Woodlark Hotel: Portland Heritage with Modern Polish
Two historic buildings, one stunning new Portland chapter
Where History Becomes Contemporary Urban Elegance
Portland is famous for quirk — but Woodlark proves it can also do refined urban glamour. This 150-room boutique hotel merges two National Historic Register buildings — the 1908 Cornelius Hotel and the 1912 Woodlark Building — into one, with an architectural marriage orchestrated by R&A Architecture & Design, Oculus Inc, and Smith Hanes. The result is a hotel that honors the bones of the past — metal mansard roofs, classic proportions, stone and brick profiles — while quietly layering in the contemporary calm of modern luxury.
Interiors with a Cinematic Finish
Inside, the material language is polished, sexy, and meticulous: brass inlays, black lacquer accents, grey timber floors, and hand-blown glass lighting. Ten-foot leather sofas anchor the social space with warmth and scale. And the rooms? Quietly dramatic. Monochrome palettes elevated by emerald headboards, sapphire upholstery, and subway-tiled bathrooms with MiN bath products. The 20-foot-high loft suites on the third floor are the hotel’s flex moment — spiral staircases in steel and wood that feel like modern sculpture.
A City Hotel That Actually Lives Like a City Hotel
Location matters — and Woodlark sits perfectly between downtown and Burnside, steps from some of Portland’s best dining, boutiques, galleries, and yes, Powell’s City of Books. But you also don’t need to leave the building to taste the city. Bullard — a Texas-meets-Oregon mashup by chef Doug Adams — anchors the culinary offering, with kolaches at breakfast. Good Coffee is the kind of café that actually earns its name. Abigail Hall is a petite, sexy cocktail bar that feels like a place you slip into when you want to disappear into a velvet booth with people who can hold a conversation. And because this is the West Coast — wellness matters: barre3 workouts in-room, Peloton in the gym. And yes: Salt & Straw pints on the room service menu.
DNA Hotels Verdict
Woodlark is Portland’s elegant alter ego — a hotel that proves heritage can be a platform for contemporary style, not a costume. Consider it the polished counterpoint to the city’s eccentric tropes — cosmopolitan, quiet, beautifully detailed, and deeply local. A proper city stay — with substance in the design and soul in the story.
