The Story:After a long day of moving out of our apartment in Astoria, Oregon we got on the road and headed east. We decided we would stop for the night in area east of the Interstate 84/205 interchange in Portland since we knew if we went any farther the rates would be much higher and it was getting to be 9:30pm. I had stayed at the Troutdale Motel 6 a couple of times in the early 90's and figured it was a good place to spend the night.

The Troutdale Motel 6 is nicely located right off of Interstate 84 and has plenty of room for trucks which was nice since we had a 25' Penske truck.

Betty checked us in and have to say was probably the nicest front desk clerk I experienced in my many years of traveling. She was extremely friendly and outgoing and is a great asset to Motel 6. She gave us a room on the lower floor (hard to walk stairs after moving all day), and showed me a special place to park the truck.

The Motel:Well the motel is basic issue Motel 6. It is two stories in a figure 8 configuration. The motel is at exit 17 from Interstate 84. The motel does have some rooms with micro refrigerators, they have a coin laundry, coffee in the office, offer HBO, and it has an outdoor pool (yes you can use it occasionally in Portland).

The Room:The room is standard issue Motel 6. As you enter the room there is a desk to the right followed by a cabinet holding the 19" TV. To the left is the two beds separated by night stand. The beds where both full size beds. Straight ahead past the t.v. cabinet is the standard area for luggage and directly straight ahead from the door is the vanity and sink. The bathroom was left of the vanity holding the shower, another sink, and the toilet.

The Good:The shower! Since the last time I stayed at this Motel 6 in the early 90's they have replaced the showers. I always hated how small most Motel 6 showers where but this one had a huge new shower that even had a light in the ceiling of the shower. It was a much more pleasant experience taking a shower in this room.

The Bad: This room must have been a room designed for one bed but in order to have all rooms with two beds they forced two beds into it. This means that one bed is against the outside wall and the other is against the bathroom wall. Either way it makes it uncomfortable if two people are sleeping in the bed for the one toward the wall since they have to climb over the other person. (I almost never have to use the restroom at night so I let my wife have the side that was easy to get out).

Points Nearby: This motel is in a perfect location. It is right of Interstate 84 at the eastern end of Portland. It is at the western end of the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. The next major town is Hood River almost an hour away and because it is a major tourist city, the hotel prices tend to be high.

There is a McDonalds, Flying J Travel Center, and a Shari's Restaurant along the frontage road east of the Motel 6. The Columbia River Factory Outlets are just one block away, the Greyhound Park is just a few blocks away (although it may never see dog racing again), Mt. Hood Community College is just a few miles away and it is only ten miles from the Portland International Airport.

The Summary:The Motel 6 in Troutdale, Oregon (referred to as East Troutdale by Motel 6) is easy to access place to spend the night with reasonable rates. It offers the basics and like the Motel 6 chain in general does not have many thrills.

Recommended: Yes