As a little staycation, my best friend and I decided to stay at The Nines hotel downtown Portland, Oregon, a luxury collection hotel. We’ve switched from gift giving to experience giving and it was well worth it and a fun change.
The check in was smooth with the overnight valet, (whopping $65 a night), but with the state of Portland, it made sense. The hotel lobby was swankily decorated with live music as we walked in. We got upgraded to a spacious room, with two queen beds versus the one king. The view from the room was nothing to write home about, some old dirty rooftops and a parking garage but the view from the elevators was pretty.
To get to the hotel room, had to walk down crazy patterned hallway, it felt like a revolving door. Thinking to myself, did we already walk down this hallway. I can’t imagine being drunk trying to find your room, thankfully we were sober. The room had teal velvet couch, gaudy wall paper and a jelly fish diamond chandelier, although it all fit the image. Had an expensive flow.
We first checked out the lobby bar, which is filled with different seating options and a waitress coming around offering drinks and food. We got the Buddha Bird cocktail (strawberry infused banks five island blend rum, aperol, Grey Goose Vodka, pineapple, lime) and deviled eggs with Bourbon Maple Bacon, Espelette and Chive, (easily 8/10). The flavor was there and the egg yolk nice and fluffy. The musician was fantastic.
After the bar we headed back to the room before our dinner reservation Over at Din Tai Fung, kitty corner from the hotel. That was fantastic, here is my review on that. We couldn’t skip out on The Nines rooftop bar at the hotel, Departure.
Departure Restaurant and Lounge
Departure is on the top floor of The Nines hotel, when you get off the elevator, the wall is covered in mirrors. You head into the restaurant through a spaceship like tunnel. While we went when it was raining, they had shades and heaters that allowed for comfortable seating area. They had low wooden Adirondack chairs with furry little blankets. It was windy, so sitting by the railing, even with a shade, allowed the rain to through. We did end up moving to the table a bit back with a heater. We ordered the pork belly (cranberry kimchi, cherry mustard glaze, scallion) and my god, that was amazing. Melt in your mouth and the kimchi was perfectly done, not too sweet. 10/10, I cannot wait to go back.
I will say, we aren’t in our 20s anymore. We were in our rooms with eye masks and face masks on by ten. The beds were comfortable, the pillow a bit lumpy but I did have three other options so it worked out. The black out curtains allowed for a sleep in until 8 am, no kid life.
The next morning was frustrating. We did sleep in though, by 9 am we had house keeping knocking on the door asking if we were still in the room. By 10am, we had the room service attendant asking for our beverage tray, although we didn’t have one. It felt like the check out was at noon, why are you coming by interrupting our morning already!? But such a small piece of frustration for a great stay.
Urban Farmer Steakhouse
We ended up brunching down at Urban Farmer, the lobby restaurant. It did have hotel vibes, but they do try. The food was on another level though. I had the Honey Ham Eggs Benedict, while too much béarnaise, the flavor was amazing. The house made english muffin was fluffy with structure. My friend got the breakfast sandwich, which was huge! easily could split that for two people. The hash brown that came with her meal was the perfect combination of crispy and light. The outside had the right amount of seasoning and perfectly fried, McDonald’s – but with flavor.
Ultimately the stay at The Nines Hotel was a solid 9/10 and one I’d do again. It was the staycation I could of imagined, perfect for a couple girls and would be perfect for a couple.
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