Monday, April 30, 2012

anniversary and a hotel tour

It started as an every five year ritual. We returned to The Heathman hotel where we spent our wedding night. I’m not sure exactly when this happened, but it’s now an annual tradition. This year we mixed it up and stayed at The Benson. Like The Heathman, The Benson is a historic downtown Portland, Oregon hotel, rich in history and tradition... just like our relationship :-)

We got a sweet deal on a penthouse suite. This was the view we were greeted with upon arrival.

Rainbow

Nice!

bedroom

Off the small seating area with the rainbow view, the bedroom is behind french doors.

bar

There’s enough storage here for me to stay for weeks. Our room had several cabinets and drawers like you see behind me.

cocktails

A comfortable lobby bar serves decent cocktails and a yummy cheese plate.

chandelier

a few of the architectural details...

window

CandM

Hi!

roomService

As you can see, room service breakfast was good, but if I were comparing it to The Heathman, the quality of the food and its presentation was lacking The Heathman Hotel’s exquisite taste and attention to detail. 

While we’re on the subject of hospitality, the entire Benson staff could use a lesson in the value of attending to details. The slightly tattered furniture, even though it added to the antiquity of our room, didn’t appear to be intentionally shabby chic, but scruffy and run-down. The maids had missed the lipstick kiss left on the french doors... tacky!

morning

I hope you enjoyed this little tour. In case you missed my Heathman post from a couple years ago, you can check that out here.

6 comments:

Mariza said...

Wow! What beautiful rainbow! The hotel is amazing! So romantic to get away with your love and celebrate like this!Congratulations!

happygirl said...

This looked wonderful. I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow. I'm thinking about taking pics. I'm just a lousy photographer. :)

happygirl said...

And, Happy Anniversary. I can't believe I forgot to say that. btw, for some reason your blog updates don't show up in my dashboard thingy. Sorry I've been missing you. :)

Cindy said...

Hi Mariza, We felt that rainbow was created just for us!

Cindy said...

Happygirl, I hope you're going somewhere sunny. I'm glad to see you back here, and will be checking your blog for those vacation photos.

Cathy at Wives with Knives said...

Going to The Benson used to be such a treat. Trader Vic's and their downstairs dining room were favorites for special occasions. Sorry they weren't up to snuff, Cindy. It's hard to beat The Heathman. Happy Anniversary and a very Happy Mother's Day. Hope you have a lovely day.