Like any metropolitan city, hotel haunts are a dime a dozen in downtown Portland. When proximity to life and location is the priority for picking a city center hotel, the digs have to stand out. Amidst the unabashedly weird (like Crystal Hotel) or the flagrantly fancy (like The Nines), defining a unique accommodation must be eluded in the name—like at the Hotel Modera, the moderately modern boutique hotel in the center of the city’s theater district.
From the Clay Street entrance, guests are enticed by the contemporary opening courtyard—with central walkways lined in sleek lanterns and manicured gardens, while clean geometric lines and shapes wrought in metal, wood and stone detail the courtyard garden. Although the exterior itself isn’t much more than a multi-story city building, the courtyard and its seating areas with inviting fire pits let guests know otherwise. Across from the seating areas is the city’s first Living Wall, a fully sustainable, 63-foot by 15-foot living work of garden art.
Once through the automatica sliding glass doors, guests are warmly greeted and shown into one of the 174 hotel rooms or six exclusive, spacious suites. Each room features large picture windows which open to views of downtown Portland or the above mentioned interior courtyard. The pillow-topped mattress beds are dressed with top-grade linens and down blankets, work spaces are wide and seated with a leather chair and the bathrooms are outfitted with microfiber bath robes and Tarocco Italian bath products, formulated with olive oil and Sicilian red oranges rich in vitamin C and other powerful antioxidants. WiFi is widely distributed, sensor-controlled heat, air conditioning and entry lights command the mood of the room and guests receive passes to the 24-hour fitness center in-house.
Order in or roll downstairs to Nel Centro, the onsite Mediterranean restaurant from Portland chef and restaurateur, David Machado, that also caters to guests in-room. Chef Machado and his team plate classic dishes of Northern Italy and Southeast France with locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. Offering breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch on the weekends, Nel Centro features an illuminated dining room with hand-blown glass lighting, Italian white marble, floor-to-ceiling windows and Douglas fir tabletops.
From the bar, order the Carmen, a sweet and spicy concoction of Eastside Distilling‘s Burnside Bourbon, Maurin Quina liqueur, Creme de Cacao and cayenne. Draft beer is solely devoted to Oregon ales and wine director David Holstrom’s wine list gives nods to the romantic kingdoms and regions of Italy along with its instinctive Northwest offerings. Sneak in early to catch happy hour—note the extensive bar/discounted menu and have your pick of snacks from a lamb burger with peperonata and feta to house made country pâté with pickled vegetables, fried calamari or a flatbread pizza, each for under $7. Lunch offers soup, salads, sandwiches, house made pastas and pizzas while dinner highlights Italian delicacies like spinach gnudi with Gorgonzola cream and braised pork osso bucco with risotto milanese and a citrus gremolata, along with French classics like Wagyu top sirloin steak and frites. Start early (or finish late?) with brunch and order one of the 11 different ways you can have your eggs (and eat them too).
No matter the time of day, the handy dandy bellhops of Hotel Modera will hail you a cab or lead you off in the right, walking-distance direction to make the most of this centrally-located, modernly hip and savor-savvy hotel.
Hotel Modera || 515 SW Clay St, Portland || hotelmodera.com
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