Portland, Oregon business trip

I Love Portland.

I first moved there in 1985 where I lived for 10 years before relocating to the Seattle area. Check out the web site for visitors .

We stayed at our sister property (similarities in our ownership groups) Park Lane Suites and the new Park Lane Inn located just a block uphill from west Burnside between NW 21st and NW 23rd. Park Lane Suites looks a lot like one of the many multi-story apartment buildings in the neighborhood while Park Lane Inn is a 40-room motel across the street. I opted to stay at the Inn to experience the new rooms that have recently opened after a major upgrade. I think this is one of the best values in downtown Portland. The minimalist (lots of white in the decor) rooms at the inn are all new and have hardwood floors in place of carpet, comfortable beds, flat-screen TV and no tub, but a good-sized shower. My family and I stayed in one of the suites around Christmas and the large rooms really felt like home-away-from-home.

Our meeting took place at Elephant's Delicatessen located about 3 blocks from the Hotel. I really recommend visiting for any meal or to shop for wine or food-related gifts. I brought home treats for the family and a liquid concentrate mango iced tea. They have 2 meeting rooms for rent and the catered breakfast and lunch were excellent. The experience was punctuated by excellent customer service.

What a treat it was to have dinner at Jake's Famous Crawfish with colleagues. This is a classic fresh seafood restaurant that has been a fixture in Portland for over a hundred years. I dined there 20+ years ago and I would say that they have found a business plan that works for them and it has not changed much.

For reasonable priced family dining we always stop at Old Wive's Tales when visiting Portland. They serve great food, reasonably priced and are very kid-friendly.

Watch for more about The Rose City in future entries.