Ace Hotel

07/28/2007 Posted by brak

I like to think that I fit the The Ace's demographic in that I prefer small, unique boutique hotels and understand that might mean fewer amenities then you might find in a large chain hotel. That said, I was surprised that The Ace had more of a feeling of an upscale hostel then a not inexpensive hotel. I don't mind that I can't order food (again, not unusual in a smaller hotel) but it meant no one ever came to clean the room, leaving us with no clean towels for the next day. Even though we had a proper bathroom, it was a bit disconcerting seeing people duck in and out of the bathrooms in the hall and stairway. Because of that and lack of staff, the place had a distinct "self-serve" feeling about it. The room itself had great potential. Cool mural/painting on the wall, hardwood floors, a record player with a box of records, high ceilings and interesting decor. What there was of it. We had a sofa, but there was no coffee table or side table to put anything on, just short wooden boxes, which were too small to be useful. The bathroom sink was outside of the bathroom itself (which had nothing but the tub and toilet) and was a corner sink with no room for so much as a tube of toothpaste. They remedy this by providing a small stainless steel table as a space to put a few things. God help you of you have a large brush and lots of cosmetics and toiletries. They'll be homeless. The closet contained 5 hangers (for two people!) and instead of a chest of drawers or shelves to compensate, a hanging canvas shoe holder, as seen at Ikea. Would it hurt them to give you something in which to put a few days of clothing? All in all I found the hotel interesting, and ultimately enjoyed my stay in spite of the odd logistical issues but I can't say I'll be back soon. It did feel as if their determination to present a certain look and feel overshadowed any concern or sympathy for the person actually staying in the room. More surfaces, please!

Pros: Hipster atmosphere, close to everything, unique

Cons: Stripped down amenities and service

07/15/2007 Posted by vsc1524

Let me get this straight, I can pay over $100/nt to share a bath, have a view of a wall, and expect absolutely bad front desk service? Or I can stay up the street at a real hotel (boring, yes) and have privacy and service? This hotel is simply too stripped down. There isn't even art on the walls, compared to the Seattle location this is a piss-poor deal. Everyone knows you don;t go to a place like this expecting it to be a spa, but at least give me an ipod hookup so i can play my own music. Or how bout's a little breakfast? Or some daylight? These are not high expectations. Maybe they blew the budget on the little wall mounted TV's? Further WHO EVEN WATCHES TV ANYWAY?!

Pros: Locaiton, beautiful details

Cons: Service, view of a wall, no service, no breakfast, loud

06/21/2007 Posted by ab1234

I had a party at The Ace Hotel recently in their event space "The Cleaners" and I couldnt have asked for a better experience. Every single person who worked there was awesome and helpful and sweet. The event space was fantastic and all our guests were impressed with the venue. They set up a bar and there was a DJ and a door person. For an amateur party thrower it was easy to plan and my contact was very patient with my contsant calls asnd questions. After the party we went up to our corner suite which we loved. Everything from the old books to the way the rooms were arranged, the beautiful bathrooms. I wish I lived there.. I would highly recommend staying there or having your next big event there.

Pros: Charming, well designed, good coffee, good people, good event space

Cons: Better help w/baggage woudl be good

06/03/2007 Posted by johndolsonpdx

So my wife and I live in Portland and decided to make a little weekend getaway to downtown. We had heard of this new funky, cool hip hotel downtown called the “Ace Hotel”. Sounded like fun right? Well sorry to say but wrong! This place is cool and hip for sure, but there is one itty-bitty problem. Last time I checked hotels were for sleeping. Well we barely slept a wink. The problem? It’s hard to get any sleep when there are several nightclubs right outside your window. The problem gets worse when you realize that this is an old historic building, with thin walls and old windows. It sounded like we were IN the nightclubs. We could hear everything. The bars don’t close until 2:30 and then it all spills out into the street until 3:00 am. If that weren’t enough try the herd of elephants in the room above us. Finally at 3:30 am I called the room above us to ask them to keep it down a little. A very chipper guy answered and said “sure no problem we were just getting ready to head out for the night”. I must be getting old or something, but I had to laugh. The only suggestion I have for the ACE is to provide complimentary earplugs in the rooms, but what hotel would want to send that message. All in all it is a neat hotel, but not for those that actually like a hotel for sleeping. It was a Friday night, so maybe the weekdays are better, but I can for sure say, stay away on a Friday night or get a room on that faces one of the numbered streets.

Pros: Cool and hip

Cons: no parking, loud at night, thin walls.