Holiday Inn Portland – Columbia Riverfront Reviews

We first found Red Lion on the River because we were looking for just that -- a venue on the river. Specifically a hotel on the river that allows dogs. Given that our families and most of our friends were coming in from out of town we thought getting married at a hotel would be the easiest thing. We also wanted to include our beloved dog in our nuptials so we needed a place that was set up for him. Red Lion checked all of those boxes.

Lisa and her team were very responsive and accommodating through the entire process. She held my hand through all of the covid ups and downs and took every over the top request I had seriously. She's an excellent problem solver which made our day go off without a hitch.

Part of our package included a presidential suite for my bridesmaids and me to get ready in and then turn into a honeymoon suite later. That presidential suite is really nice. It's larger than our townhouse - seriously! It has 2 bathrooms with a very fancy tub and was the perfect space for getting ready. We got some really great photos from that. Additionally, they were able to upgrade my husband to the same style of suite in the opposite wing so he and his friends got the same kind of treatment/getting ready space. If you have a large bridal party - or even if you don't - a large getting ready space is highly recommended. It has a little dining room area and living room area so my nana, mom, mother-in-law, aunts, and cousins were able to come in and out that morning while we had breakfast and mimosas. Plus there was plenty of space for our last minute decor stuff we had to put together.

Speaking of last minute things. We got married right in that little Covid window where things were going from back to normal and then back to Covid restrictions. Lisa was great about listening to me vent and she and her staff were able to work with us on last minute vendor changes and guest cancellations which we really appreciated. They were just so helpful and understanding.

The food was amazing - highly recommend the empanada as one of your hors d'oeuvres. We desperately wanted to attend our cocktail hour but of course that's sometimes hard to do as the bride and groom. The waitstaff made sure we got some bites and drinks before our grand entrance, though. Really, the waitstaff went above and beyond. My grandpa was using a mobile scooter for the day which made it difficult for him to reach the table. They were able to bring him his own little set up to make it easier for him which we really appreciated. Especially because we hadn't thought about it prior.

Finally, the cherry on top. Lisa filled our fridge with the left over hors d'oeuvres for us to enjoy after the wedding. Even though our food was amazing I hardly ate (nerves/excitement) so as soon as the wedding was over I was starving. Some crab cakes and empanadas to end the day was what we didn't know we needed.

Red Lion on the River was the perfect backdrop for our ceremony, wedding photos, and the reception. Our photos turned out great which is really what you're left with at the end of the day.

Highly recommend!

Though my experience with the Red Lion on the River has not been for weddings, the facility is perfectly situated on Hayden Island in the Columbia River in Portland, OR. It is central to northern Oregon and southern Washington for your local guests. It is a huge facility that can support all of your guests and the largest of weddings in one location. There is ample shopping and restaurants a short distance away. It is only about 20 minutes from PDX for folks flying in, which is a short UBER or Lyft ride away or an easy drive. Further, they have been very accommodating for my meetings, very flexible and within my budget. The food from the Banquet Department is great here too and reasonably priced! Finally, the stunning views of the Columbia River and Mount St. Helens is the perfect backdrop to impress your guests. I encourage you to consider this as your facility of choice. S.A.M.

Nicole is great! Very friendly! Helped us accommodate for all our special cultural dishes we wanted included! Felt like she was an old friend! Overall had an amazing wedding day! She’s the best! Loved all of the service at the Red Lion!

On July 15, 2017 we were married at the Red Lion Hotel-Jantzen Beach Portland, OR. We couldn’t have been happier. Our event coordinator, Nicole Noyes is the BEST. She was very responsive to our emails, questions, accommodating, and personable. She guided us through the entire process from beginning to end. My bridal party and I was allowed access to a room to use the day before of our wedding to make the centerpieces and the hotel also had the grand ballroom all setup early. This gave us more time to do the décor. We had missed a few minor details on the day of and Nicole stepped up to the plate. She helped set up our ceremony signs and even took care of the toppers and floral for the wedding cake. We were so clueless when it came to the ceremony procession that luckily we had Nicole there for guidance. Nicole was especially so patient and understanding she made sure we had plenty of time during our traditional tea ceremony as we greeted over 600 guests at the front the door. The grand ballroom was absolutely spacious with a gorgeous backdrop of the Columbia River. Nicole and her catering staff did a wonderful job! The food was delicious and plentiful. We are all so pleased!

Great. We held our rehearsal dinner here. They gave us a dinner room with a view and access to the band that was playing later that night. The service was quick. No delays in drinks. The rooms were spacious.

Brenda Vasile, the director of catering at the Red Lion gave us the king's sized lion's den presidential suite , normally $299 pr nite for $109 a nite for 3 days. This is a huge suite with 1 very large dining rm and a living rm and wet bar w/ marble counter tops and bthrm. Attached is the private king sized bdrm w/ a huge bthrm that has a jetted hot tub for 4, 2 sinks, shower, and an area for phone calls. The reception rm has a view of the Columbia river as does the restaraunt/bar. The food in the restaraunt is excellent.