Notes by Naive posted another fantastic guide, this time to Portland, OR - really lovely pictures, great recommendations. Will possibly be up there in the spring/summer 2008 - if not Portland, then at least Seattle, to visit family - so I'm hanging on to this.
She mentions staying at the ACE in Portland, which seems to be a bit of an upgrade from the ACE Seattle. I've stayed at ACE Seattle twice now - the first time was okay, the second not so hot. Or rather, very hot, as the city was experiencing a summertime heat wave and the rooms aren't air conditioned. Whatever, not a huge deal since it's so cheap, right? Except that they don't have screens on their windows - which I can appreciate aesthetically, I suppose - but we were literally swarmed by huge flies the entire time. I can handle flies in the tropics, or in rural settings, but big ol' city flies in a supposedly hip and modern atmosphere? Big ol' city flies at $189 a night? No. And the sheets on the bed were a gross 50/50 blend - pilled and scratchy. Boo... It's not that cheap! Maybe now that the Portland location is up and running, they will revisit the Seattle for a refresh. It's high time...
