If Paul Bunyan and Andy Warhol joined forces and went into hotel design, they could have dreamed up the Jupiter Hotel and Douglas Fir Lounge.
The Jupiter is an edgy, affordable boutique hotel that was created out of a two-storey, 1960s motel. The owners took a classic U-shaped motel and painted it white top to bottom. They turned the parking lot into a sleek courtyard with an outdoor fireplace and bamboo plants. And as the pièce de résistance, they added a glammed-up alpine lodge as a bar/restaurant, which is now one of the hottest live music venues in the state.
Opened in the fall of 2004, the hotel was named one of the 116 best new hotels in the world by Condé Nast Traveler magazine. GQ magazine ranked the Jupiter among the top four new (old) hotels in the United States.
Location
Directly across the Willamette River from downtown Portland, the LoBu - for Lower Burnside - neighbourhood has been revived from a dreary strip of gas stations and empty buildings into an artsy section of independent restaurants, cafés and boutiques.
Design
Jeff Kovel, the architect who designed the Douglas Fir Lounge, described the style as "Northwest modernism." Inside and out, the hotel's motif is white and crisp, broken up with colours or textures emphasizing elements of the Pacific Rim landscape. Lush green plants stand out in the white courtyard. A mural of giant daisies warms an otherwise austere room. An element of fun runs throughout the design - the slate doors of the rooms double as blackboards for doodlers, with chalk available in every room.
Ambience
Consider the Jupiter not so much a hotel as a gathering place for urbanites with a taste for the uber-hip. Locals and out-of-towners come to hang out. From noon on, beer and martini drinkers sit in the lounge and chat about music and newspapers. Bands in vans pull into the parking lot and move gear in. A well-coiffed coterie of guests mills about the courtyard. Visitors coolly browse the hotel's two gift shops - one a spartan collection of books, clothes and art, the other a discreet adult shop.
Clientele
Ultra-stylish twenty- and thirtysomethings sporting tattoos or eclectic handbags. The Jupiter draws a mix of music fans, nomads, artists and fashionistas. Families are nowhere to be seen. Pets abound.
Food and drink
The adjoining Douglas Fir Lounge, which functions as a separate business from the hotel, ranks among the most unique hotel bars in the United States. It's built like a large log cabin and fitted with furniture best described as a modern interpretation of a 1950s dive diner. Picture shiny black booths backed by walls of stacked Douglas fir pines. The restaurant opens seven days a week at 7 a.m., with a full breakfast menu, and closes at 2:30 a.m. Chefs offer a twist on traditional Northwest cuisine with signature items such as Idaho crunchy trout with spicy mango and lime sauces ($16) and the Fir burger ($9), a choice of flame-grilled meats topped with local cheese. The drinks list features an extensive selection of martinis, beers and wines. Downstairs, the Fir opens into a 300-person live-music club, currently Portland's it place to catch up-and-coming indie acts.
Rooms
The 80 rooms are decorated in a minimalist style and offer plenty of open space. Each has platform beds fitted with white sheets and fuzzy neon pillows, a small white desk and Eames-style chairs. The designers removed the doors of the old closets and turned the space into a floor-to-ceiling mural of a Northwest scene - a forest or a nighttime image of a bridge. Quirky touches include such things as lamps with female forms.
The bathrooms combine new stainless steel sinks with the original 1960s pastel bathtubs draped in shower curtains that depict Japanese animated characters.
All rooms have complimentary WiFi, cable TV, iPod ports, ear plugs, custom Jupiter Hotel condoms and the book The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (available for purchase).
While the rooms look attractive, they lack comfort: The mattresses leave much to be desired.
Service Staff are friendly and helpful. A request for a quieter room was dealt with immediately, with an upgrade and a reduced rate for the previous night.
The hotel offers amenities such as in-room spa and massage services. It also offers a "Love and Lust" package - a mix of thongs, hoodies, concert tickets, "luv kits" and candies delivered to your room.
Things to do
The Jupiter sits amid a growing number of tiny boutiques, vintage clothing shops and independent restaurants. A 10-minute walk east takes you to the up-and-coming 28th Avenue E area, with more shops, tiny galleries and Noble Rot, a wine bar/restaurant popular with local foodies. Over the bridge to the west is the downtown and the trendy Pearl District, about a 30-minute walk.
Hotel vitals
ESSENTIALS
Jupiter Hotel and Douglas Fir Lounge, 800 E. Burnside, Portland, Ore.; 1-877-800-0004; http://www.jupiterhotel.com
ROOMS AND RATES
One suite and 79 rooms ranging from $96 to $150.
TOP DRAW
Innovative minimalist design offers uber-hip appeal at bargain prices.
NEEDS WORK
Don't expect a great sleep. Noise carries over from the courtyard late at night, even on the "quiet side" of the motel. The mattresses feel like you are sleeping on an old pull-out couch.