Made reservations well (weeks) in advance. Called twice (2:50 PM and 5:18 PM) on the scheduled day of arrival to assure we were arriving late from the wine country (as scheduled as of the reservation) on the way back from the coast. Arrived at 8:20 PM to be told we had no room. Excuse was, and I quote, "another guest had decided to extend their stay".

We were presented with profound apologies and told we were being sent to another hotel downtown and all would be "free" but same company owned the hotel. King bed with river view became queen bed with view of the backside of another building, and it was 10:30 PM before we got settled in.

Had reservations for two rooms the next night and were promised they would be ready by 12 noon. The first screw-up caused me to miss an early AM meeting because we had to check out of the other place in the AM. Called at 11:15 AM to confirm Avalon rooms at noon. First room was ready at 2:00 PM and the second at almost 5 PM. Made the last 36 hours of a great trip to Oregon hell. Emailed upper management (several) of hotel chain and received no response. They billed me for all reservations too in the end!

Nice place to stay though if you can get a room you reserved and then on time. Staff was most courteous and helpful given the mess created. Rivers is a great food, service and ambience restaurant. Lovely walking path along the river. Had no time to explore anything else given the mess.

just returned from three day trip to portland. the avalon was the only hotel with rooms this week so although untried we booked it. we were distressed at the suburban location although it is only a mile or so to downtown it is a tricky mile and can not be walked. the return trip by car is even trickier. so, we like to be in the city but for those who don't this may not be a problem. there were other small annoyances such as housekeeping knocking on the door in the early a.m., burned out bulbs, poor lighting and for us, on the first floor riverside, sitting out on the deck left us gazing at unclean grounds and lots of spider webs.

on the up side, the staff was friendly and accomodating, the room service is prompt and the price is reasonable.

My wife and I just got back from spending 5 nights at the Avalon. We were in one of their standard Riverview rooms. It had to be one of the most relaxing and wonderful experiences I have ever had staying at a hotel. The staff there was very friendly, helpful, and professional. The front desk constantly welcomed us back when we returned for the night. The valet was very prompt and always asked if we needed directions to get where we needed to go. When we arrived in our room we found that all of the pillows were feather, which my wife is allergic to, so I had to call housekeeping to ask for some non feather ones. The arrived very quickly and the front desk called shortly afterward to see if they arrived all right and to ask if we needed anything else. I felt the staff did a very good job at making our satisfaction their number one priority.

While we were there we got some massages at the spa. These were a heavenly experience and added to the relaxation of our experience here. The room itself was very well appointed. The bed had a pillow top mattress, there were robes in our room, and there was a separate tub and shower in the bathroom. The only complaint I would have about the room is the balcony isn’t very private with only a cloth panel separating all of the balconies.

Make no mistake; the hotel is close to downtown, but not within walking distance. If you want to go downtown though, the hotel provides a complementary shuttle service in a Cadillac. It was extremely convenient, we used it a couple of times. If you are looking a hotel that is close to downtown, but gives you the relaxation of not being in downtown, then this is the hotel for you.

I found this hotel on Hotels and it sounded fine. We found the hotel to be clean and wonderful. Oregon is having a bit of a drought, and on the bed and in the bath there were cards that said that they were trying to save on water, so if you wanted your linens and towels changed every day, you were to leave the card in a specific place and it would be done. We did the same things in California for many drought years. Perhaps the negative response before me was because the person did not read the card. We ate dinner at the hotel's restaurant, Rivers, and had an absolutely fabulous dinner prepared by a French chef trained in France who worked in New York for many years before heading west. All the staff at the hotel and in the restaurant were very friendly, helpful and cheerful. I highly recommend this hotel and restaurant.

First the good parts: Nice Willamette River location, close to The Pearl District, very helpful valet staff & sharp facility overall. But: The housekeeping leaves much to be desired. Went two days without in-room coffee, room wasn't cleaned one day, missed clean towels two days in a row, and just overall lack of attention to the little things. I'm not sure if they were understaffed or not, but this wasn't the 'spa' experience the hotel touts. I'd look for someplace else to stay next time we're in Portland.

As a consultant who stays in hotels about 100-125 nights a year (how sad is that?), my client booked me here. I probably would have booked myself at some cloned, chain place downtown. Glad I didn't. It was quiet, the views were amazing, the room was exquisitely appointed and the fitness club was great. The only downside, I guess, is that the restaurant is not in the building. But seriously? Who cares. This place epitomizes Oregon to me.

