Portland’s The Sentinel hotel, a robot-topped tribute to pop culture
The many food trucks just across the road make a visit to one of the US’ most creative cities more than worth it
What is it? The best hotel in the Pacific northwest of the United States, if Condé Nast is to be believed, and a self-professed “beacon for creative types”. To understand the 100-room hotel fully, you have to know what it was rather than what it is, because the Sentinel feels a little disjointed, having started life as two buildings – the Seward Hotel and Elks Temple – that don’t quite align.
So why is it called the Sentinel? “Walk around the East Wing along 10th and Alder and look up,” advises the in-room literature. “See those robots along the roof looking out toward the future? Those are sentinels. Sentinels are visionaries. They remind us of you.” Beyond the flattery, there is no explanation as to why William Christmas Knighton attached “robots” to the Seward Hotel when he built it, in 1909. But they are conversation pieces.
Rooms on the executive floor, the sixth, have terraces that overlook Portland and would no doubt be a pleasant place in which to watch the world go by if half of Oregon wasn’t consumed by wild fires, ash falling from the sky, as was the case when I stayed. The note advising me to “limit the use of your terrace until the smoke has cleared and the air quality has improved” was a nice touch.
The Room At The End Of The Hall is a room at the end of the hall on the sixth floor in which coffee, soft drinks, snacks and newspapers are available at all hours. It’s doubtful the leather sofa and armchairs here are used much, though, given the size and comfort of the guest rooms back along that hall.
Jake’s Grill – which serves a “mean Bloody Mary” with its meat – is in the East Wing of the hotel and was opened in 1994, but feels far older (in a good way), and a large Starbucks stands next to the reception – after all, we’re not far from Seattle, birthplace of the coffee chain.
But you’ll be itching to get over to those carts, which include a branch of respected Nong’s Khao Man Gai (Thai chicken and rice), although any queue will point to a decent alternative.
The city is known for its artisanal spirit and a directionless wander is bound to throw up a curiosity or two. Portland does have a homeless problem, though, although refuge from the panhandlers can be found in the tranquillity of the Japanese Garden (a 30-minute hike from The Sentinel, in wooded hills to the west of the city) and the Lan Su Chinese Garden (a 30-minute walk in the other direction, towards the Willamette River, and built by artisans from Suzhou, Jiangsu province).
If you have motorised wheels, Multnomah Falls, Mount Hood and Willamette Valley wine country make for more substantial day trips.
What’s the bottom line? Rooms start at US$159 a night; chicken and rice from across the road at US$9.50.