The Press Hotel, with Portland City Hall in the background

[Continued from my previous post: Riding the Amtrak Downeaster from Boston to Portland]

I booked a two-night stay at The Press Hotel, which is part of Marriott‘s Premium tier of hotels they call the Autograph Collection. I was intrigued by both its history and its present theme. The boutique hotel pays homage to its past identity as the site of the Portland Press Herald printing press by incorporating newspaper-themed décor throughout the six-story building.

the hotel is part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection
my room key
former entrance of the Press Herald
Press Herald is still in circulation
hotel entrance (119 Exchange Street)
letters spilled out on the carpet

To get to the hotel, I hopped on the Greater Portland Metro Bus #1 which was conveniently waiting outside the train station. A bunch of us were visibly surprised the fare into town was only $1. The perky bus operator clearly had seen this incredulous reaction before and reassured passengers as we boarded, “That’s right! Just a dollar!”

About 30 minutes later, I got off at the Portland City Hall stop. I took only about a dozen steps before reaching the entrance of The Press Hotel, where a smiling valet attendant greeted and helped me bring in my sole rolling bag.

As a lover of the written word, I was absolutely charmed by this hotel at every turn! It was a bit of a splurge, but completely worth it. It was just what I needed for my birthday getaway.

Speaking of which, I was in my room no more than 10 minutes when I’d heard a knock at my door. I opened it to find someone from the hotel with a special delivery of sparkling wine and a ‘Happy Birthday’ card! The surprise warmed my heart and made me feel special. 🥰

What I love about The Press Hotel

For starters, I love how the hotel is centrally located within Old Port. For instance, I was able to walk back and forth throughout the day to freshen up, change my clothes, and drop off all the touristy merch I bought before heading back out to explore more. It truly had a ‘home away from home’ feel! Complimentary daily newspapers (Portland Press Herald; Boston Globe; New York Times; USA Today) were available in the lobby, too.

I love this swivel chair!
birthday card and bubbly from the hotel
thick bathrobes and a quote by Marc Jacobs in the closet
large bathroom with rain shower
a quote by Joni Mitchell on the privacy sign
woodblock directional signs

I enjoyed the comfy bed, thick bathrobes, large bathroom, and luxurious rain shower. I thought it was cool how the blanket at the foot of the bed was made in Maine! One of my favorite pieces of furniture in the room was the swivel chair. Remember having to type “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” repeatedly to practice tapping each letter on a QWERTY keyboard? (I do, thanks to my beloved 7th grade typing teacher, Mr. Laird!) It was delightful to see that phrase embroidered on the swivel chair!

my new lobster friends on the blanket that was made in Maine
view of SWARM from the lobby

Designed by artist, Erin Hutton, SWARM is a permanent two-story typewriter installation at The Press Hotel. I was mesmerized by this artwork and viewed it from various angles. It took me a while, but I counted 70 typewriters on the wall!

Corona typewriter
book binding machine in the lobby
Royal typewriter
seating in the lobby
Underwood typewriter
typewriter cases

As Geoffrey Chaucer once wrote, all good things must come to an end… While waiting for the shuttle to take me back to the train station, I chatted with the valet attendant who told me about the 21-story building that’s being built, which will be among the tallest in Portland. As someone who’s accustomed to seeing skyscrapers crowding the San Francisco Bay Area skyline, this fact shocked me.

In turn, I shared how I learned (from the trolley tour I had taken the day before) how there are no billboards in the whole state of Maine. We agreed that’s part of the appeal of Portland: it has both a big city and small town feel!

giant Scrabble in game area
actual scale once used to weigh newspapers
bottled water everywhere
Inkwell is the hotel’s café
more woodblock directional signs
the hotel shuttle that took me to the train station

The Press Hotel will appeal to writers, publishers, editors, poets, literature lovers, journalists, librarians, and bloggers. The hotel definitely inspires writing! A few, minor quibbles I had: I wish there had been visitor logs for guests to write their impressions and feedback! I wish there had been liners for the trash cans in the room (where are writers supposed to discard their crumpled up balls of sh*tty first drafts?) 😉 The complimentary coffee was a bit weak for my taste, but the bottled water everywhere more than made up for it.

No one wore nametags, so I couldn’t identify anyone, but it didn’t matter: everyone was wonderful. Each member of the team made me feel like I was the only guest. I was impressed by their undivided attention.

I recommend The Press Hotel to anyone planning a visit to Portland, Maine. Even if you’re not into its newspaper-themed décor, its location in Old Port can’t be beat. The hotel is walking distance to the charming boutiques on Exchange Street, the historic main street called Congress Street, and of course, the restaurants on the working waterfront!

(More on my visit to Portland, Maine in my next post…)