Hyatt Place Portland Airport / Cascade Station

Although near the airport and convenient for business travelers on layovers, the Hyatt Place Portland Airport gets a fare of tourists. The common areas are clean and modern, from the sleek lobby with its plush armchairs and gray tiles to the bright cafe/breakfast area with floor-to-ceiling picture windows and a large planter full of bamboo.

The Hyatt Place is located in Cascade Station, a development near the airport that's full of hotels, chain restaurants, and big-box stores, including Best Buy, Target, Sport's Authority, and Portland's only branch of Ikea. The area has plenty of dining choices, including an IHop, a Red Robin, a sushi restaurant, and a Starbucks. The airport is a seven-minute drive away, and the hotel operates a free shuttle throughout the day and night. Downtown Portland is about a 20-minute drive (longer in rush hour) or a 30-minute ride on the Red Line of the MAX, Portland's light rail commuter train, which has a stop within a six-minute walk of the hotel.

The 136 rooms at the Hyatt Place are more or less identical -- the main differentiating factor among them is whether they have two queen beds or a single king. ADA-standard rooms are available, and rooms on higher floors cost more. All rooms come with 42-inch flat-screen TVs and the chain's trademark Hyatt Grand Beds. The rooms look as if they were designed for business travelers, but their pull-out sofa beds separated from the main sleeping area by half screens make them a good bet for families and groups of friends traveling together too. Amenities include mini-fridges, single-serve coffeemakers, and safes. Bathrooms are on the small side -- especially compared with the spacious living/sleeping areas -- and have narrow walk-in showers. Large vanity areas sit outside the bathrooms and have lots of drawer and counter space and big mirrors. Note that although planes fly close by overhead, the rooms have quadruple-glazed windows that make it possible to get some rest between flights.

Along with free parking and hotel-wide free Wi-Fi, the Hyatt offers four meeting rooms with Bose speakers and LCD projectors, the largest of which can seat 56 guests round-table style. There's also a small 24-hour fitness center with a couple of treadmills and an elliptical, along with a rack of free weights. The hotel's indoor pool is long enough for laps and has a wheelchair lift and a separate whirlpool hot tub.
The Hyatt offers a free breakfast at the Kitchen Skillet, which serves a rotation of breakfast sandwiches and hot meals along with pastries, cereals, juices, and Seattle's Best Coffee. While there's no actual restaurant, the hotel does have a small cafe/market with grab-and-go and made-to-order items, including soups, sandwiches, and pizzas. Its Coffee to Cocktails Bar offers what the name suggests, and while the cocktail menu is limited to a few classics, there's a large enough selection of spirits for most guests to custom order their favorite tipper. Starbucks espresso drinks are also available along with craft beer and wine.