Guest Room at The Nines

The Nines occupies the upper 9 floors in what was once the Meier and Frank building – a Portland retailer.  In renovating the building, the designers retained historical reminders of Meier and Frank’s influence on Portlands retail history.  Back in the day, The Georgian Room served up affordable lunchtime elegance for retail staff and Portland locals amid classical styling and linen table clothes.  The Georgian Room remains at the Nines with the same classical style and original green and white color palette.  Local artist’s works are featured at The Nines including a portrait of one time Meier and Frank tie salesman – Clark Gable.

The Nines offers much in the way of amenities.  At lobby level, you will find the Urban Farmer, a modern steak house.  There is a library lounge with books to borrow and a pool table to pass the time.  At the top on the 15th floor, stylish Departure Restaurant serves modern Asian cuisine with city skyline views.  It also serves one of the funnest interiors to be found in restaurant design making you feel you’ve been transported a few hundred years into the future.  Purple lit corridors lead you to rooftop patio bars.  The Nines provide meeting space, a 24 hour gym, in-room massage, and are pet-friendly.

City View From the Roof-top Patio

Foyer with portrait of Clark Gable

Classic Georgian Room

Futuristic Departure Restaurant

525 SW Morrison
Portland, Oregon 97204
United States
Phone: (877) 229-9995

www.thenines.com

Courtyard by Marriott Lobby

Courtyard by Marriott – Portland City Center is the first LEED Gold certified hotel in the Pacific Northwest and among only 20 in the nation who are leading the way to an environmentally cleaner future in hospitality design.  LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a green building certification system,  providing verification that a building was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and prudent use of building materials.  What this means to the environmentally conscious traveler is that – thanks to a 100% nonsmoking policy, use of green cleaning products, non-PVC wall covering, and low VOC paint – they can breathe easy.  In addition, the property uses 28 percent less energy than the average of comparable size with energy costs minimized by the use of natural light and compact fluorescent bulbs.  Dual flush toilets reduce water consumption.  To reduce waste to landfills there are recycle containers in guestrooms.  Restaurant kitchen grease is recycled into biodeisel and food waste into compost.

Occupying 16 floors of sleek, contemporary guestrooms, the hotel offers fabulous views of the city.  Artwork in the hotel was created by local artists including the guestroom and hallway murals depicting Oregon landmarks.  Courtyard by Marriott is perfect for business travel.   The hotel features 5,300 square feet of meeting space and seven meeting rooms – perfect for conventions, seminars or conferences.  The business-friendly rooms are equipped with complimentary wireless internet.  An on-site restaurant, “The Original”, offers diner-style classic American cuisine.

550 S.W. Oak St., Portland, Ore. 97204; 503.505.5000; www.marriott.com/pdxpc.

Guest Room

Hip corner of lounge. Great backdrop.

View from 2nd story lounge.

1895 Richardsonian Romanesque historical landmark building

Are you a connoisseur of fine wine?  Does your passion run deep for this product of the vine?  Even if you fall in a different area of the wine lover’s spectrum you are going to love Hotel Vintage Plaza.  It is Portland’s premier wine hotel.  Every evening between 5 and 6 is wine hour at Vintage Plaza when guests can indulge in some of Oregon’s finest offerings.  Every other Wednesday provides wine sessions where guest winemakers from the Northwest speak, educate, and share their knowledge of this complex and ever evolving drink with hotel guests.

Vintage Plaza is attentive to details and has provided many unexpected touches.  Work desks in guest rooms are outfitted with ergonomic desk chairs.  You will also find organic and earth-friendly Aveda bath products along with animal print bath robes – a fun and unconventional departure from the traditional white terry robe.  The hotel also offers in-room spa options such as massages, facials, manicures and pedicures.  Vintage Plaza is pet friendly, but should you leave your furry companion home, you’ll find a temporary replacement nestled on your guest room bed in the form of a stuffed teddy bear.  In addition to these fine details, the hotel has partnered with Pazzo Ristorante which combines the seasonal bounty of the Pacific Northwest with the cuisine of Northern Italy.  Or for a relaxed breakfast, lunch, or espresso on the go, stop in at Pazzoria Bakery and Cafe.

Located in what was one time the Imperial Hotel, the 1895 Richardsonian Romanesque building is a historical landmark.  The Vintage Plaza provides wonderful comfort and impeccable service from their staff including assistance for the visually impaired to help them get from place to place within the hotel.  But, unfortunately, due to the buildings historicity, they are unable to reconfigure bathrooms to provide roll-in showers for those who have mobility issues, but do have a number of spacious ADA guest rooms with bathtubs.

The lobby's wine display

Teddy bear nestled in pillows.

