McMenamins Kennedy School Hotel - Wed., May 26 - Thurs., May 27, Days 5 & 6

Warning! I WILL go on and on and on about this hotel. Why? Because I think that it the most unique accommodation we’ve ever stayed at – it’s interesting and it’s FUN. A lot of fun. When was the last time that you stayed in a hotel that was so much fun you didn’t want to leave it? That’s the way it is in the McMenamins hotels.

McMenamins is a family/company that takes old buildings destined for the wrecking ball -- schools, nursing homes, even a “poor farm” and, while preserving the architectural integrity throughout, create wonderful, whimsical accommodations that go far beyond the sterile sameness of chain hotels boasting water slides and free continental breakfast in the lobby.

We stayed at the McMenamins Kennedy School Hotel – the old Kennedy School. It is in an established neighbourhood in Northeast Portland and has been part of the community since1915.

Original classrooms are split in two to form guestrooms. There are no TV’s but there are chalkboards. Bob and I had some great games of Hangman and X's and O's on ours. Nothing X-rated ... honestly.

The hotel is filled with art – it’s almost as much a museum as it is a hotel.

There are four pubs on site and a large restaurant. The pubs are all very unique in their style – there’s even a cigar pub where smoking is actually allowed! The restaurant features a crazy array of light fixtures – no rhyme, no reason – just random prettiness. A very small sampling of the craziness is pictured below. The courtyard off the restaurant features a huge fireplace with three giant chess pieces on top. In the evenings, people sit around the fireplace having drinks. It's nice.

The hotel boasts its own microbrewery on site and they do turn out some wonderful craft beers. The bartender at the Beachcomber Pub in Florence told me to order a “Rubinator” – a combination of their Ruby Ale and their Terminator Stout. Mmmmmmmm …. Hoppy-yummy! In fact, so yummy that I brought some home. The picture below is of one of the pubs -- it's the Boiler Room. It's like a Shop Class gone wild. The other pubs are the Detention Bar (the cigar bar), the Honours Bar (tiny) and the Cypress Room.

There is a beautiful outdoor hot soaking pool -- by itself, it can be described as an elegant ceramic work of art surrounded by lush gardens. It’s definitely well used, though we didn’t.

One of the coolest things that the hotel has to offer is the movie theater. For hotel guests, it’s free. For the public, it’s about $3.00. The theater holds about 300 people and has a full sized screen. Instead of standard seats, it’s furnished with sofas, love-seats, recliners, coffee tables, end tables. You can bring your jug of beer, or your bottle of wine in to sip while watching the movie and anything from munchies snacks to burgers and pizza will be brought to you. It is absolutely the most civilized movie experience ever. We saw “Shutter Island”.

On the second night, there was entertainment in the gymnasium – a four piece band. It was really neat – there were tables and chairs set up all around, and families – hotel guests and otherwise – were enjoying the music with some drinks and snacks. Little kids were up dancing.

The hotel has beautiful gardens all around it. Behind the property is a community garden as well. The plants and trees that surround the hotel, and are present in the courtyard and around the soaking tub are beyond spectacular.

What I really noticed and appreciated is that the hotel is very much integrated and welcomed into the neighbourhood and the neighbourhood is welcomed into the hotel. People from the neighbourhood and beyond come to enjoy a pint, or a meal. For a small price they can enjoy the movies, the soaking tub and the events in the gymnasium.

McMenamins Kennedy School Hotel was absolutely one of the highlights of an already fabulous trip. By the way, this particular hotel was voted #1 Quirkiest Hotel in America by TripAdvisor – but that’s quirky in a really, really good way. We definitely want to return!