An Uncomfortable, Unwelcoming Stay
By far, this was the worst hotel in our Oregon trip with 5 hotels. We stayed at the Marriott across the street but by the time we decided to extend our stay in Portland, they were already booked out. Fortunately and unfortunately, I booked this Kimpton using an IHG award night and it happened to be a 2-minute walk.
From start to finish, it was an unwelcoming experience. We hauled our stuff across the street, only to find the door locked at 11am. It was 2 minutes before a guest came to let us in. The manager James then helped us check in early and he was the only helpful staff member. Our room was not quite ready, so we left our bags and decided to come back later.
They did text when the room was ready but we ended up getting back a bit before 8pm. Same deal, the door was locked. We stood a few minutes waiting for someone to open it. A woman with a name tag came out and opened the door to ask if we were guests. When I said we are, that was followed by a lecture about how we need to use our key card to open the door, which we did not have yet. I said we checked in earlier but the room was not ready; we didn't have a key. Instead of apologizing for the confusion, she continues to lecture that I should have said that to begin with when she could have phrased her question differently. This was already such a bad start.
A nicer young lady came to help us with our keys. I asked if our bags were upstairs and she wasn't sure but said she would check and if they were not upstairs, she would ask for someone to send them up. We waited 20 minutes before my husband called down and asked about our bags. Once again, they confirmed they would send them up. After another 10 minutes, my husband went down and got them. They had slammed the door in his face after handing him the bags. He is the sweetest person and this really upset him. The room was ready for 8 hours and after asking twice, they still were not located for 30 minutes and they were rude to my husband.
The room itself was biting cold. We set the thermostat to 75 degrees, later 78, and it still stayed around 65-69. It was so cold that I had to sleep with a robe on, still shivering after a hot shower and despite wearing long sleeves. I was excited to see a timer in the bathroom, thinking it was for a heated floor, but it was for lights. Who times the vanity lights? It also came with a loud ticking in the background. I'm also not sure who is designing bathrooms these days but they put the toilet paper roll so far behind reach on the right side when there is literally a wall on the left side that is long enough to be within reach and accessible.
Overall, the room felt dated and was fairly dusty. There was dust near the TV, dust near the coffee/tea packets, dust near the lights. Speaking of lights, they all had different and hidden switches. In 2023, you would think they'd use one switch to turn on all the lights. The switches turned nothing on. Instead, we had to search for the 1st switch in the dark. The rest were also hidden as tabs or built into the design. The bed was big but not comfortable. It was sinking in the middle. The pillows were even sadder and flat. The bathroom door didn't slide all the way closed and there were 2 doors into the bathroom; both closed loudly. The room door was also hard to close. The complimentary boxed water in the rooms had a weird waxy taste. One of them later burst in the trunk of our car, probably for the best.
The only good thing was that we called the front desk a few times for items we forgot or ran out of, such as toothpaste and tweezers, and they brought those right away. The room also didn't have lotion but they brought one over. We also enjoyed King Tide, the restaurant downstairs. It was a solid 4 stars - great service and delicious food. Highly recommend the clam chowder with Peruvian spices. The hotel lobby door was open from the time my husband picked up the luggage until we went downstairs to eat, so at least 30 minutes, and the lobby was then ice cold and the cold air carried into the restaurant. I asked the receptionist if we could close the door, to which she said yes, she was cold too. She didn't even offer to help, but I was just happy to close it.
At check-out, my husband pulled the car around and I handed him the luggage. There was no one around at the desk or counter, but the valet saw we were there and called someone. I walked to the front door and while this happened, a family and a couple cut me in line, even after the valet noted I was there first and he did try to help. The receptionist didn't care and the family took an absurdly long time reviewing each line item. I didn't know why until later. We stood there for 10 minutes until James also came out to help the couple and then finally helped me check out. He confirmed I only had the King Tide charge and some taxes. I received the bill 10 minutes after leaving, while we were on the road.
To add insult to injury with this experience, we were charged a $26 amenity fee. What amenity was provided exactly? We had to dodge attitudes, search for our bags, call for lotion, buy new water, wipe dust off their appliances, and try not to freeze to death. There is no pool or spa. I sent a 2-sentence email to the hotel showing the screenshot of my reservation and no mention of an amenity fee. Their response? "The fee is listed on our website and app as additional charges. I have confirmed it is listed when booking with points this way." I did not book with points though and they never responded to my follow-up email.
Chalk it up to an inexpensive lesson - don't stay at Kimptons! They apparently all charge amenity fees and there is a class action that was started in 2021. Fill that out if you were also surprised. I have stayed at 30+ IHG properties and have never seen an amenity fee on an award night and this bill looked more like a long rental car receipt than one for a 4-star hotel.
If you don't want to deal with this kind of nightmare on vacation, we highly recommend staying across the street at the Marriott. The experience was 180 degrees, especially with their wonderful staff, simple checkout/bill, and clean rooms.
