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Located just across the street from the legendary Crystal Ballroom, the Crystal Hotel has 51 comfortable guestrooms, each inspired by a song or performance from the Crystal Ballroom's past 100 years. Colorfully painted panels and headboards anchor the rooms, while deeply-hued walls, black velvet drapery and animal print upholstery lend a rock ‘n’ roll vibe. Large windows afford views of the city from all angles. Room rates include admission to the soaking pool and the opportunity to purchase tickets to the Crystal Ballroom show. With the inclusion of the Zeus Café and free live music at Al’s Den, this downtown hotel combines dining, relaxation and rock and roll history in the heart of the city.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Quirky Hotels
Historic Hotel
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Location
303 SW 12th Ave, Portland, OR 97205-2302
McMenamins Crystal Hotel
4.2 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
I loved this cute hotel and am so glad we stayed here! The music theme is fun with each room named after a song whose lyrics are painted around the walls inside, and I loved the room decor. We did the shared bathroom option, and it barely even felt like it wasn't private. There were four bathrooms on the floor, each single room with a nice shower, and the one across the hall from us was almost always open (the few times it wasn't, one of the others was free). We also had a sink in the room anyway. The hallways are very dim but I liked that vibe, and the window in our room was so huge that it let in tons of light during the day.
The pool in the basement was awesome! It's really just a gigantic hot tub. Only one other person was down there at night when we swam. Restaurant was ok, food nothing to rave about. My one complaint is that we bought the nightcap package which gives $30 of evening bar/restaurant credit, and they wouldn't let us combine them to use our two nights of credit together. By the time we got back at 10 PM the second night and wanted to use our credit for drinks, the bar had just closed and they didn't offer us any alternatives, so that was a waste of money. So don't do the package deal, it's not worth it, but the hotel itself is great value. Also awesome location and an easy walk to all the main city sights and even Washington Park. The only time we ubered was the one evening we crossed the bridge to East Portland.
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Date of stay: September 2024
Value
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Location
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Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stayed for the Dope Lemon concert and the staff was amazing and upgraded our room w bathroom and scored a discount for going to show at Crystal ballroom! Our room looked out to the bustling city streets where you can people watch from your table. This hotel is great for those who love historical. The rooms are all decorated with a different theme, making it extra fun. Make sure to stop off in Al’s den to grab an espresso martini on way to basement to soak in the picture perfect soak pool. Highly recommend Hal’s Diner for a delicious filling breakfast.
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Date of stay: October 2023Trip type: Traveled with friends
Room Tip:Do not recommend off street parking. Outdoor dining at Hal’s. Comedy shows on weekends in Al’s...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
McMenamins never dissapoints. The staff was very friendly. I had a king suite because I wanted my own bathroom. There was also a nice table and set of chairs in the bay window. Wonderful to sit at and look across at the old Henry Weinhard brewery and Powell's City of Books down the way. The nightstand had complimentary earplugs. I thought it might be for the city noise outside but it was actually for the HVAC system in the room that made rattling sounds. I had decided to leave my car with family. The parking garage is just a public parking garage down the street a ways. I didn't miss not having a car. It's a wonderful location. So many things to walk to! And within the building itself, there's much to do. I had a great brunch, went to a comedy show on a Friday night, had dinner with friends.
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Date of stay: January 2024
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The location was great. That and the Zeus Cafe are by far the best parts of the stay. The queen sized room is uncomfortably small, dark, awkward and the majority of the rooms have NO PRIVATE BATHROOM.
Not only that but the public bathrooms also have no fans in them (or at least the ones on the floor I stayed at didn't). Which means if someone else on your floor just took a giant dump and now you need to shower -- you're showering in that poop smell. This sad event happened to me. There is a window in the bathroom I showered in that I tried to open but you have to be at least 6 foot 5 in order to reach it and sadly I am not that tall to even try to reach the window.
If you're someone that's going to this hotel solely because you enjoy the historic atmosphere and love McMenamin's food then this is an absolute fine hotel. If you're like me and were hoping for like a hotel that's up to standards of the 21st century then this is a disaster. The only reason I booked at this location was because I was here with friends. I think it's a little ridiculous to be charging as much as they do for rooms with way less amenities than the average hotel. For what I paid I could have stayed at the Mark Spencer down the street and had a way more pleasant time with no poop smell shower. If I had only known ahead of time what the terrors of a shared toilet would mean I would have done such. So I'm writing this review to help others avoid my mistake.
The staff is nice but a little awkward. I had paid extra for the romance package and the person behind the desk declared "oh the ROMANCE package?" (which was 1, supposed to be a surprise to my partner and 2, did not need to be loudly declared to everyone in the check-in area) with a particular attitude behind the words that left both my partner and I feeling uncomfortable. It felt like a judgement on us even though I know it was not intended as such.
The air conditioning worked great though which I appreciated in this heatwave.