Stayed at this beautiful and VERY modern looking (on the exterior, AND interior, as well!) hotel for 1 night, a Friday night, paid for the $119.00 room/rate. A VERY GOOD RATE, for this exclusive Portland area hotel. Hotel is located along the Willamette River, and it's location is very nice and quiet. (If you don't want to stay in the hustle and bustle of the downtown Portland area, stay at this hotel--it's great--and IF you need to get to the downtown Portland area, it's not far from this hotel at all, only about a 7 minute drive or so, to downtown Portland). And if you DON'T want to drive your car or take a lovely Taxi, one of the nice things about this hotel is they have a FREE complimentary (Cadillac Towncar!) service, fancy! to the downtown Portland area, and Northwest 23rd areas. All you have to do is call the front the desk & arrange a time for the driver to take you, and he'll also pick you up when you're done--all for free! did I say Free? Fancy AND free, woooooo hoooooo! ("Footloose and Fancy-Free!"... sorry, I couldn't resist).. (:

DETAILS, DETAILS, details!....Upon my check in, everything was what I'd expected and anticipated it to be for my first time staying at this hotel, (I based this feeling from the way the hotel looked on the exterior, along with checking out the hotels website beforehand).. Received top notch front desk check-in service; front desk staff was extremely nice & friendly, professional. My room had a king-size bed, very nice and modern looking--with great modern pillows atop. And oh, the bed! It was so COMFORTABLE. Had a hard time getting out of it the next morning. 2 nice plush Bath Robes were provided in the closet in the room, as well. (There was also an umbrella in the closet if you didn't have one, & needed to use). The bathroom was very nice looking, no icky 1980's decor here! Sink had a beautiful black granite countertop, the bathtub was nice and modern--it was great to soak in, tub was so deep. Had a hard time getting out of that, as well. Plenty of soft plush towels in the bathroom; well stocked supply of towels in the bathroom--more than what you typically get. Hairdryer also in bathroom. Bathroom also had a jar of Q-Tips, and cotton balls. Yay! Our room had a beautiful decorative cherry-colored wooden armoire, with cable TV inside. There were also 2 Bottles of Bottled water in our room, complimentary. (Nice to see they were complimentary & that they didn't charge an arm & a leg for water, like most hotels typically do). Room has Coffee Pot, w/Coffee. The colors and decor in the room, and in this hotel's front lobby area, are far above your average hotel; this caliber of this hotel and the rooms are great and very modern--but not to the point where it's so modern that it gives a cold feeling, you know? My room had a very comfortable feel, and the hotel in itself is just so welcoming when you enter. Not to mention the super front desk staff!

OKAY.....and NOW for the juicy stuff you've been wating for, I know--(for you inquiring minds that want to know)--the negatives! Only ONE, (well TWO, I guess), somewhat negatives here I experienced during my stay?....
1. (and I was surprised to see that another person ALSO mentioned this in their review about this hotel, I can relate!! because I, (well, my boyfriend), experienced the same thing--maybe the luggage issue I'm describing below is an ongoing issue at this hotel on why the bellman doesn't offer to help out? (or, whoever's in charge of bringing luggage to the rooms? well heck, not quite sure!) anyway NO ONE, (not even Mr. bellguy), offered to help my boyfriend out with his luggage up to our room. Picture this- Here's my boyfriend, carrying tons of luggage into the hotel and clearly struggling, but no one helped. I was quite shocked and surprised, (due to the caliber of this hotel) when my boyfriend arrived to our room and told me this, so I called down to the front desk "just to let them be aware" of the issue, when I told them--they were extremely apologetic/sorry on the phone.. The tone of thier voice did sound like they had felt bad, but that was about it! .."OH WELL"..
2. Anyway, the only other negative thing during my stay was the $0.50 phone charge on my bill. (Yeah yeah I know it's a measley 50 cents, but anyway yes, I was responsible for it because I had made one local phone call from our room thinking local calls were "free" (dumb me!) Most of you are probably thinking, why don't you just call the front desk and ask first?!! (Well, I usually do, but in this case I didn't--I just assumed local calls were free, because none of the phones in our room had those little stickers on them anywhere specifying phone usage fees, at all. Nor was it listed anywhere in the rooms handbook, at all. (most hotel phones do have it listed, but for some reason they missed putting those stckers on the phones in our particular room and handbook). Anyway I told the front desk about this when we checked out, when I saw the phone charge on our bill. When I spoke with them about this, they were more than happy to take the phone charge off of my bill, (even though I did in fact make a local call, and there's normally suppose to be a $0.50 charge for it). But because the phones in our room did not specify, they said that it was their fault and offered to take the charge off of my bill. So, I guess you could say this one's really not so much a negative..

