http://www.oregon.com/
Cool thing Number One: It looks like an old motor inn, because it once was. That was in 1964, when motor inns were in fact the coolest thing going, but for different reasons. Then it got way seedy: Drugs, hookers, jaywalkers and other assorted riff-raff. It was resurrected in 2002 when proprietors Kelsey Bunker and Tod Breslau bought the property, hosed out the creepy elements and transformed it into its present hip self.
Cool thing Number Two: The complimentary chocolate on your pillow has been replaced by a complimentary condom. They come in a rainbow of colors and are packaged with the Jupiter logo. Use it or lose it. An ounce of prevention. Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? “The owners really wanted to create a place where the community could come together and people could have fun,” says Al Munguia, the General Manager who oversees this bastion of high trendworthiness. The Jupiter’s 80 guest rooms, he points out, have either a wall of cool, hand-painted bamboo plants from floor to ceiling, or an awesome mural. One design features a large, golden Buddha on the wall; another has Marilyn Monroe; a third features a cool nature scene, like Monument Valley. The guestrooms have all undergone recent renovation, with flat-screen televisions and iPod docks added to new headboards to go with the cool, low, minimalist platform beds. There are green shag pillows and enormous mirrors, and the chalkboard doors will always remain (“This space taken”; “I’m a Virgo, what are you?”; “Warning: I Brake for Doughnuts”) The Jupiter was at the forefront of the renaissance of its neighborhood, just across the river from downtown Portland on East Burnside Avenue. Once a place where you could practically cut the urban grime with a knife, LoBu, or Lower Burnside, is now a very cool place to hang your hat. Restaurants like the fabulous, French Le Pigeon and the wine-mecca Noble Rot are right around the corner from the hotel, and Doug Fir, the very cool coffeeshop and nightclub, with peeled log décor that would make Abraham Lincoln proud, anchors the nightlife scene. Touring acts the world over play the Doug Fir, and on weekends especially the club draws a lively, young crowd straight to the Jupiter’s parking lot. They hang out in the very cool concrete courtyard, covered by a white tent in the winter, with its white lounge furniture, free WiFi and stage. The Jackalope Tattoo Studio keeps late hours for the occasional impulse purchase, and the Wack Hair Salon works its magic on Portland heads. A fire pit makes for a lively party scene into the late hours, and the Dream Box is a meeting room with a built-in projector, bamboo floor and enormous chalkboard for brainstorming only the best ideas.
Cool thing Number Three: It just may be the only hotel in the world whose logo wear, available for purchase, includes beanies and thongs.
Cool thing Number Four: After midnight, any unsold rooms are made available for a flat rate of $59, excellent for those who don’t aspire to make the DUI roles, and the better to get to know you, my dear.
Check it out; you’ll thank your innermost bad self. For more photos, check out
http://www.oregon.com/Jupiter_Hotel
THE JUPITER HOTEL, 800 EAST BURNSIDE, PORTLAND, OREGON, 97214; 877-800-0004 or 503-230-9200; www.jupiterhotel.com
