"The second Ace Hotel and the first step in the oh-so-cool brand’s expansion, the Ace Hotel Portland can arguably claim to have launched the current boutique hotel craze. Though it sounds like a cliché in this age of thoughtfully designed hotels, the contemporary icon—opened in 2007 in the 1912 building that long housed the Clyde Hotel—was one of the first hotels designed to feel like a cool, culturally savvy friend’s home. It’s decorated with works by acclaimed local artists, outfitted with vintage furnishings and handcrafted decor (including signature Pendleton blankets), and staffed by trendy hipsters who point guests to the hottest underground music shows. Hometown hero Stumptown Coffee Roasters opened one of its first cafés here, starting a partnership that has since taken the coffee halfway around the world to the Ace Hotel London . In Portland, the café simply helped define the Ace as the epitome of cool, a reputation that has only been further cemented by the opening of a popular farm-to-table restaurant and a subterranean cocktail bar. The true measure of the Ace’s cool factor, however, is that the hotel was parodied on an episode of Portlandia ."