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Date of stay: August 2022
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:Don't get a queen room if you want your own bathroom. Or stay somewhere else.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lots of character, small rooms and shared bathrooms though. The location was pretty good lots of places to walk to. The staff was kind enough to help us find parking and the guy who was working the evening we arrived was really helpful. Now the not so great… in the morning we were getting ready to check out and I discovered a capsule just under the foot of the bed, the capsule contained a off white powered. This is concerning because clearly the cleaning was not the greatest that this was missed, secondly when I brought it to the attention of the front desk the guy did really seem to care. So all in all night shift guy was great, morning guy not so good, cleaning not great either. Kind of disappointing way to end the stay
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Date of stay: August 2022Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Location is great, staff is friendly and tries hard. This is what I can say that’s good. Rooms are like a cross between your Grandma’s house and a bordello. Hipster “quirkiness” = Dark, old, musty. Do NOT expect to read anything in your room or watch TV ‘cuz there ain’t one. Bed was hard as a rock (tiny pillows, too), no counter space in bathroom (and that’s if you have your own; be aware that most are shared). One tiny bar of soap provided - had to move it back and forth between sink and shower - along with shampoo and conditioner. Sketchy elevator, very narrow hallways, quite a bit of noise between rooms, no dedicated parking (find your own on street or at nearby garage). All this would be fine if it was cheap…but it was not: $295 for a night of no sleep. Hotel was sold out, so clearly it has a niche, but give me light, quiet, a decent bed and two bars of soap any day. At least the location was good…
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Date of stay: August 2021Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:No available parking
Bring your own soap
Bring your own pillow
Bring your own reading lamp
Bring...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed at the Crystal Hotel over the Holidays. I hadn't visited Portland in years and so we decided to stay right downtown and check it out. The hotel is very well located and we were able to easily walk to a lot of great restaurants and of course, Stumptown Coffee.
Having stayed at Edgefield, I really liked all the art and posters on the walls. Ringler's Annex was awesome and the cave like bar in the basement was really neat. The saltwater pool was nice although several times drunken people with street clothes were hanging out on the benches in there making lots of noise.
The room we had was okay-it was noisy (even with earplugs) as well as cold and drafty. It seems like the trash dumpsters were getting emptied early every morning. Portland is notoriously miserable during the winter, so having a warmer room would have been better. The bed was not comfortable, but they aren't comfortable at Edgefield, either. We splurged on a room with a private bath. The bathroom was average but had very little counter space.
I get that the way the building is constructed didn't allow for a full size elevator, but the elevator is really small. It was easier just to take the stairs unless luggage was being lugged.
The staff were friendly and responsive. The hotel reminded me of one of those SF victorians-full of charm but kind of a pain to deal with.
We wouldn't stay here again but would return to Ringler's annex.
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Date of stay: December 2019
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jack G, General Manager at McMenamins Crystal Hotel
Responded Feb 17, 2021
Hello, Thanks for taking the time to leave your feedback. Sounds like there was some areas where your experience was lacking but it always helps to hear from guests how we can improve. We hope you'll continue to enjoy the many other McMenamins locations and we appreciate you giving us a try! Best, Jack, Hotel Manager
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
THE GOOD: As others have mentioned, the primary reason to stay here would be if you were planning to catch a show in the Crytal Ballroom. Location seems lively as well.
THE NOT SO GOOD: The hotel is old, smells like a mix of wood stove/urine/weed, has loud music that you can hear up to the top floor, tiny rooms, and mostly shared bathrooms. Also, the hot tub is in the basement and feels a bit clausterphobic, especially when joined by others.
This doesn't mean that this hotel wouldn't be enjoyed by those who know all of this going in. Myself, I had no choice since I had to stay with the rest of my group who had already booked it. For hostel conditions, I would have expected hostel prices.
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Date of stay: July 2023Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This can be a destintion location. Find a concert at the Crystal Ballroom that you'd like & make a weekend of it by staying at Crystal Hotel. The Zues Cafe has one of the better menus that I've seen at McMennamin locations.We got the breakfast package which is a great deal. We had the Zues Benedicts... delicious! Many cool bars & venues to explore!
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Date of stay: February 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:Check out the soaking pool!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I love this hotel because I love quirky and fun. The rooms are swanky and artful. But don't expect a tv with a thousand channels. You are in the heart of Portland, your room sits above a music venue and is next to a concert venue....go out and PARTY! Enjoy crazy Portland! In the morning if you have a mild hang over, pour some coffee and go to the soaking pool in the basement...you will be glad you did.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jack G, General Manager at McMenamins Crystal Hotel
Responded Feb 17, 2021
Hello Claudia, Looks like you've got the right idea of what we offer here at the Crystal Hotel. We've got the suitable remedies to both cause and cure a good hangover. We're glad to hear you enjoyed the hotel and hope to see you back soon! Best, Jack, Hotel Manager
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Hello traveler from New Orleans,
Thank you for your interest in our hotel, and our amazing soaking pool. We close the pool in the morning hours for cleaning, the second Tuesday of every month. The pools normal hours are from
8am til' 1am, and the pool will likely be open the night of your stay.
Our facilities team is unmatched when it comes to the operation and use of the soaking pool. It's thousands of gallons of water, and heats to 100 degrees, which takes some time, but again, by the evening it should be available. It is never closed all day, unless some unforeseen issue occurs.
I hope this was helpful. If you have further questions, please feel free to ask.
Thank you, we'll see you soon!!
Parking downtown depends solely on your driving usage. If you plan to use your car, the least expensive parking allows unlimited in and out parking for $25.00 per night, while park and walk can range between $11.00 and $16.00 for overnight parking in an underground parking garage, a block up the street from the hotel.
Each of the parking locations are no more than two blocks away form the hotel.
The hotel front desk can give more details upon check in...
Aileen N.,
triptaker, and Traveljun have answered just as I would have.
Thank you for asking.
Give the hotel a call directly to see if any of those King rooms with private bathrooms are available. They do sell pretty fast.
We hope you'll stay!!
There are more places to choose from in the Portland area.
PRICE RANGE
₱7,245 - ₱8,625 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
United StatesOregonPortlandDowntown
NUMBER OF ROOMS
51
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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