline a permanent public recreational area in the late 60's -- don't miss his namesake park in Portland!) It is about a 1/4 mile to the beach from the parking lot through a gorgeous bit of forest. It was by and far my favorite camping location along the coast -- we would go 3-4 times a year.

Cannon Beach definitely is on the top of my list now. How's this for a plan: arrive Portland midday Aug. 18, rent car, drive to Cannon Beach, stay 2 nights, drive to Portland early on the 20th, leave 23rd.

Or should we only stay one night in Cannon beach? I know that's a personal decision, but I still want to hear opinions.

Two nights for the Oregon Coast? Dreamy! If you really wanted to, you could use the two nights as bookends to a drive of the northern/central coast. I assumed you were just talking about a day trip, so here are some additional thoughts:

Newport is probably a viable option if you are looking to spend 2 nights on the coast. You can start in the north and head south, deciding to split your two nights in two different places or day trips out of one place. Tons to see and do between Cannon Beach and Newport including Depoe Bay (the smallest harbor in the world w/ lots of funky shopping), Otter Rock (for the animal lover), Devil's Punch Bowl (for the geologist), and Agate Beach (for the rock hound) just to name a few interesting sights. Newport is home to the Oregon Coast Aquarium , itself. Their Passages of the Deep exhibit is wonderful. Having been to Atlanta, Monterey, and the joy of having the National Aquarium in my backyard, I think that OCA captures a wonderful view of the Oregon coastal shelf.

Wonderful idea! Thanks so much. I volunteer at our Aquarium (Shedd in Chicago) and would love to see the Oregon version. All sounds wonderful. Now to find a place in Cannon Beach.

Would you believe there are no rooms in Cannon Beach for August 18 or 19? Bummer! I tried every hotel listed on the internet and all are full. What's another good place to stay on the coast?

I did book at Inn at Northrup Station for our three nights in Portland.

You won't be disappointed with the Inn at Northrup Station, good choice for the price and location. Be sure to walk several blocks on 21st and 23rd for a good selection of small restaurants. Several good Italian and Japanese places, and Ken's Bakery is about 7 or 8 blocks away from the inn. Paley's, which is just next door, is very popular but it didn't really work for us. The service was rushed like a coffee shop, and the prices were steep for what we received. Maybe it's just that Portland has so many great eating spots that we are able to be very selective. I second the vote on Pazzo, we've had dozens on nice meals there. Enjoy!

Just got back from Portland. Thanks again for the tip on Inn at Northrup Station; we really enjoyed our stay there. The hotel itself is decorated in a way that I couldn't live with in my home but thought was quite cool for three nights. It was nice having a fully equipped kitchin plus little living room area. Best of all was the location--I LOVE the northwest section of Portland! If I were younger and looking for a place to live, that would be it! We ate at Marrakesch across the street, which was excellent value with four very tasty courses for $18.50. Another place we love was the Bridgeport Brewery just a short walk away. And the streetcar in front of the hotel was the icing on the cake.

Glad you enjoyed my recommendation; I always hold my breath hoping others will feel as I do. It always smelled as if something yummy was cooking when we walked past Marrakesch. I'm finally getting myself in gear to write some hotel and restaurant reviews from our trip to Oregon last spring.

If you do go back to Oregon, MW, and if you intend to head for the coast, I have a recommendation for you (which I actually took the time to write up as a Slowtrav hotel review!)--Inn at Otter Crest. If you do stay there, I hope that you like MY recommendation. We certainly enjoyed yours.