Genuinely one of the worst hotel experiences
PLEASE READ THE BAD REVIEWS BEFORE BOOKING HERE.
Our stay was 11/10-11/12 2025.
I was so incredibly disappointed in Hotel Zags. We drove over 6 hours from Eastern WA to come visit Portland. Portland itself was great, but I wish we had stayed somewhere else.
So this hotel is "dog friendly" insofar as you are allowed to sleep with your dog here. Otherwise? I think you should pick Hotel Rose based on those reviews. I paid for a "dog package" (or so I thought?) advertised on Zags' website, and received nothing but an inflated bill (website states wipes are provided, branded bandana etc.,). The receptionist was not even friendly to my dog, lol, what did she do to you? The dog friendliness of the general hotel stops at a jar of tiny basic biscuit treats next to a (frequently empty) giant vat of what is supposed to be cold water for guests and some cups.
No staff were friendly to my dog, or to me and my partner apart from one lady who checked us in - otherwise, we were completely ignored. Not even a "hello" when you walk past the reception desk. Their "pet policy" needs to be advertised much better on the website that you don't allow dogs to stay in the room without being crated - had I known this, I would not have come as we had to rearrange our entire trip based on not being able to leave her in the room. My good, housetrained, hotel-experienced and friendly pup is a 95lbs great pyranees and lab. You people think I'm going to haul a crate to fit her in on our road trip? That's ridiculous - it wouldn't have even fit in the room because of how tiny the rooms are!
"$35 amenities" fee? Per night? Seriously? And no water in rooms, no working AC, no coffee maker, no microwave (communal microwave in a hallway is DISGUSTING, by the way) barely any toiletries or sweet touches in the room - so what amenities exactly? This should be allowed to be waved before payment if the guest has no plans to use their "amenities" (all the fun stuff locked up in a cage that they love to advertise, I guess?)
The rooms are small, dirty, outdated and unmaintained. This hotel is nowhere near a 4-star hotel. I SO wish I had read the reviews before booking this place. The comfort was highly disappointing on top of everything else - flat, lumpy pillows, room was either too cold or too hot constantly (no working AC, so window had to be open for it to be cool) - we had terrible sleep both nights. No extra blankets or throw blankets or even a decorative blanket, just a flat, sad, thin duvet between two crunchy sheets. Awful.
Have stayed in many hotels, motels, hostels and accomodations around the world. This place is a glorified hostel charging out of its butt for good marketing content, essentially. You definitely feel duped staying here.
Quoted $170 in my reservation email for two nights, ended up having to pay $380 upon check-in, and then my invoice displays $230... So, yeah. Insane hidden fees. Sad to see the capitalism (exploitation) in action at such a progressive city.
Cherry on top is the attached photo of what happened to my car turning out of their entrance to underground parking as their exit gate has been broken for months - as can be seen in multiple reviews. No signage on where to turn, no arrows, so while you're trying not to hit pylons be sure you don't turn too early otherwise your car will be scraped and dented like mine! Thanks Hotel Zags! $40 for parking and their exit gate doesn't work and now I will have a massive cost of repairing my car. Shame on this hotel.
