The Heathman Hotel, Portland

Really disappointed in how this hotel has become so worn down and overpriced. I understand the rise of costs in this industry but for the name the heathman carries and the luxury it pretends to express through pricing and image, I was sorely disappointed. Beginning at check in, where they are not able to use the card on file for the booking cost, like hundreds of hotels do (yes a physical card for incidentals is fine but it’s unusual not to be able to have the hotel paid for with the card used during booking). On top of that, the price is higher than claimed during booking. Once in the room, we find a TV from the 2000s that isn’t even facing the bed, and since it doesn’t have any smart functions (like most hotels now offer since smart TV’s have been around for over a decade now) it is rendered useless. The mattress is old and worn, with torn fabric and hair on the sheets, and the floor is filthy. Even the baseboard is chipped everywhere. Then, in their own restaurant, we witness the waiter specifically avoiding to bring the happy hour menu to us, then trying the same with three ladies next to us, who call him out and make him bring it to them. Throughout our stay, I struggled alone with my toddler and our stroller, up and down the steps as the elevator did not function, with zero help from the staff in both hotel and restaurant, and not even the employees by the door offered to hold the door. This remained to be the case throughout our stay. I was sorely disappointed in both the lack of service of the staff in all areas of the hotel as well as the dated and dirty interior. I will not be recommending the heathman to anyone again, which is unfortunate as it used to be a treasure. There are far better, updated choices in the area.

Check-in is through the restaurant/bar. They are under construction. We had to carry luggage up two flights of stairs to get to the elevator. Check-in and service is chaotic. The actual stay was good. I hope things flow better for guests after the construction is complete. Right now we felt like we had to be a (thorn in the side) to get the kind of customer service you expect at the Heathman. Our key card expired even though we had a 2 pm checkout as part of their "Stay like a Local" perk. This meant we got stuck in the elevator and then locked out of our room when we went back after lunch. Luckily there was a janitor there to help us. Valets are stationed around the corner at the Hotel front door where guests are not allowed to enter at this time. We didn't realize that and so getting our vehicle took quite a bit more time than it would have since we could not see the Valets from where we were waiting at the temporary guest entrance.

Leaky roof in our room. Terrible service overall. Our laundry was never picked up and the front desk didn’t bother to explain why it wasn’t picked up. We requested a microwave, and the front desk told us they couldn’t bring one and asked us to go downstairs to heat up our food in a microwave inside a storage closet. Breakfast was subpar in a room full of dust from nearby repairs. We waited more than 20 minutes for the valet to show up when we arrived. Mind you, we paid $50.00 per day for that valet service. The highlight of our stay was the location and cleanliness of the room. Very disappointed with our stay.

Overall we had a lovely stay at the Heathman. The room was clean and had everything we needed. I loved the French press coffee in the morning! The location on Broadway was close to many shops and bars and restaurants, a real hub of activity. The library being closed at this time was a huge disappointment, as it was the main reason we had booked the hotel in the first place. I would recommend waiting until construction is over if you want to experience the library that is so wonderfully advertised in their website. The restaurant staff were amazing and I highly recommend eating there.

The Heathman is a great hotel in a wonderful location. Its location gives you easy access to some great restaurants and their staff is very professional and helpful. We enjoyed our recent stay very much!