Hilton Garden Inn Portland Downtown Waterfront

The room was comfortable and spotless, breakfast was good and reasonably priced, and the staff were especially warm at breakfast. The Harbor location was fantastic, and I’d happily stay again. The downside was valet parking at $40 a night. I paid $80 and never moved the car, so that felt excessive.

The water view was gorgeous, and the location is hard to beat. We skipped valet, whose $40 nightly price I can’t judge, and paid $50 for two nights at another lot. The walk over was easy. I’d consider returning for one night, but the hotel needs some serious updating. Our bed was comfortable, though the room felt dated and wasn’t clean: there were peanuts on the floor, foundation on the bathroom counter, and old standing water in the tub. It was also missing basic things like a pen and paper. The elevators were slow and shaky, seemed to stick at different points, and had crumbling panels and buttons that barely worked. Scary. Most people we dealt with, including the front desk and housekeeping staff, were friendly and helpful. The exception was the woman bartending the evening of 1/2/26. She seemed irritated when my partner and I came up for drinks, then was dismissive and ignored us. When I tried to say thanks after getting our drinks, she’d already turned away to chat with another couple she seemed to know. We left after one drink. The fruit in our drinks was brown and looked close to moldy. I don’t know if our age or race had anything to do with it, or if she was just having a bad day, but it didn’t reflect well on the hotel.

The room was clean and comfortable, and breakfast was great. Before we arrived, Kylie contacted me by text and was really helpful with my questions. At the hotel, the valets, Maggie and Carl I believe, were wonderful, as was the front desk woman whose name I missed. We’ve stayed at hotels around Portland and out of state, and this was one of our best experiences. We’ll be back!

This is still my favorite Portland hotel, with great staff, a perfect downtown spot, and a very pet-friendly feel. I only gave the rooms four stars because the TVs aren’t smart, so there are no apps unless you bring your own device, and the room phone was broken.