Greetings from Portland, Oregon. Below is an update on the area’s newest travel-related developments. We hope you will find this information useful. If you prefer not to receive future media updates on Portland, please click here.

JULY TOPICS

Hotel News – Portland’s Ace Hotel Prepares for October Opening

Green News – Raz Transportation/Gray Line of Portland Converts Fleet to Bio-diesel

Spooky News – Portland’s Haunted Tours

Portland’s Ace Hotel Prepares for October Opening

On Oct. 1, 2006, the Ace Hotel Group will open a 79-room property in downtown Portland. The project, a renovation/transformation of an older hotel, will be a sister property to the original Ace Hotel Seattle. With room rates ranging from $85-$195 per night, the Ace is designed to appeal to travelers who crave quality but who are also mindful of their budgets. This demographic includes a growing class of creative professionals in the 25-50 age range who travel widely for business and pleasure. According to Ace co-founder Alex Calderwood – who, along with his partners, recently landed on a Time magazine list of top 100 innovators – the Ace Portland is the reinvention of “a classic downtown hotel, restoring a sense of history and place while reinterpreting those details for a sense of modern bohemia.” We’re not exactly sure what that means, but it sounds very cool. The Ace Hotel Portland is located at 1022 S.W. Stark St., Portland, Ore. 97205. For more information on the Ace Hotel Group, click here.

Media Contact: Ryan Bukstein, Media Relations, Ace Hotel Group, 206.850.8376, ryan@neverstop.com, www.acehotel.com

Raz Transportation/Gray Line of Portland Converts Fleet to Bio-diesel

Raz Transportation/Gray Line of Portland announced this month that its fleet of 64 motorcoaches, mini-coaches, shuttle buses, trolleys and transit buses will now be powered with a bio-diesel blend of fuel that is more energy efficient and friendlier to the environment than standard diesel fuel. According to Raz Transportation General Manager Paul Downes, the motorcoach operation is the first private transportation company in the Northwest to convert its fleet to this alternative fuel source. Raz/Gray Line of Portland is the company that offers Portland’s popular city tour, as well as trips to the Willamette Valley Wine Country, the Oregon coast, the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Mount Hood and other locations. For more information on Gray Line’s Portland tours, click here.

Media Contact: Paul Downes, General Manager, Raz Transportation, 888.684.3322, ext. 701, paul.downes@coachamerica.com

Portland’s Haunted Tours

Although short by East Coast standards, Portland’s history is long enough to have accumulated its fair share of ghosts and spirits. Travelers brave enough to seek out the city’s otherworldly inhabitants can board the Portland Haunted Tours’ shuttle bus for an introduction. Offering a guided journey through the city’s “dark and sordid past,” Portland Haunted Tours visit Cathedral Park, rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a young woman who was murdered there (before the park was created) in the summer of 1949; Pittock Mansion, where a childhood photo of Henry Pittock, the home’s original owner has been known to move about by itself; and other locations. Portland Haunted Tours depart at 8 p.m. every Friday and Saturday night and last approximately 2-2.5 hours. Guests must be 13 years of age or older to attend; advance ticketing ($30 per person) is required. For more information on Portland Haunted Tours, click here.

Media Contact: Haley Holmes, Co-owner, Portland Haunted Tours, 503.545.6090, info@portlandhauntedtour.com, www.portlandhauntedtour.com