Portland Harbor Hotel

We absolutely loved our stay at this hotel. It recently went under major renovations, so don't be alarmed if you see older photos that don't look great. The hotel is classy, comfy and in a perfect location to walk to many wonderful restaurants, bars and shopping. Everyone was so friendly and helpful (gave us a $30 gift cert to their restaurant for my birthday!) and the premises were so clean. Our room was very spacious and we enjoyed the Starbucks coffee machine in the morning. Can't wait to go back! Read less

The hotel is definitely in a great location to shop and eat out. Problem is try to find it. We drove around for at least 15 min. only to find there are no signs for the hotel. This is probably okay if you have a GPS but some older folks don't always have that. Desk clerk said the sign had been blown off and had not been replaced yet She kindly upgraded us to a garden room for our trouble which to me was not an upgrade but a downgrade. The room was super small, long and narrow. If you wanted to watch any tv you had to have binoculars to see it, they have it on a far wall. The heating unit was very loud and woke us on more than one occasion. We stayed one night. Will not return. Read less

We booked a one-night stay on a TravelZoo special, and got an exceptional value for a Sunday night. The location cannot be beat, and is located minutes away from so many incredible Portland restaurants and shops. We left our car in the valet parking ($22 per night) for our stay, and walked absolutely everywhere. No car was necessary for us. We arrived early and the hotel allowed us to check-in early, which was a major perk, and they even gave us a corner room, which was massive. Our room was very clean, the bed was comfortable, and the bathroom was absolutely huge. The rooms were beautifully decorated. We appreciated the turndown service too. There could be better soundproofing in the rooms (or quieter doors to each of the hotel rooms?) The doors next to us continuously slammed very early in the morning waking us up. The Starbucks machine on our floor was broken during our visit, which wasn’t really an issue for us. The elevator is also so insanely slow. We would definitely stay at the Portland Harbor Hotel again, especially during off-season when the prices are more affordable. We’d definitely recommend this hotel for Portland. We had a wonderful time. Read less

The Portland Harbor Hotel has a great location--shopping, sites, and restaurants all in easy walking distance--in the Old Port section of Portland. It has a crisp blue-and-white decor throughout that has touches of nautical motif without going to the tacky fishnets and starfish extreme. There's small bar and restaurant. The rooms, which are pet friendly, have laminate floors and area rugs. Although the finishings look new, in the public areas and the bedrooms, the laminate floor is wearing badly...either was not built for heavy commercial use, was improperly installed or is otherwise defective. Having said that, the peeling laminate floor is about the only flaw I could find here. Well, maybe not the only one. Each floor has a coffee station (available only for a few hours in the morning) that also feature a water tap that will deliver sparkling water. On my floor the coffee machine and the sparkling water tap were both broken. In the morning, the only coffee available at the coffee station was decaf. What's with that?! While I would not pay the very high rate this hotel charges in season--this is Portland, not Boston, after all--this hotel is clean, the beds are comfortable, the staff are friendly and helpful, and the overall atmosphere is extremely pleasant. But it needs to sweat the details and make sure its special touches, like the sparkling water tap, and its maintenance, like the flooring, are up to par. I particularly want to compliment the bar and its staff. Happy hour ($1.00 oysters! half-price beverages!) was just that...very happy experience and superb oysters. The bartender really knows her way around a martini. I recommend this hotel, even though I think its' high season rates are out of line with what it is. One final gripe, and it's really a general one: when are hotels going to wake up and smell the coffee? Starbucks brand coffee is not a selling point for a lot of customers. Please consider another supplier. Read less