Table of Contents
Open Source Bridge 2016 created a fantastic hotel guide, which we will annotate below.
Hotel deLuxe is a very classy hotel with an excellent bar, The Driftwood Room.
Ace Hotel Portland is centrally located, and is literally on top of coffee, food, and drink. They have a photobooth in the lobby for immortalizing your new csv,conf,v3 friendships.
Hotel Monaco is a comfortable Kimpton hotel with great staff. Danielle has stayed here and had a wonderful experience.
Hotel Modera OHSU often puts visiting speakers up here and we have been told it’s fun and comfortable. Nel Centro, Modera’s restaurant and bar, has a large outdoor seating area with fire pits.
Jupiter Hotel is right next to the Doug Fir, an iconic Portland music venue. This may make it more or less appealing to you depending on who is playing. Potentially worth it just for the log-themed decor in the Doug Fir. Walkable to restaurants and shops along East Burnside.
The Heathman has their employees wear a distinctive costume so be nice to them if you stay there. Danielle has heard the attached restaurant is good, but she can not personally vouch for it.
Do you prefer apartments to hotels? Do you want to pretend you live in Portland? Get out of downtown and rent an Airbnb in a neighborhood.
Portland is organized into four quadrants - SW, NW, SE, NE (and North Portland, which is the fifth quadrant, that’s just how we do it). Burnside divides North and South, and the Willamette River (said in a way that rhymes with “damnit”) divides East and West. North Portland is North of Burnside, east of the Willamete, and west of I-5. The Elliot Center is in SW Portland. Below are some neighborhoods to check out.
North of Burnside along NW 23rd Ave, this is a lively area with a mix of local and chain shops. Charming apartments. 1-2 miles from the venue, ~30 min walk or streetcar or ~15 min bus ride. Cat level: Medium.
North of Burnside and east of the 405, mainly loft and condo apartments. Gentrified in the 90s, this used to be a warehouse district. Now it’s home to many bars and restaurants. This is where you’d go out to dinner with your boss or your parents. ~1 mile from the Elliot center, walkable or take the streetcar. Warning: No cats.
Cat, brunch and coffee paradise. Full of charming houses and apartments. Food-cart central. Look for places in Sunnyside, Richmond, Division, Belmont, and Hawthorne neighborhoods or search the Zip Code 97214. Bike or ~25 min bus ride to the venue.
Still lots of cats and bars, Eater breaks it down here. Home to Mississippi Studios and an outpost of Blue Star Doughnuts, ~30-40 min bus ride to venue.
Lots of cats, bars and brunch. Charming, walkable neighborhood but further out from the venue.
The Streetcar - It’s slow! But sometimes it’s better than walking if it happens to be going where you need to go. Separate tickets from the bus and MAX.
The Bus and the MAX MAX - a cool light rail named after Max Ogden. Goes from the Airport to Downtown (Red line). The bus is reasonably reliable and you can track you bus’ arrival time with the Trimet app. Important because during off-peak hours, the busses run less frequently.
Trimet Tickets app - Ride the bus or the MAX with interchangeable passes, pay once for a two hour window of as much public transportation you can get, just show the driver your ticket on your phone when you get on.
Biketown app - Portland’s orange bicycle share. Sponsored by Nike, and definitely pronounced ‘Bike-town’ as if it was ‘Nike-town’
Both Lyft and Uber operate in Portland. You can also call a Radio Cab.
Stumptown in the Ace Hotel 1022 SW Stark St, Portland Monday-Friday 6:00 am to 7:00 pm and weekends 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, nice sitting area in the Ace Hotel Lobby.
Courier Coffee 923 SW Oak St, Portland Monday - Friday 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, weekends 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, favorite with locals for their distinctive espressos, flavorful pour-over, and homemade canelé.
Heart Coffee 537 SW 12th Ave, Portland Monday - Friday 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, weekends 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, fantastic espresso and pour-over.
Case Study Coffee 802 SW 10th Ave, Portland Monday - Friday 6:30 am to 7:00 pm, weekends 7:30 am - 7:00pm.
Spella Caffe Rancillio lever-pull espresso machine and a blend of PDX and Italian style make this tiny cafe special. Not a place to bring your laptop, there is no room. 520 Southwest 5th Avenue Portland Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 3:00 pm, closed weekends.
Take a side. Blue Star Donuts - They’re fancy. Voodoo Donuts - They’re not fancy. Pips - They’re small but you get a lot of them.
Safeway Supermarket (also has a pharmacy) - 1010 SW Jefferson St, Portland
CVS Pharmacy inside Target - 939 SW Morrison St, Portland
Kure maybe you want a smoothie or a juice?
Petunia’s gluten free and vegan treats, sandwiches.
Ruby Jewel Ice Cream ice cream near the venue!!
Tasty n Alder has very good food! Takes take reservations for parties of 7 to 10 persons for dinner. 580 SW 12th Ave, Portland Dinner: Sunday - Thursday 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm
Lardo makes large, tasty sandwiches and salads, serves beer. Fine for groups 3-6, but no reservations. 1205 SW Washington St Portland 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
Clyde Common Some say they make the best cocktails in the city. Food is good too! Can accommodate groups 6-12, but call to reserve. 1014 SW Stark St. Portland Happy Hour 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm Dinner 6:00 pm – close
Oven and Shaker - fancy pizza and bar, long tables so it can be good for groups, but they don’t take reservations. 1134 NW Everett St, Portland 11:30 am - 11:00 pm
Deschutes large beer hall, good for groups, no reservations. 210 NW 11th Ave, Portland 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
Sometimes you need to leave downtown to get dinner, these options are close to the river.
Boke Bowl has big tables, Korean fusion. Bunk Bar makes great sandwiches, roomy bar, large Paris,Texas-themed mural. Trifecta is a fancier option, can handle groups with reservation. Great cocktails. Dig A Pony is a spacious bar with yummy bar food, great for groups.
Pok Pok is famous! And really quite good! Though not great for vegetarians. They take reservations for large groups of 6 or more, or just go to Whiskey Soda Lounge, which has a limited menu, and order the wings.
Voice Box make your list here, book a private room! Reservations required.