McMenamins Kennedy School

The Kennedy School is a unique experience which feels very in line with the quirky Portland vibe. It is an actual elementary school transformed into a hotel, community meeting space, and gathering place, with several bars and restaurants. There is something to discover around every corner and art everywhere. There is a soaking pool as well. The rooms are comfortable and clean and there is coffee in the morning. It feels like an experience—more than a hotel!

Even though I travel the world touring with "my" artists, this was my first time in Portland, Oregon. Our friends booked us a personal guide (Adam Thorn Smith, highly recommended! ) who showed us around and made Yelp even sent us a message on the day like "wow - you know how to explore all hot spots on one day". This was my first time at a McMenamins place. What a fun place! Loved the ambiance, their food (their Cajun Tater Tots are a must-try), and the service. This will be the #1 spot to visit whenever we return to the area and try out all the little gems inside this gem that were closed during our afternoon visit. Would I do a 30+ min detour to go here (mandatory in my rating scheme to achieve 5 stars)? Oh yes! Next step: get the McMenamins Passport!

This place was simply amazing! Housed in an ancient school decorated in a Hippy/Bohemian style, the food was out of this world. I had their "Dungeon Burger" with mushrooms and Swiss cheese and a side salad. Everything was fresh and delicious and my wife and I finished off the meal with a heavenly Blueberry-Brown Butter cheesecake. Outstanding. My only complaint is that our server seemed bored and not really attentive. Nevertheless, if you are traveling near Portland then by all means stop here. You'll be glad you did.

I will start with the positives, as there are fewer of them, and I don't want to come across as completely negative. The food was pretty solid. We dined at the restaurant for both dinner and breakfast, and the food was served hot and was very well done. Props to the kitchen for sure. Our server the first night was a young man named Diego, and he was phenomenal. He was one of only two people we met who worked at the property who genuinely cared about the customer experience. Let's begin our journey at check-in. We went to our room to freshen up before dinner. The first thing we noticed was a strong pot smell. It's Portland, so hey, we weren't that surprised, but we didn't want everything we had to smell like pot either, so we opened the windows and turned on the fan before we left for dinner, hoping that the room would air out. From there, we made our way to the restaurant. It was approximately 8:00 pm when we arrived. The sign at the hostess desk said open seating. It was a beautiful evening, so we began to make our way outside to the patio where other folks were dining. We were intercepted by the manager, who told us that they had discontinued service on the patio and if we wanted to dine outside, we would have to order from the bar and serve ourselves. We opted to go ahead and sit outside. As we were looking over the menu and preparing to head to the bar, Diego appeared and told us that he was going to wait on us. We placed our order, and everything arrived just fine with one exception: my wife ordered the soup, and when the runner delivered her soup, we were informed that they had no spoons for the soup. Even Diego came out and apologized and said he couldn't find a spoon anywhere. After a few minutes, he did appear with a mini spoon like one would use for jam or jelly, but nothing you would be able to eat soup with very easily. Then, as the evening went along, it was getting dark, and we asked Diego if they could turn on the decorative hanging lights out on the patio for some light and ambiance. He returned and told us the same manager who didn't want him serving us told him that she would not turn on the lights. That concluded our dining experience for the night. Back in the room, we began to settle in and prepare for bed, and noticed the bathroom. The bathroom looked like it had not been cleaned in weeks. There was hair all over the shower, the floors were covered with dust and hair, and the most disturbing thing was the hair on the sink where we were trying to brush our teeth. The towels had a burnt and musty smell that we couldn't place. I went to the front desk and gently mentioned our issues to the gentleman working the night shift. He took notes and promised to share with the manager. The next morning, I went by and found the manager and asked if he had been made aware of our issues, and he simply said, "Yeah, I knocked $50 off your bill" and that was it. I asked him if he would like to the pics and he

This is the first time I've stayed, but I have visited the Kennedy School several times before. I love how much there is to do just on the campus. The food is tasty, the room was comfortable, and I loved the soak pool. I also appreciate that the property is in a neighborhood of Portland that I love. Overall, I had a lovely stay!