Just kidding. Not quite the president's home, but looks quite similar (...at a fraction of the size). Portland's White House is a bed & breakfast located in east/lower northeast Portland. Yura and I stayed there Saturday night only and left after Sunday's breakfast, which was delicious by the way!
I arrived in Portland Friday night, but stayed at a hotel near the airport since my flight landed later. The White House (heh) was very accommodating and let us drop off our bags in the morning even though our room was not ready. I packed lightly, but my backpack was too wide to carry it around all day.
The house is very museum-like and it seems like they even give tours some days. There were lots of seemingly expensive and vintage things on the main floor.
This was our first time at a B&B and we were expecting a lot, especially after seeing the B&B Portlandia skit. Unfortunately, there were no creaky stairs, but there were some creaky floor boards in our bedroom. Also, the cookies were not real soap cookies, but that didn't stop Yura from calling them soap cookies anyway. (A comment on their cookies: it tasted like I was eating a buttermilk pancake smothered with sweet maple syrup... How is that?!)
The room, as well as the whole house, had a sort of... old-people smell. It sounds bad to say that, but I can't figure out how else to describe it, though the TIME suggests that it is a real thing. I think B&B's seem to attract the older crowd as evidenced by the other people who also stayed at the White House that weekend. Yura and I were the only people (except for two staff members) under 60, though it seemed like a small group of them knew each other and were staying at the B&B for some class reunion. It made for awkward times at breakfast... Another older couple came down for breakfast after we did and they didn't seem to know the group either, so we felt a bit more comfortable and less like an "outsider". HOWEVER, turns out the husband went to high school with one of the ladies in the group, so back to being outsiders Yura and I went...
So, breakfast--BREAKFAST(!) was delicious. We had apple strudel/cake covered with fruits and topped with whip cream and a side of bacon. It tasted so good and was very filling. I, unfortunately, did not finish it all (nor did I take pictures...).
Overall, I'm not so sure if I would stay at a B&B again. There seemed to be a detachment between us and the house. There wasn't much of a staff presence aside from the two working the kitchen and leaving in the morning was confusing. No one explained it to us, so we just left the room keys in a bowl by the front door. It didn't evoke a sense of comfort, likely caused by the seemingly delicate and expensive items in the house that didn't want to be touched as well as the presence of an older demographic that liked things quiet. We came back to the house around 7pm and the house was mostly dark, very quiet, and everyone seemed to already be asleep (I could hear the snoring through the walls...). We had to sneak upstairs and be quiet in our rooms to avoid making loud noises. I was also not fond of the smell which was strongly evident on the comforter and pillows... Aside from the house looking nice and the great breakfast, I don't think this place was worth the price ($177/night), sadly. I felt more comfortable in the hotel by the airport. Ah well, it was an experience!
I arrived in Portland Friday night, but stayed at a hotel near the airport since my flight landed later. The White House (heh) was very accommodating and let us drop off our bags in the morning even though our room was not ready. I packed lightly, but my backpack was too wide to carry it around all day.
The house is very museum-like and it seems like they even give tours some days. There were lots of seemingly expensive and vintage things on the main floor.
This was our first time at a B&B and we were expecting a lot, especially after seeing the B&B Portlandia skit. Unfortunately, there were no creaky stairs, but there were some creaky floor boards in our bedroom. Also, the cookies were not real soap cookies, but that didn't stop Yura from calling them soap cookies anyway. (A comment on their cookies: it tasted like I was eating a buttermilk pancake smothered with sweet maple syrup... How is that?!)
Hawley room desk with the [soap] cookies
We stayed in the Hawley room which was fairly small, but at least had its own bathroom. The bed was very tall and required me to jump on and off.
The room, as well as the whole house, had a sort of... old-people smell. It sounds bad to say that, but I can't figure out how else to describe it, though the TIME suggests that it is a real thing. I think B&B's seem to attract the older crowd as evidenced by the other people who also stayed at the White House that weekend. Yura and I were the only people (except for two staff members) under 60, though it seemed like a small group of them knew each other and were staying at the B&B for some class reunion. It made for awkward times at breakfast... Another older couple came down for breakfast after we did and they didn't seem to know the group either, so we felt a bit more comfortable and less like an "outsider". HOWEVER, turns out the husband went to high school with one of the ladies in the group, so back to being outsiders Yura and I went...
So, breakfast--BREAKFAST(!) was delicious. We had apple strudel/cake covered with fruits and topped with whip cream and a side of bacon. It tasted so good and was very filling. I, unfortunately, did not finish it all (nor did I take pictures...).
Overall, I'm not so sure if I would stay at a B&B again. There seemed to be a detachment between us and the house. There wasn't much of a staff presence aside from the two working the kitchen and leaving in the morning was confusing. No one explained it to us, so we just left the room keys in a bowl by the front door. It didn't evoke a sense of comfort, likely caused by the seemingly delicate and expensive items in the house that didn't want to be touched as well as the presence of an older demographic that liked things quiet. We came back to the house around 7pm and the house was mostly dark, very quiet, and everyone seemed to already be asleep (I could hear the snoring through the walls...). We had to sneak upstairs and be quiet in our rooms to avoid making loud noises. I was also not fond of the smell which was strongly evident on the comforter and pillows... Aside from the house looking nice and the great breakfast, I don't think this place was worth the price ($177/night), sadly. I felt more comfortable in the hotel by the airport. Ah well, it was an experience!
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