Hyatt House Portland/Beaverton: No Hassle Access to Downtown Portland

Hyatt House Portland/Beaverton: No Hassle Access to Downtown Portland

I checked into the Hyatt House Portland/Beaverton for my last night up in the Pacific Northwest. The Hyatt House Beaverton is a brand new category 2 Hyatt property and costs 8,000 points for a free night. The hotel was inaugurated back in February and is one of the most ideally located properties for the price in the area. 

Location:

I chose the property for its proximity to Downtown Portland and the adjacent “Beaverton Central” MAX Rail Station which would put me in Washington Park within a matter of 15 minutes. Given that Ubers to the airport were hard to find at the time, I figured the worst case scenario would be riding the metro to the airport.

a map of a subway system

Check In:

My family dropped off in the hotel parking lot located in the back on their way to Seattle to catch their flight back to the east coast.  There was maybe one group in the lobby, but the hotel was an absolute ghost town. A bit unusual for a Saturday night given the central nature of the property.

a woman standing at a counter in a building

The lobby is quite spacious and has plenty of seating in case you wanted to hangout or work from outside your room. Though given COVID-19 and the requirement that you wear a mask in these areas, I don’t see any reason to use the space.

I was assigned the room I booked which was a King Den Room. It wasn’t an upgrade like the one I got at the Hyatt House Seattle, but there was nothing to complain about from me given that I wouldn’t need a full kitchen anyway on this short overnight. I was also offered a free bottle of water or soda from the convenience store as a welcome amenity for being a Discoverist with Hyatt (via their credit card). I was handed this information sheet to talk about hotel amenities:

a list of hotel amenities

The elevators were never full throughout my stay owing to the low occupancy so the “one party per ride” rule wasn’t an issue.

a long hallway with blue carpet and doors

King Den Room:

The room was fairly simple. There was a king bed, a nice lounge chair, and a desk with an ergonomic chair. Power outlets were located in  convenient locations and internet was fairly fast. I know cleaning has been a concern for many at hotels these days, but I experience no such issues during my stay. The room was clean.

a room with a bed and a desk

While the room didn’t feature a full kitchen, it did have a microwave, coffee maker, and mini fridge. The bathroom had a stand in shower, which I always appreciate as I find hotel tubs to be often quite nasty (especially the shower curtains).

a microwave on a shelf in a room

The room faced the main street of the hotel. The area overall is fairly new and seemed to be trying to go for an urban feel. You see these sort of retail/shopping areas in most cities nowadays.

Nearby Food Options:

The hotel is well situated for visiting some great restaurants, but if food trucks are your thing, there is an entire park of them right across the street from the hotel. I didn’t get a chance to try them out because I got back to the hotel late that night from Downtown Portland, but the options looked great.

a black gate with a sign over it

My family did have an incredible time eating Mexican food in the Beaverton area earlier on during the trip. I highly recommend both “La Hacienda Real” and “Pepita’s Mexican Grill” which are right next to the hotel. IMHO, the Pacific NW has some of the best quality Mexican restaurants you can find anywhere. I know it probably isn’t a popular opinion, but Mexican food in Texas is in general not so great for vegetarians in particular. And of course, the hotel is well situated for accessing Downtown Portland via the MAX Rail Station a block down the street (more on that in the next post)

a train tracks next to a building

Breakfast:

My flight out the following morning was supposed to be at 8 am, so the plan was to eat breakfast early and get out. Unfortunately hotel breakfast doesn’t open until after 7 on Sunday and I was absolutely starving owing to my not having anything to eat the previous day. I noticed that Tom’s Pancake House was open by 6 am so I headed over to get some breakfast take out.

a building with a red sign

I went with the Marionberry Waffles and a side of what I thought to be hash browns:

I finished off the waffle (which was very good) and got a notification that my flight was delayed by about 4 hours due to storms in Dallas. So I hung out in the room until around 9 when I headed downstairs to check out what the hotel was offering for breakfast.

a man standing in a kitchen

Due to COVID, the hotel was only serving breakfast from behind the counter. They have a menu listed outside and you basically tell the sweet lady behind the counter what you would like to have. a menu board with text on it

I wasn’t looking for second breakfast so I didn’t try anything on the menu. The lady behind the counter seemed absolutely upbeat about serving breakfast to customers though. And I saw that the few people sitting in the lobby did come back for seconds.

Getting to the Airport:

I decided on an Uber for the airport ride because of some unusual MAX Rail schedules to the airport on this particular Sunday. It took almost 30 minutes for the driver to show up at the hotel and the entire ride was with the windows down, blowing cool morning air into the cabin. A little uncomfortable, but I thought it was cool that this man was taking COVID seriously.

a seat with a sign on it

Traffic was nonexistent this morning so before I knew it I was at the airport and up in the air with stunning views of the Cascades: Rainier and St. Helens.

a view of a river from an airplane

Bottom Line:

The Hyatt House Beaverton is well situated for access to central Portland with the MAX Rail Station across the street and restaurants/shopping areas nearby. The accommodations are exactly what you would expect of a new Hyatt House: clean and functional. On top of this it’s a category 2 property. I would definitely return, it’s probably my go to hotel now in the area.

Trip Report Index

American First Class DFW-SEA (737-800)

Hyatt House Seattle/Downtown (Two Queen Studio Suite)

A Walk In Downtown Seattle (May 2021)

Hyatt House Portland/Beaverton 

6 Comments

  1. Jimmy

    These Hyatt Houses with King Den Rooms are annoying if you travel as a family, because you can’t book a room with points if you have more than 2 people. This HH and the Portland downtown HH both have this problem.

    1. I concur, they also no longer have the option of two bedroom suites and the lowest one doesn’t have a kitchenette. As a single traveler, it’s fine, but it really puts families at a disadvantage along with extended stay guests.

  2. CHRIS

    Complete anarchy, crime off the charts…..at least the uber guy had some silly plastic hung up in his car . You were probably both vaccinated too. If its that important to you, why were you traveling during a pandemic anyway?

    1. Portland has gotten a bit dodgy as of late, but the area is still great for a visit.

      About the Uber ride: I appreciate it when people mask up and take covid seriously, it’s a common courtesy to the other people you meet because you don’t know if they are vaccinated or not. Sort of like a handshake. If you both agree to take your masks because you are vaccinated that’s a different story. I didn’t talk to this man the entire ride over because the wind was blowing……

      As for why I travel, being vaccinated the threat of getting sick or bringing back infection was quite low at the time. That’s of course not true now in many parts. I think it’s good etiquette to wear a mask and keep your distance from others unless necessary, it’s not me being paranoid about it.

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