Finding a decent place to crash after a long night of partying is about to get a little easier:
McMenamins Crystal Hotel, located at S.W. Burnside Street and 12th Avenue in downtown Portland, announces its grand opening for Tuesday, May 3, 2011. The historic hotel will offer 51 lodging rooms starting at $85 per night, which includes the option to purchase tickets to that night’s performance at McMenamins Crystal Ballroom next door. The hotel will also house the Zeus Café, a Northwest café offering breakfast, lunch and dinner; a cellar bar featuring nightly live music and artist residencies; a subterranean saltwater soaking pool and more. Reservations will be accepted as of February 1, 2011, by calling (503) 972-2670; online reservations are scheduled to begin in March 2011.
Also good to know: Guests at the hotel will be able to buy tickets to even sold out shows at the Crystal, and they can get in to the venue early, sidestepping all those pesky people in line who already have a place to sleep. The rooms will be named after songs by notable folks who’ve played the Crystal, including James Brown, The Flaming Lips, Blondie, The White Stripes, and Arcade Fire. While you can tick away the days online to make a reservation in March, you can pick up the phone (503-972-2670) and do so as soon as February 1. AND to all the job seekers out there: “The company will be adding 70 new jobs with the opening of the hotel — servers, bartenders, cooks, housekeepers, hotel staff and more.” And, because it is a McMenamins joint, this:
So should the Ace be shaking in its limited edition Converse? They’ve certainly enjoyed a vice grip on lodging coolness in the “West End” of downtown, and I’ve enjoyed them having it. They may not have a saltwater pool, but they’re arguably the linchpin in that area’s rejuvenation, and their continued involvement and commitment to the city’s various arts scenes has won them a lot of loyalty, deservedly so. As for McMenamins, well, they charge way too much for their Black Rabbit Red, but you have to give them props for mucking out the glory holed remains of the old Club Portland and getting a historic building (built in 1911) back in the running. I’m happy to let them fight it out, because when modestly priced hipster hotels have to compete, the rest of us will always win.
Now if only McMenamins could make a decent beer.
In honor of them creating 70 jobs, can we declare a 24 hour moratorium on turning up our collective noses at McMenamin’s?
Any other city would kill to host this chain, and I think most would agree that if you’re going to have a chain of restaurants/hotels/venues/etc, you’d be hard-pressed to do a better job than they have.
(This is all with the caveat that I nearly never go anywhere in their universe except Backstage.)
I like McMenamins. I like their fries and their beer. Sue me.
I do have to admit to liking their fries too. And it’s a great place to take my family so I can pretend I’m taking them to all those ‘really hip Portland places the young people go to’ without actually taking them to those places.
I find the food and beverages from McMenamins to be generally average. But from a historical and artistic perspective, I dont see anyone else doing nearly as much good restoration work in the PNW.
@ BruceWang, yeah I love that there’s always a different one to take the out-of-town family to gawk at.
Sure, the rooms are cheap, but it’ll take 17 hours to check in, your room will be cold and greasy, and it won’t have been cleaned in the last week.
That artwork is creeping me out because it looks just like an acid trip I had in the sex club that used to be where the new hotel is now.
My only issue with McMenamins is that they seem chronically understaffed. I once waited in line for 35 minutes at the Bagdad because I really wanted a beer. A nice lady give all of us in line updates on what was happening in the movie.
Cooooool. Can find better beer and food, sure. They do a good job of filling in the gaps of the mid range stuff. I think they are a good face/intro many tourists and such for Oregon. Wouldn’t you rather people spend money on crappy food at a NW based company rather than a multinational corporate chain?
I hope they have left a sly wink to the building’s history somewhere. At least have a cocktail called the Glory Hole or something.
There might be better beer in town, but that’s because there’s truly awesome beer in town. And thing is, you can drink their beer in their movies theaters, which are also pubs. THIS IS UNUSUAL. Do we forget how good we have it?
That said, I object to their popcorn. No excuse.
Anyway, keep up the great renovation work, McMs. And a Communication Breakdown with Boca, puhlease.
+1 to CC
We can act snooty about them only because we’ve got it good. If we lived in, I don’t know, Wyoming, McMenamins would be the coolest shit around.
Their stuff is reliable. Not great, but I’ll eat one of their burgers when I want to eat something comforting and familiar that doesn’t require a lot of thought. That’s not meant to be a backhanded compliment, either. I’m genuinely happy that someone fulfills that role.
If they had just left up the old Flossie’s sign with the “10 oz. Bone Dinner,” I would have congratulated them roundly.
I -like so many of us- am a former McMenamin’s employee. I have good and bad to say about that. I love what they do with a historic property. It’s nice that they have made it that there is actually one good place to get a bite to eat in Roseburg. In general, I’m for ’em. Doesn’t mean I have to drink their crap liquor, though.
“I hope they have left a sly wink to the building’s history somewhere. At least have a cocktail called the Glory Hole or something.”
I’m curious about this—don’t they typically provide lots of historical context on their renovated buildings? It’ll be interested to see how the quirky history brochure on this place turns out.
ING. interesting.
Another thing about the building, it was also home to a club called the Desert Room, which was something of a hive of scum and villainy in the early 20th century. That place was a den of illicit booze and general gangsterism and later went on to be a bathhouse.
It has potentially the seediest history of any of their properties, and yes, hopefully homages will be paid to both aspects of its history.