McMenamins Crystal Hotel

McMenamins is the cutest hotel I have ever stayed in. It has so much character and is so unique. The walls are adorned with many different paintings and great photos of musicians. There is a bar/​restaurant, soaking pool and music venue in this building along with the hotel. It’s crazy how it all fits but it does! I had the «Sleeping Lessons» room which was conveniently located right next to the bathrooms. The room is very small but there was just two of us so it was fine. The rooms have a sink and mirror and have both towels and toiletries. We had a cool view of downtown and the bathrooms were seemingly maintained pretty regularly. I was worried about the shower situation and that the bathrooms would be constantly occupied but they weren’t! They were almost always vacant and really clean. The only downside about this hotel is the noise, the walls in the rooms are really thin so you hear just about everything. With the bar below you easily can hear drunk people stumbling out and being loud. You hear every street noise there is but that isn’t the worst part. The worst thing is the routine trash deliveries at 6am, 9 am and we even heard it at 3 am. The seafood restaurant across the street gets deliveries everyday which you will hear. So The only downside about being right next to the bathroom… When you are right next to the bathroom on a Friday night and there are drunk people in your hotel, you get to hear people vomiting for an hour and a half. Other than that fun and so cute! I’d love to stay again. Maybe not be right next to the bathroom.

hmmmm
priced pretty darn good for it’s location, but don’t forget to add the parking fees
has a bordello-​esque décor
common bathrooms. better be in control of your bladder
great eateries all around
nice views from the locked windows
kinda dark interior… kinda a mish mash décor
best of all… the underground, well designed salt water soaking pool… a nice feature to look forward to, morning-​noon-​or night
nice front desk employees
not quite sure if I would recommend to all of my friends, but I have no regrets staying there… would I return?.. probably not. too many cool hotels around to pick from
After reading a number of reviews below, I must say that most of the comments, good or bad, are valid

Great place to stay if your wanting to hang in the downtown of Stumptown. Especially if you’re going to a show at the Crystal Ballroom!!!

Let me start by saying I love McMenamins and have stayed at many of their properties. This was by far the worst experience.
My friends and I stayed on a Saturday night. We started off trying to find parking. The front desk gave us a paper and directed us to a parking lot that they have an arrangement with for $ 15 a night. When we arrived at the parking garage, the sketchy guy said we were late (it was 5pm) and we needed to give him the keys. The whole experience was so weird we drove around aimlessly until finding a nearby church which was lucky as they only charged us $ 8.50 for the night!
When we got to our rooms, it was a surprise to see just how small and loud they were. The walls are VERY thin and the windows are not sealed, causing lots of street noise and noise from your neighbors. The beds were exceptionally uncomfortable and I swear my whole room was slightly slanted with huge cracks in the ceiling/​walls. Someone had a dog in the room next to mine, which barked for hours and there was a domestic dispute in the room next to my friend’s which lasted through the night. When we advised the front desk the next morning (after getting only a few hours of on and off sleep) they simply said, oh, we’ll look into that, there shouldn’t have been any dogs… then charged our cards.
We ran into issues at every turn. When I asked about passport stamps, which was the whole reason for our stay, in the evening the girl at the front desk said we couldn’t get stamps at Crystal Ballroom due to a private event, but could attend the tour at 2pm the next day, which was after the time we’d be leaving. Super frustrated no one told us about the 2pm tour when we came and asked about stamps and parking at 1pm. We were also told we would need to pay to get into Lola’s Room. Fortunately we asked again when we got there, because hotel guests get in for free!
Lots of misinformation and overall poor customer service from the front desk. Additional training is definitely needed as well as some improvements to the rooms (new mattresses and window insulation). Edgefield, Kennedy School and the new Anderson School know how to do it right. Crystal needs to get their act together with several components. I can’t imagine anyone returning to a McMenamins property if this was their first experience.

The draw of a hotel like this is its concept: a old dormitory refurbished by a brewery where all the rooms are themed around songs. Sounds fun. However, you can’t sleep in a fun concept. This is a hotel first and foremost, and as such completely fails to provide the basic amenities one would expect, especially given the premium price.
The most glaring issue is the lack of bathrooms in the rooms. From what I could tell, of the 30ish rooms available, only six have a bathroom in the room itself. The rest of the rooms share a bathroom in the hallway. This is quaintly, and misleadingly, described as «euro-​style» by the hotel, which caused my German girlfriend to respond «If you pay $ 150 for a room in Europe you can sleep in a castle. AND you’d get a private f — ing bathroom».
The rooms themselves are generally unpleasant. Though stocked with funky artwork and moody lighting, they are extremely cramped. No closet space or drawers are provided to store your clothes, and the quality of the bed is equal to what you’d expect from the cheapest of chain motels. The walls are thin enough to hear every cough from the adjoining rooms, and the windows are so drafty that the below-​freezing air outside could just waft in like it owned the place.
As a Pacific Northwesterner, I have loved McMenamins for years, patronizing their many restaurants and even staying at their Kennedy School hotel on a couple of special occasions. But my experience with the Crystal Hotel has bankrupted any goodwill I had for the company. There are a tons of other hotels in the downtown Portland area that are far more interesting and comfortable than the Crystal Hotel. And far more deserving of your business.

