crystal palace

this morning i was lucky enough to be given a tour of the latest mcmenamin's endeavour, the crystal hotel.

the crystal hotel is housed in an old portland bathhouse and the former location of the silverado club located in portland's vaseline alley. i must say this neighborhood has made quite a transformation over the years becoming home to an american apparel store and a new johnny fluevog shop.

and while i'm a little saddened by the new squeaky clean look of this particular neighborhood (there is little left of the old portland of the drugstore cowboy and my own private idaho days) however, i'm happy that this small city block has been lovingly preserved by mcmenamin's. this is much better than being torn down to build another giant chain grocery store or condo building!


most of the rooms in the hotel are european style with a shared bathroom but there are a few king suites with bathrooms. there are four large bathrooms on each floor with just 17 rooms sharing them so i'm sure there is plenty of bath space.

the rooms are all named after bands that have played at the crystal ballroom over the years and are decorated with the whimsical mcmenamin's touch. rooms start at $85-$185, which is very reasonable for being located so centrally downtown.



in the basement is the salt water soaking pool. i love the bamboo lined walls in here.

a few cool things to take note of is that if you stay at the hotel, you are automatically reserved 2 tickets to the shows playing at the crystal ballroom during your stay. if you would like to make use of these tickets, you just need to book them more than 48 hours in advance. after that, they open up to be sold to the public. if there is a sold out show you were hoping to catch, you can always book a room to get the opportunity to see that show.

also, there is an all ages venue (up to 10 pm) in the basement of the hotel that you can access through ringler's annex or the hotel lobby. it's a great live performance space and every show played there will be free. i can't wait to catch a show down there!

the crystal hotel officially opens on may 3rd and m. ward will play a series of three shows to celebrate the grand opening.

303 sw 12th avenue
503.972.2670

the hotel is located near every king of public transportation in town so make your stay here car free.

all images from oregon live