While we enjoyed the rest of our stay at the hotel, including the adjacent "Gather Food & Drink" lounge, the Multnomah Grille is this DoubleTree Hotel's Achilles' heel.
I sort of guessed this going in. A convention-style hotel, the main offering for breakfast is a buffet. I knew better, and had counseled my traveling companions to avoid it. But there was the one morning where our timing was off and we didn't want to stray ... and so we succumbed. What a letdown in such a breakfast-y town as Portland.
While they offer an a la carte menu, clearly the buffet is the focus. There are two buffet prices: one for continental, and one for everything. Our server, though we had menus, presumed we were going to the full buffet, took juice/drink orders, and was off.
And almost never came back.
He did return after clearing other tables and serving just about every one else in his area ... finally bringing the cream for our coffee (which was getting cold), and the wrong juices (two orange juices instead of one apple juice), meaning he wasn't even paying attention to that one detail. It's a breakfast buffet; this should not be this difficult for a server. He seemed in the weeds the whole time, which seemed odd given he had almost no responsibilities. (Well, he would have had responsibilities if he was checking to see if people actually wanted the buffet, or would have preferred items from the a la carte menus still sitting on our table.)
There were a few not-the-usual kind of items on the buffet (a premixed berry smoothie, and a mixed-fruit parfait stood out), although they had a very hard time keeping any of it stocked -- and they were not even close to busy. They were more than willing to let things run out before even thinking to replenish.
There was a "make your own omelette" promise for the price, and ingredients were present -- but no clear way to make said omelette, nor anyone to ask.
I can't speak to other meals, as we never tried lunch or dinner. I was afraid to.
If you're here, do yourself a favor and walk a couple of blocks to someplace awesome like J Cafe, or a bit farther to the popular Cadillac Cafe. You'll enjoy it and save a lot, too. read more