Such an amazing experience!
Stayed at the Crystal on Friday the 8^th to celebrate my birthday. It was an absolutely amazing start to the weekend. I’ve been working on my McMenamin’s passport for about a year and a half, but after finding out that I’ll be moving out of Oregon this summer, we decided to kick our passport quest into hyperdrive and dedicate a weekend to exploring Portland and Seattle (and getting lots of stamps). Normally McMenamin’s approach in their pubs is hands-​off and laid back; great for a relaxed meal with friends, not so much for a jam packed day of activities. The staff at the Crystal managed to keep the laid back, fun vibe, but mix it with an excellent bit of efficiency and care. They helped me get an impossible passport stamp and even left champagne and chocolates in my room when they heard it was my birthday!
We also had dinner at Zeus café with friends– again, a slightly more elevated experience than most Mcmenamin’s pub experiences, but very welcome. This was my first time trying the Edgefield Riesling– so good!
A heartfelt thank you to the staff for making every thing so great.

Wonderful place to stay. Eclectic rooms — If you can do so a bathroom is great for «the wife» but sharing a hall bathroom is not that big of a deal. SO close to everything (Powell’s books, Henry’s, Jakes, etc.) and other fantastic Portland eateries. Comfy beds and great, colorful room décor. Fantastic bar! They will pour your favorite craft beer and let you take a plastic glass to the HUGE hot tub in the basement for a soak. 2^nd stay. We are going back!!!

Yet another outstanding experience!
Had desert and a beer at
The end of our evening the other night. Rylan the bar tender went above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of!!!
We had such yummy desserts and kept warm by the little space heaters on top of the bar!
This is our go to place especially because they are always open so late.
No matter how late you arrive you always will receive the same quality food and service as any other time of day!
We love this place!

It was our anniversary, so downtown we headed with the Crystal Hotel as the hotel. We made a great decision picking the location. The people at the hotel could not have been more accommodating (wine in our room to help us celebrate our anniversary). The soaking pool in the basement was to die for after a night of walking around the Pearl. The bartender at each of the numerous bars were over the top nice and helpful. We will return.
McMenamins management should use this location as the training grounds for other location (St Francis) because many of them could learn a lot about customer service.

Gorgeous two story venue where I saw CHVRCHES. One interesting thing was how they divided the venue of 21+ to the right and under 21 to the left with ropes down the middle. Felt like they were separating the goats from the sheep or something.
Upstairs balcony was the best viewing area in my opinion. Base was in your face. Big impact chandeliers were standouts for the décor.

Go here for the experience and price! This is not a four-​star hotel nor is it a three star hotel, but go for the old-​school lighting fixtures, the custom painted walls with themes per each room. Can’t beat that in room sink. Can’t beat the public bathrooms that are genuinely well maintained. Also can’t beat the downtown location right next to the Pearl District and many great restaurants. Also love the hundred degree soaking pool in the basement.

Great location, friendly staff, and cool décor. We rented a room with a private bathroom. The soaking pool in the basement is quite big, so you don’t have to worry about it getting full. The only demerit was the bed — both of us woke up with sore backs. Would stay at this place again.

Service is amazing as always and the people are the nicest I have ever met. The room is very with its quotes written on the walls and the soaking pool was perfect.

Ever wondered what it might be like to be a transient during the Great Depression and the best you could hope for each day was to get drunk enough to keep from throwing yourself out of your miserable SRO window? Well now you can stay at this decrepit dump and find out, but you’ll have to pay dearly for the privilege.
Ex-​cons will feel at home here, as the room is a cell with a sink and a straight-​back chair, which you will trip over as you try squeezing around the bed. The janky AC unit is mounted high on the wall, blowing noisily down on you, and is difficult to regulate. Through a large window offering a view of an actual SRO across the street you can contemplate your lot in sympathy with your fellow down-​and-​outters. The noise from the street is so loud it will wake you before sunrise and get you out of bed to close the window — only to find it already closed.
Shared bathrooms are nothing new if you’ve traveled abroad, but here in America — especially if you are paying more than $ 180 a night — having to go into the hall to use the bathroom only to find it occupied detracts from the «old-​world charm» very quickly. What do you say in response to a particularly awkward encounter with a fellow guest in the hallway as he stares past you into your room on the way out of the shower? Howdy neighbor?!
Do you enjoy lewd public displays by strangers and coming in contact with their bodily secretions? Then the soaking pool is for you. If you aren’t drunk enough for that, I suggest drowning your sorrows in the dingy basement bar with a few mediocre McMenamins brews. The atmosphere is so depressing down there you will soon welcome the relative cheerfulness of the hallways decorated like Rod Serling’s Night Gallery as you return to your cell. Experience anew the claustrophobia of your tiny room as the door slams shut behind you and you find yourself considering just how dismal life on the road can be.
You won’t need to ask why the window only opens 4 inches wide.