OH, by the way, my room did not have a refrigerator (or microwave, for that matter), HOWEVER, when I called the front desk to ask if a refrigerator could be sent up to my room, they said "'Sure!", and were very prompt with their response--quickly delivered one right away to my room, at no extra charge. (most hotels charge extra for a fridge; it was nice that this particular hotel didn't). This hotel also has great room service and menu, and there's also a wonderful adjoining restaurant, the "Rivers Restaurant". Wonderful food... Or, if you don't want to eat at the hotel you can drive to the nearby Subway sandwich place, or other restaurants, that are only a few blocks away from this hotel...

Anyway, (aside from the luggage issue), my stay at this hotel was very good. I'd recommend this place to anyone, it is fabulous, no joke. I'm definately going back. Avalon Hotel, you ROCK!
P.S, This hotel is particularly and very well known for their exceptional Spa Services. Thre are many people that call the Hotel just to book a Spa Service, and not a hotel room. (The Spa services are also open to the public, not just to the hotel guests). Yep, it's that popular! Top-notch. So if you get the chance to try out their spa services during your stay, be sure to book your Spa service far in advance. ~Ciao!

Located in an out-of-the-way industrial park, the Avalon only has 2 things going for it - a decent view of the river, and a retro 90's Ikea-funky, psuedo-upscale decor. Beyond that, it's all downhill.

The front-of-the-house staff were pleasant, but awkward and inexperienced. The valet was nowhere to be found until I had given up and parked the car myself, then he appeared to write out the little green ticket that costs $10 a day. However, to be fair, later in our stay, other valets did just fine.

The bell-person greeted us in the lobby with a big smile, but didn't offer to take our bags. At least, I think it was a bell-person. He was leaning on the counter and wearing a black suit with big shiny brass buttons.

Now for the fun part. The first morning, we walked into the spa to schedule some services for later in our visit. To our dismay, we were informed that the spa was booked solid until well after our four day trip would end. The receptionist treated us with a haughty, pretentious attitude, and we were roughly told we could put our names on a waiting list, but there was no other option.

After speaking with the manager, we were comped all of our spa services and breakfasts for the duration of our visit.

The comped breakfasts turned out badly. Served at the adjacent and similarly styled Rivers restaurant, our meals weren't pleasant. The waiter was surly and inattentive, and the food tasted as though it had been cooked in spoiled oil. Not inedible, but just not good. Same goes for room services stale crackers, and dried out cheese.

The spa services were actually delivered in a very professional manner, and we enjoyed that part of the trip very much.

When we were checking out, I noticed that we were being charged for all of the "comped" spa services, as well as for the room I had prepaid as part of a package! The extra charges totaled nearly $500.00. I found myself talking to yet another manager about a huge problem. Ultimately, the charges were removed.

If this is the standard they maintain, this is another soon-to-be-failed boutique hotel.

Do yourself a favor, stay downtown.

On a recent car trip from Vancouver to LA, we stayed at the Avalon twice - once going down, once coming back up. Loved that it's not downtown - instead situated on the surprisingly quiet and peaceful Willamette River. Get in and out of the city fast - no downtown parking or morning rush to contend with.

Ask for a Riverview suite on one of the top two floors - they are quiet and beautifully appointed designer boutique suites. Super modern, clean and fresh. Calming designer colors and fabrics - high thread count bedding. Beautifully appointed ensuite with double sinks and large walk in shower with separate watercloset. The towels could have been a bit fluffier. Totally comfortable sitting area with couch and club style chairs, gas FP and TV. There's also a smaller TV in the armoire opposite the bed.

We liked the outdoor patio and lounge at the restaurant next door to the hotel - fab sour apple martinis and loads of neat appies on the menu. The service is slow (especially if you order food from the bartender!) so relax and enjoy the view. Found the restaurant side a bit stodgy - trying to be too high-class, and not succeeding.

Starbucks close by (very important!), good parking where vehicles are visible from the main desk. They do charge for parking, so the valet option isn't that much more.

The staff are terrific - from the valet guys, to the front desk staff to one of the two fabulous door guys who will answer any question and get you anything (well, almost!) Feel like going downtown in the evening but don't know the area? Ask for a complimentary ride via the hotels Lincoln Towncar and they'll even arrange to pick you up!

This hotel is seriously stylish - from the Japanese laquered furniture to the carpets. We loved the small balcony with chairs and a table for a quiet gin and tonic. The bathroom was beautiful. Two minor negatives: our room was described as overlooking the hills, when in fact it overlooked some boring buildings, and we found the towncar service to be unreliable - on both occasions the driver turned up half an hour after the agreed time. Even so, the towncar service into downtown Portland is what makes this hotel worth staying at. All in all, I would recommend staying here if you are going to use the spa and you prefer to stay out of the bustle of the city.