My artist fiancé proposed to me using a clever ploy of watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s while he sketched me, taking liberties of adding a ring on my finger before he asked if I liked what he had drawn. The ring he presented was, of course, from Tiffany’s, and shortly after I accepted we began to plan a vacation to celebrate our engagement. We decided on a hotel in Portland that would continue to make me feel like a princess, or at the very least like Audrey Hepburn. That hotel was Hotel deLuxe. One of the chic hotels of the Provenance Hotel group, each of which has its own individual personality, Hotel deLuxe has all the class and exquisite taste of Hollywood in the 1920’s to 1940’s. Following both the architecture of the era and the art of film, the world of this hotel glimmers in gold and white. The main entrance holds a crystal chandelier and a wall-sized portrait of black-and-white scenes from the best films ever made. The main elevator, accessible only if you have a room key for added security, has walls inlaid in mother-of-pearl and marble. The walls of the hallways are a subtle white snakeskin print, with film stills of all our favorite scenes in burnished gold frames. Just outside of our room on the sixth floor, Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni cavorted in the Trevi Fountain.

With all the glamour of old Hollywood, anyone who goes to stay at Hotel deLuxe will find themselves lounging in comfort, feeling at the very least like a Hollywood starlet. Just a few short blocks from

Portland’s downtown district and on the Max light rail, Hotel deLuxe is in the thick of it all. Cordial valet attendants await to greet you upon your arrival, and with an unlimited in-and-out valet service, you can come and go as you wish all day. Because of the celebration of our engagement, we arrived to find that our room had been upgraded as well!

This was the perfect place to go and unwind, to relax and be waited on, to curl up with one another and to have people attend to our every need as if we were a pair of Hollywood’s finest. The room itself had a king sized bed with luxurious high-thread-count sheets, a flat-screen HDTV for the best viewing experience, and an iPod docking station with a selection of iPod music menus to help you set the mood.

The colors of the room were warm and unobtrusive, the lamps and furniture reminiscent of the Art Deco Noir-style of the hotel, and the bathroom complete with Aveda products. Because we’d decided on the Baby it’s Cold Outside package, upon entering our room my senses were immediately greeted by the scent of chocolate-covered strawberries waiting for us on a cool plate by our bedside, right next to a bottle of a local wine begging to be opened. As if this were not enough, the game of Twister awaited our use, or erotic misuse.

Though I am not a famous actor, nor is my fiancé, I do consider myself a connoisseur of pillows. I am often accused of being the pillow thief, and the Hotel deLuxe offers their Pillow Menu for people just like me. Depending on how you like to rest your head, the menu includes pillows of all firmness or softness. If you’ve just spent the day at Powell’s Books, there is a reading pillow especially for you, or a full body pillow if any of the others are too small.

An equally kind thought is the offering of a Spiritual Menu, accompanying the Pillow Menu so that not only can you meet your body’s needs, but also that of your soul. Serving a multicultural world, they offer several different spiritual texts, whatever it is that will help you sleep at night or get through the day, whether it be the Koran or the Teachings of Buddha.

If that were not enough luxury, there is also the “Make-it-So” button on the room’s phone. Absolutely anything is only the push of a button away, everything from a packet of gum to a dirty martini, if only you press the button and ask for it.

Speaking of menus, pets are welcome as well, and a luxurious menu awaits the furry best friends you bring with you, complete with a special food menu and services menu, from which you can get your pet anything from a cheeseburger pie to acupuncture. If that special someone is your new puppy, there’s no reason to leave him at home!

Hotel deLuxe also offers meeting spaces, including a screening room where exclusive films are shown throughout the year. There is a 24-hour gym, 24-hour business center, and 24-hour room service to meet your every need. If I were traveling for business instead of pleasure, I would still come back to Hotel deLuxe.

Since I was traveling for pleasure, I was thoroughly satisfied by the luxury and glamour of Hotel deLuxe and the accommodations were perfect for a romantic getaway to celebrate our engagement. I will go back any time I feel like stepping behind the silver screen to become a part of Hollywood’s Golden Age once again.

Hotel deLuxe
729 SW 15th Ave
Portland, OR 97205
Tel: (866) 895-2094
www.hoteldeluxeportland.com

- Written by Meg D. Murphy (meg.d.murphy@gmail.com)

Meg D Murphy is a biologist in Washington with a love of local wines and fine dining, travel and experiencing as much of the world as the world can handle.

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