I give it four stars because it’s an authentic, portland downtown neighborhood/​city hotel.
Small front desk however everyone is very friendly, helpful, cool and will keep you talking if you want to learn about the city.
The interior is decorated uniquely with 60s artwork bright and funny text written on the doors and walls.
Good location for Portland culture and dining.

Cute and cozy. Attention to details. Attended a concert at the Crystal Ballroom. After show drinks and sliders at the Annex was fun. The tofu sliders and house made sodas were yummy. Closed the night spooking in their hot pool.
Down side: street noise is loud because the room window was old. I child was obviously running around in the room above mine.

Perfect location, great décor, amazing pool, comfortable room, so why two stars?
Two words — CUSTOMER SERVICE.
We arrived about an hour early to check in and at first everything was great. The front desk was very accommodating and had rooms right next to each other ready within ten minutes.
Later that evening I called down to the front desk and wanted to request a bottle of champagne to be sent up to my friends’ room as a small birthday surprise when we got back from dinner. This is how my conversation went:
«Hello sir, I was wondering what the cost would be for a bottle of champagne sent up to a room?»
«A bottle of champagne? What do you think this is? The Plaza Hotel in New York?»
«Umm… no, but I did see if offered as a service on your website. Is that not correct?»
«That’s our lover’s package. You can get champagne, chocolates, and massage oils put in the room for $ 35.»
«Okay, well can I get that without the chocolates and massage oil?»
«You can come down and buy a bottle of champagne.»
«Oh I see… Um, never mind then. Thanks.»
A simple response would do next time. I hardly think the hospitality industry is the place to cultivate your skill in snarky comments, no matter how stupid you think the question is sir.

I left all the trip planning to my wife. When she first told me of the hotel she booked I was a bit hesitant.
If I were to ever go back, I’d stay here in a heartbeat.
It’s a fun quirky little hotel with great staff, unique rooms/​décor, and the «shared restrooms» isn’t a terrible deal at all. There were 3 (maybe 4) restrooms to a floor. They never seemed to be occupied when I needed them.
The rooms are small with no TV, but looking for someone who is wanting a place to stay at night. Had no problems with the wifi.
It’s location is perfect, there’s a bus stop right in front. It seemed to be within 10 – 15 minutes walking distance from anywhere we wanted to go.
I really wanted to catch a comedy show in the basement, but we never made it there. If we weren’t exploring for the two days we were there we were napping.
Went down to the soaking pool on Saturday night, it was empty. It was amazing. Hot salt water to calm the muscles after a day of walking.
You’re given towels, robe, and toiletries for the restroom. There’s a mason jar with glasses in the room for beers.

What an awesome place!
Pros?
–Oh my gosh the pool! Hot, fun, allows alcohol
–Nummy restaurant and beer
–Clean tidy room
–Nice location right near fun things
–Pricing for downtown was very good
Tips?
–Bring a robe, the bathrooms and showers are shared

Have you ever had one of those moments when you are alone, having the time of your life and completely at peace with how perfect that particular moment is? Before I get too mushy on you, let me just say the sexy wading pool in the basement of the Crystal Hotel is worthy of a solo half hour visit. What makes it sexy? The dark lighting, the glow of the pool, the fact that alcohol is permitted in a plastic cup, the waterfall at the head of the pool and the Asian-​esque vibe created by the bamboo walls. Pray to the pool gods that you are the only down there — that’s when true peaceful perfection is reached. (On my past two visits to this hotel, I have hit up the pool before bed and as soon as I woke in the morning).
For those who are not jumping out of their pants from after reading about a sexy basement pool — maybe the great location with prime walkability and clever music-​themed rooms will do the trick? Or, how about the fact that the prettiest Whole Foods I’ve ever visited is across the street and two blocks away you’ll find Blue Star Donuts and their ridiculously good bourbon blueberry basil donut? (Yes, that’s right, I said Blue Star and not Voodoo — good catch, reader). There is a charm about this hotel that you will not find at the Hyatt, Holiday Inn or Westin. If you feel like experiencing the charm on more of a shoestring, opt for the shared bath rooms (I never had to wait when I took this route on my first visit).
I’m holding off on the 5^th star due to the paper-​thin walls and ungodly loud trash activity that occurs on the street every morning I have stayed there. For light sleepers, you won’t miss it.