Guest Room

HOTEL VINTAGE PLAZA
422 SW Broadway
Portland, OR  97205

www.vintageplaza.com

Reservations

800-263-2305

hotel  503-228-1212

fax  503-228-3598

In the heart of downtown Portland, style and comfort along with superb service greets you at Hotel Lucia (pronounced Lu-see-a).  Lucia’s owner is an art enthusiast.  In particular, he is a northwest artists enthusiast and he has used Hotel Lucia as a showcase to share his private collection of works by artists Gregory Grenon, Michael Brophy, and pulitzer prize winning photo journalist David Hume Kennerly, to name only a few.  At every turn guests are met up with more art.  It’s in the lobby, guestrooms, gym & weight room, computer room, corridors, stairs, and elevators.  Even a run for ice becomes a truly enriching experience at Hotel Lucia.

In addition to their fine art collection, other amenities make for a very special stay.  These include a pillow menu (soft, medium, firm, extra firm, U-neck, body), luxury linens, plush robes, and Aveda bath products.  You can also enjoy 24 hour room service featuring Thai/American cuisine from the famous Typhoon Restaurant.

400 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 225-1717  -  Toll Free:  877-225-1717

www.hotellucia.com

Co-founder Toshio Meronek tells me they also have a guide to San Francisco.  Please visit them at http://san-francisco.whereslulu.com/.

“We want to increase visibility in the disability community and establish higher standards of accessibility for businesses and public places in general. We believe strongly that diversity and equality are integral to a healthy, happy society. We aim to eliminate the stress and frustrations of trying to find accessible, fun venues so you can relax and connect with other people into the same things as you.”

If you are interested in trying a new restaurant please check out www.whereslulu.com.   They also want to hear from you and find out what places you have discovered in the Portland area that served you well.

Play structure in shape of a giant mastadon rib cage.

Playtime contributes greatly to a child’s physical, mental, emotional and social growth.  Until recent years children with disabilities have missed out on  this very important aspect of development due to inaccessable parks and playgrounds.  Since guidelines for bringing playgrounds into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) were issued in the year 2000, playgrounds have become more than swings and slides.  Newly built and altered playgrounds are now accessible to children with disabilities.  Playground features are designed to promote imaginative, inclusive and interactive play.

An excellent example can be found at Ibach Park in Tualatin, Oregon.  The park includes accessible paths, baseball diamond, tennis courts and a play area that highlights Tualatin’s rich historical past.  The prehistoric area features a giant mastadon rib cage where children dig in sand to unearth archeological finds.  This area is accessible from a transfer platform to allow the disabled child to play in the sand pit.  From the opposite side a child can access from level ground covered with a wheelchair accessible synthetic safety surface.  Children can also play with the water feature that is activated by touch sensor.  Once activated, a slow trickle of water winds downhill encouraging children to build dams and direct water flow.  Children can let imaginations carry them down the Tualatin River in the role of Native Americans as they travel by canoe that can accommodate wheelchair users.

These universally designed playgrounds and parks are being built across the country, allowing children with disabilities to participate in play experiences that are so important to their development.  If you have visited these parks please share them with others.  I welcome you to post your finds on my MAP-ME interactive map.

Another accessible travel organization is “Society For Accessible Travel and Hospitality(SATH)”. In their own words, “The Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality (SATH), founded in 1976, is an educational nonprofit membership organization whose mission is to raise awareness of the needs of all travelers with disabilities, remove physical and attitudinal barriers to free access and expand travel opportunities in the United States and abroad. Members include travel professionals, consumers with disabilities and other individuals and corporations who support our mission”. Look them up at www.sath.org.

These websites are certain to help you find a wealth of knowledge from flying tips to most reliable lodging.

The town of Murphys is found in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada’s between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park.  The old world charm of Murphys is rich in gold mining history, beautiful scenery, art galleries, fine dining, theatre, and many interesting shops.  In addition, the area is rivaling Napa Valley as a vinyard and winery destination.

The Victoria Inn has 16 guest rooms and among them is a  cozy and spacious, accessible cottage room.  The cottage has convenient ADA parking with a courtyard nestled just outside the door.  The room has maneuvering space with a roll-in shower and roll under sink while all public areas at the Inn’s ground floor are completely accessible including breakfast dining room and parlor.

The Victoria Inn

(209) 728-8933

402 Main Street H

Murphy’s, CA  95247

www.victoriainn-murphys.com

Both commode and lavatory come as a set.  Transfer from a wheelchair takes a forward approach and the lavatory has handles to grasp and a breastplate to lean onto.   The universal toilet can also be used as a conventional toilet with the sink’s breastplate serving as a backrest.  There are many advantages to the universal toilet.  First, the universal toilet requires a quarter less room than the standard ADA bathroom stall with its 5′ x 5′  turning space.  Second, stigmas are removed making the dedicated “handicap” bathroom stall unnecessary because all users use the same stall.  Third, the universal toilet conserves water by recycling water from wash basin to toilet bowl.

The designers are still in the process of manufacturing their product so the universal toilet is not yet on the market.  Who knows?  We may some day see their design in public restrooms, and bath and plumbing showrooms.

Check out the video below and/or the website at www.universal-toilet.com and let me know if you feel this is a workable design (post your comments in the “leave a comment” field below the video).

UT from changduk kim on Vimeo.

copyrightⓒ 2007 Changduk Kim & Youngki Hong. All rights reserved.