The holiday season is here, and what better way to brighten your spirits than with a Holidate downtown! Every Thursday evening in December, cross things off your to-do list and have some fun with special discounts, free parking at SmartPark garages until midnight (enter between 4-6 p.m.) and live merry music sponsored by Portland Mall Management, Inc.
Get all the details for each week’s Holidate and make your holidays extra merry and bright!
Personally, I think that Portland has a lot of perks. There’s the great tax-free shopping, the quick-and-easy access to the great outdoors (hello Forest Park!), the drool-worthy culinary and liquid libation scene and above all, the welcoming buzz of activity.
Lan Su Chinese Garden by LaValle PDX
Portland Perks is also the name of Travel Portland’s exclusive hotel package. It includes your choice of more than 25 hotels; free overnight parking (an average savings of $25 for downtown hotels); complimentary continental breakfast for two and a discount-packed coupon book filled with savings like $20 off dinner at the Heathman Restaurant and 2-for-1 admission to the Lan Su Chinese Garden.
Portland Perks is a great deal year-round, but if you book a two-night stay from now until April 30, you’ll get $50 cash at check-in to spend any way you wish. This is only valid at selected hotels and you need to travel by the end of April.
Need some extra Portland motivation? Now through April 5, you can vote for your favorite Portland-inspired photo on Facebook. The winner will receive a two-night stay at a participating Perks Hotel, a $50 American Express giftcard and a Canon PowerShot SX130 IS digital camera for all those pretty pictures.
The Portland Farmers Market season begins on March 19.
The cooler months are a great time to dig out your ski gear, grab your favorite coffee mug and head to Portland. Now, the adventure is even more affordable with the Expedia Winter Sale, which lets you save up to 30 percent off your Portland hotel stay.
More than two dozen hotels are on sale from now until the end of February, for travel by March 31. There’s also extra incentive to sample what TIME magazine calls “America’s new food Eden,” compliments of $20 dining certificate valid at tasty restaurants RingSide Steakhouse and Portland Prime.
Looking for an excuse to visit? If the hotel savings, dining certificate and year-round tax-free shopping weren’t enough, Portland is filled with events and festivals during the winter season. (more…)
Grammy-nominated bassist Esperanza Spalding will perform at the Portland Jazz Festival.
The Portland Jazz Festival isn’t until February (Feb. 18-27, 2011, to be exact), but you can buy tickets and book hotel rooms NOW. And if you book one of the hotels supporting the festival, you can get an outrageous 50% discount on the best ticket package.
This year’s theme highlights Jewish and African Americans playing jazz together, with both a historic perspective and the inclusion of contemporary Israeli musicians. You’ll be able to go to a klezmer brunch or a gospel brunch — or, hopefully, to both! I’m hoping to see the Jewish community at the gospel events and the African American community at the synagogue for some klezmer music.
Stay tuned for more blog posts about the Jazz Festival.
Businesses and restaurants around Downtown Portland are offering up deals and doing good with their Compassion Coupon program, which runs through the end of September.
Under the program, users print off coupons for discounts and “extras” at participating shops and dining establishments. Then, for every coupon that is redeemed, $5 is donated to New Avenues for Youth, a Portland social services organization that works to provide education, job training and other outreach to young adults. It’s an all-around great program – in addition to Oregon’s lack of sales tax, shoppers get an even better discount or experience; the store gets the business; and the charity gets funding. Just in case you needed extra incentive to indulge in a little fall fashion …
There are people who love deals (Pretty much everyone, right?) — and then there’s Cheryl VanClacken. The host of the fictional morning show “Perk Up Portland!” lives to “help” local celebs sniff out bargains. Check out her videos for the lowdown on savings, Portland-style. One note: While Portlanders do enjoy saving money, few of us are quite as … enthusiastic … as Cheryl.
We will confess to being excited about this offer, though: Book at least two nights at a participating hotel and you’ll receive $50 cash at check-in to get you started on your shopping and dining. (Another bonus: no sales tax.)
In addition to $50 in cold, hard cash, you’ll get all the Portland Perks that Cheryl is so crazy about:
What are you waiting for? Book your stay by April 25, 2010, for travel by May 9, 2010.
Since I work for Travel Portland, many of my out-of-town friends and family ask me if I know of any secret deals on hotels, restaurants and activities in Portland (most of these people are beyond crashing on my couch, but still want to save a buck).
The answer? Of course I do. I always send them to Portland Perks, where they can get exclusive deals on more than 35 Portland hotels, free parking, free continental breakfast and the Portland Perks coupon book – more on that in a second.
But starting today, I can share an even sweeter deal. People who follow the Travel Portland Twitter feed can book a participating Portland Perks hotel with all the benefits and save an extra $50 off a two-night stay. (more…)
