Katie G.
Yelp
Lobby ambiance and check in staff are great, but I won't stay here again. I've been to this hotel several times, back when it was Hotel Modera, because my company uses it as our home base in Portland. The new management / ownership is slippery, though, and I won't be back because I don't like how they do business.
I booked online directly through the website with a "Portland parking" package, 2 night stay. I don't like using third parties because the fees and policies are misleading and I don't want to deal with that. Price was $312 on my invoice including parking. The night before I'm checking in, I get an email advertising $99 / night room rate for the nights I'm staying. I call first thing the next morning and ask for a price adjustment, but they say they can't do it. They offer not to charge me for a $35 "amenity fee," that I had no idea I'd be paying because it wasn't on the invoice, but ok, I'll take it. Sadly, that's not where this ends. When they removed the fee, they sent me a new invoice where they added an additional $60 parking fee that changed my cost to $372. So then I had to call back to have that charge removed, which eventually happened but not without negotiation, escalation and a long time on hold. We finally got here, and the check in process included paying up front a $35 / night amenity fee, *which remember they were going to comp me* and they said they'll refund at check out, but their system wouldn't allow to be removed prior to checkout. The company has a structural integrity problem, literally and figuratively. The invoice should be clear about pricing and without error. If it's not, I expect the company to compensate for my troubles.
The last thing, and it's minor but notable because of all of the billing messiness, was that there's some false advertising in the room photos. We selected and paid for a 'City View' room and our room has a view of the hotel parking lot. The bathroom in our room doesn't match the photos of the 'City View' bathrooms listed on the website, and in fact the tub is dingy and outdated (the website photo is a stand up walk in shower with a glass barrier). Like I said, I've stayed here before and never had this style bathroom. The hotel is empty (I mean they are running a $99 / night promo to get people here). There's a big lobby, patio and garage, and there were less than ten cars and I haven't seen a single other person in the hotel since we got here. They could have upgraded our room, not even to a suite, just a room that had the upgrades shown in the pictures on the website, with a decent view and bathroom but they didn't.
I did some sleuthing on the website and saw they charge a variable amenity fee rate and variable parking fee. The website says they have a 24 hour cancellation policy, the person on the phone said it was 72. The vibe here is purposefully deceptive and no one has apologized, taken responsibility or acknowledged the way negative this experience has unfolded.
I prefer to patronize more local businesses because I want our communities to do well, but we'll stay at Marriott next time. At least you know what you're going to get there. The Hotel Zags isn't it.