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Happy Thursday, friends! Today I wanted to share a little bit about our stay at the Courtyard by Marriott Portland Airport during our time in Oregon in July!
As always with these hotel reviews, I want to mention right from the beginning that this stay was not sponsored and we received no discount or compensation in exchange for sharing our experience. I simply love sharing places that we discover in our travels in the hopes that they might be helpful to someone else planning a similar trip!
When I was planning our time in Portland (we were arriving on a Sunday afternoon and had until Tuesday evening), we looked at several different Marriott properties, including options directly downtown. Because we would have a rental car and were going to be exploring several different areas around and outside of Portland, we ultimately decided that staying right downtown wasn't necessary for our trip this time.
I am going to be honest- that decision ended up saving us several hundred dollars for our two-night stay. We chose the Courtyard by Marriott Portland Airport, which is located only about five minutes from Portland International Airport. Despite being so close to the airport, one of the things that surprised us the most was just how quiet our stay was.
This is really important to note because when traveling, a quiet hotel is something that I appreciate tremendously. We never felt like we were staying directly beside a busy airport, and both nights were incredibly quiet despite the hotel being nearly full and the proximity to the airport.
The Location
For us, the location was probably one of the biggest advantages of staying here. We were approximately five minutes from the airport and about twenty minutes from downtown Portland, depending on traffic. Even more importantly, we found it incredibly easy to get from the hotel to the different areas of Portland (and to our adventure to Mt. Hood) that we wanted to explore. Because this trip wasn't centered exclusively around downtown Portland, having easy access to major roads actually worked much better for our itinerary than staying downtown would have.
Another HUGE benefit? Free parking! If you are traveling through Portland with a rental car or your own vehicle, this is definitely something to factor into your hotel decision. Between the significantly lower room rate and not having an additional nightly parking expense, staying outside of downtown saved us a substantial amount of money. As I mentioned above, for a two-night stay, at the end of July, the difference was several hundred dollars compared with another Marriott property we had considered downtown. Sometimes cozy luxury travel isn't about choosing the fanciest or most centrally located hotel. Sometimes it is about finding the place that makes the most sense for the trip you are actually taking—without the added expense and this was absolutely one of those situations for us.
The Hotel and Our Room
There is one important thing that I would want anyone considering this property to know ahead of time: This is definitely an older Courtyard. We have stayed at many Marriott properties over the years, and this was probably one of the most dated Marriott properties that we have encountered in quite some time. The room itself, furnishings, and overall design felt noticeably older compared with the newer generation of Courtyard or Marriott hotels. The television was also an older model and did not have the ability to connect to the internet or easily access our own streaming services, which has become pretty standard at many Marriott properties. The furniture was very dated, the carpet design very old, and the entire room felt like you had stepped back into the 1990s. SO- if having a newly renovated room, contemporary finishes, or updated technology is particularly important to you, this may not be the property that you are going to want to book.
That being said—and I think this distinction is important—dated does not mean dirty or poorly maintained. Our room was extremely clean. Everything was neat, comfortable, and well cared for, and we had absolutely no concerns about the cleanliness of the property. In fact, the mattresses were newer and both mom and I slept incredibly well both nights! I would much rather stay in an older hotel that is exceptionally clean and quiet and restful than a beautiful new property that isn't maintained well, and we found the Courtyard Portland Airport to be very well cared for during our stay.
A Few Additional Things We Appreciated
1. Another little travel detail that can make a surprisingly big difference: DoorDash deliveries were incredibly easy. Because our time in Portland was so short we wanted to make the most of every minute and we were often up very early (our east coast time came in handy!) and gone till well past dinnertime. After long days of exploring, sometimes the last thing we wanted to do is get back into the car and find somewhere for dinner. We were able to order food easily and have it delivered directly to the hotel without any confusion or difficulty.
2. The staff that we interacted with throughout our stay were also very nice and helpful. For people who were also (understandably) very concerned about the wildfires, their concern and attention to their guests was even more appreciated.
I do have to say that the only small hesitation we encountered was when I requested a later checkout. As a Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite member, I asked about the later checkout, and initially there seemed to be some hesitancy about accommodating the request. It was eventually accommodated, which we appreciated, but it was a little surprising compared with some of our other Marriott stays where this was just offered at the beginning of the stay. Still, this was a very minor part of an otherwise easy and pleasant experience.
Also... and for me this was not a big deal at all, but there was a man checking in that I overheard extremely upset about something so I will mention it... there was no "thank you for being a ______ Elite member of Marriott" which is typical for any check in. Now to me this was not even on my radar. It is a very nice thing that Marriott does but it wasn't something that I have to hear so to me it was "missing" when you check in but I never would have thought twice about it... until a man checking in made a big fuss about it. SO again, if you are needing these things - and want to hear this and someone forgets (maybe because they are concerned about their home due to fires) then this may be upsetting to you. *sigh sometimes I think we all need to just give each other a lot of grace as I believe people are truly trying their best*
Would We Stay Here Again?
Absolutely. And I think that is ultimately the most important part of any hotel review. Would I choose this property because I was looking for a luxurious or newly renovated Marriott experience? Probably not. Would I choose it again because I wanted an extremely clean, remarkably quiet, affordable hotel with free parking, easy airport access, and a convenient location for exploring Portland? Absolutely. For our particular trip, it was honestly the perfect find. Being approximately five minutes from the airport made our travel days incredibly convenient. Being only about twenty minutes from downtown meant we weren't sacrificing easy access to Portland. Free parking eliminated another travel expense. The location made exploring different parts of the area simple. And the room rate saved us several hundred dollars over what we would have spent staying downtown. Sometimes a hotel doesn't need to be the newest or most beautiful property to be exactly what you need. For us, the combination of quiet + cleanliness + convenience + affordability outweighed the older décor and technology by far.
We did not come to Portland to stay in our hotel, but to explore the city and the surrounding area so our hotel was important for sleep and a homebase. If you are traveling to Portland and will have a car—especially if you are flying through PDX and don't necessarily need to stay directly downtown—I would definitely recommend putting the Courtyard by Marriott Portland Airport on your list to compare.
Happy Thursday friends! Please let me know if you have any questions!
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