A luxe addition to the Downtown Portland scene that’s positioned for maximum shopping.

Portland is my favorite backyard escape. A short drive from my home in Seattle lands me in a city that serves up the platonic ideal of a long weekend. Enough great restaurants that I always leave wishing for one more meal (and maybe needing one less), some very intriguing shopping, and natural beauty all around. A recent – and welcome – addition to my go-to getaway: The Ritz-Carlton, Portland, which opened in downtown’s West End in late 2023. The hotel, which resides in a shiny new skyscraper, brings a dose of luxury to a town where earnest explanations of your dinner’s provenance are still de rigueur, and vintage shopping stops just short of a contact sport. Here are five things I loved about the hotel.

Upstairs-Downstairs

I loved starting the day with lox and an oat milk latte at Bellpine on the hotel’s 19th floor, where sky-high city views pair well with elevated cuisine (the restaurant also does a local-centric fine-dining dinner service). In the evening, at the lobby-level Meadowrue, a nightly parade of ready-for-their-closeup cocktails marches across the bar. When I was there, sipping an Oregon pinot, one couple requested a re-do on the smoke-filled bubble atop their drink because they missed capturing its pop on video the first time around. The bartender was game.

The Bathroom that Thought of Everything

Yes, there are marble tiles, fancy Diptyque products, and (in some suites) standalone tubs with majestic city panoramas but my room’s bathroom had me at the drawers. Hotel bathrooms often have nowhere to put anything: My makeup junks up the counter and I’m forever trying to suspend an armload of clothes from one small hook on the door. This one had a settee between the double sinks – perfect for piling up clothes or perching like a 1950s lady to do my hair – and two drawers under each sink, more than enough room for all my products. Bonus: The hair dryer was tucked away in a leather basket, not the usual drawstring bag that has to be wrestled open and shut.

Light and greenery dominate hotel’s lobby.

The Air Up There

Because The Ritz-Carlton occupies a newer – and taller – building than most in downtown Portland, there’s a breezy feeling throughout. The lobby’s ceilings soar, the guest rooms are filled with natural light (mine looked out across a lovely rooftop garden area that belongs to the property’s residents), and the club lounge level and Bellpine have floor-to ceiling windows that let in copious amounts of diffuse Northwest light. The real showstopper, though, is the top-floor indoor pool, an infinity-edge expanse fronted by wraparound windows with sightlines all the way to Mount Hood on a clear day.

Food Hall Favorites

Located in the same building as the hotel (just around the corner from the entrance), newly opened Flock food hall gathers walk-up versions of some of Portland’s most beloved dining outlets under one roof. It’s a casual foil to The Ritz-Carlton’s more elegant dining (and an easy choice for families) with everything from birria tacos by local food cart favorite Birrieria la Plaza to Chinese at HK Cafe.

Shopping Central

While much of Portland’s charm lies in its low-slung neighborhoods with their colorful craftsman houses and homespun shopping and dining, the downtown core is where some of the city’s most unmissable attractions (and by attractions, I mean shops) reside. And The Ritz-Carlton, Portland is practically on top of some of my favorites: Powell’s Books – a bookstore so staggeringly well stocked it almost makes me nervous because there is no way I can ever take it all in – is just a couple of blocks away. Fashion-forward Frances May is around the corner, with two floors of clothing from brands such as Toteme, Rachel Comey, and Margiela, plus rotating pop-ups on its mezzanine. There’s also the West Coast’s only Muji (a six-minute walk away); a riot of colorful embellishments for the home at Woonwinkel (on the corner opposite The Ritz’s front doors); and, for those who want to go big sans sales tax, Pioneer Place mall (a seven-minute walk), home to outposts of Gucci, Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, and more.

Jetset Journeys travelers receive a $45 breakfast credit per person daily and a $100 hotel credit.

Five Things We Love: The Ritz-Carlton, Portland