The Commodore Hotel: Vintage Soul in the Heart of Astoria
Nautical nostalgia, hipster thrift energy, Oregon romance with salt air
Historic Brick, West Coast Wit
In downtown Astoria, inside a 1925 brick building that has watched fishermen, dockworkers, and counterculture creatives come and go, sits The Commodore: a small, charmingly irreverent boutique hotel that knows exactly what it is — and leans in. This is Oregon’s oldest city, but the energy here is not dusty heritage — it’s modern indie charm. The Commodore keeps the bones and the character but edits the experience into something clean, minimalist, and just the right amount of eccentric.
Small Rooms, Big Attitude
Rooms come in two moods: tiny “Cabin” rooms with shared baths and statelier suites with en-suites — but everything here is compact. Beds are crisp, linens are clean, design is unfussy. The vintage soul is not costume — it’s lived history: old-school apron sinks in Cabin rooms, keys with big retro plastic tags, pencil sharpeners in the rooms. Some rooms have river views. None have air conditioning (this is Astoria — the cold Pacific makes sure you don’t really need it). Earplugs are provided because historic buildings weren’t built for silence. This hotel knows itself and isn’t trying to be anything else.
Neighborhood Energy on Tap
Downstairs — Street 14 Café pulls immaculate Stumptown espresso in a light-filled space that hums like a creative campus. Breakfast is excellent. Coffee is free in the lobby in the mornings. From 5–8pm nightly — free samples of local beer. In a city full of vintage thrift, vinyl culture, bookstores, bars, and river-walk wanderings, The Commodore functions as a basecamp — not a cocoon. You sleep here. You live out there.
Astoria, Amplified
Step outside and you’re in the middle of everything — the riverfront, breweries, movies (yes — Goonies pilgrimage is a thing here), rain-swept coastal evenings, storm-watching seasons. This is not the sanitized, slick version of Oregon. This is the real Oregon — maritime history, creative downtown, salt-air moodiness.
DNA Hotels Verdict
The Commodore is the definition of charming, idiosyncratic micro-boutique: vintage-inflected, design-aware, affordable, located exactly where you want to be. It’s the hotel equivalent of a well-curated indie vinyl shop — niche, characterful, and entirely Astoria. For travelers who want to sleep in style without taking themselves too seriously — this is the spot.
