In late October 2025 while out briskly walking I tripped at the edge of a high curb and catapulted out into the street sideways in an extremely hard fall fracturing my pelvis in two places. Though admitted to the hospital, I had apparently been placed in some “observation” unit which ultimately due to insurance rules did not qualify me at discharge for skilled nursing. The hospital knew I couldn’t go home (live alone, bathroom up a bunch of stairs etc.) and I could neither walk nor drive, so I basically had nowhere to go. While laying in bed at the hospital, I imagined the kind of space I needed for my rehab and started looking online. While I had never been to this hotel, I had a past experience with a Marriot Residence during an ice storm and power outage in Portland and remembered the spaciousness of the room. My support team of friends to get me to appointments and bring supplies mostly lived in East Portland, so I looked there. The hospital, who due to my pelvic fractures, instability, and extreme risk for potentially new falls during my stay, had put a bed alarm on my bed and not allowed me to even use a bedside commode without one or two nurses helping, was now pressuring me to get out all in a two hour window knowing I had nowhere to go. I was really scrambling all while stuck in bed. Finding this hotel online,
I called and spoke with Melanie who patiently worked with me to find and book a room with ADA accommodations. My friend came and got me from the hospital and took me out there and thus began my five and a half week stay at the Cascade Station Marriot Residence.
What an absolutely amazing experience! The kindness, care, positivity, helpfulness and overall friendliness of the staff….and I do mean all of the staff was remarkable! There wasn’t one person there who wasn’t pleasant, friendly and kind! Not being a huge traveler, but just someone who due to circumstances needed a safe place to rehab, I couldn’t have asked for a better place! It’s right on the last Max stop before PDX airport which was convenient for the many pilots and flight crew members who seemed to stay there who I often saw at breakfast. Parking ample and Target is conveniently next door for access to food, pharmacy and other needs. My room had a small kitchen with everything supplied other than an oven. The floor plan was spacious, carpeted, and great for my walker. There were many grab bars in the large open bathroom. Breakfast is available daily and delicious….I mostly ate the oatmeal which had lots of healthy add-ons you could choose, but there was also delicious scrambled eggs, turkey sausages, waffle maker, and breakfast sandwiches. Oat milk too! My assigned Home Health PT and OT therapists were able to visit me and start working with me in my room, and I got lots of practice with my walker in the long carpeted hallways learning how to use crutches safely on stairs with rails under the direction of my Home Health therapists. After several weeks I got strong enough to practice crutching on uneven ground and I often would start the day outside in a landscaped strip or by a beautiful toadstool patch by their mini basketball court. There’s a small indoor pool and whirlpool which I started to use after I knew I could get myself out on my own, and an adjacent exercise room with treadmill and stair gizmo. I didn’t use any of those things of course as just ambulating was a chore. The place is quiet and that was incredibly healing for me as I slept a lot in the first few weeks of my recovery.
Daniel the manager was so kind to me. Obviously I had arrived under such unplanned circumstances and he worked with me to reduce the daily charge as my need to stay grew longer. Pelvic fractures take a very long time to heal as they can’t be isolated and casted. So while I thought, “oh I’ll be up and around in a week or so”, reality soon set in, that I couldn’t walk at all unassisted and I realized the 12 week recovery time just for the fractures was quite accurate. So the hotel became my de facto “skilled nursing facility” and place I could rest, knit bone, exercise to tolerance and most of all safely shower, ambulate with walker or crutches and not fall again.
I really need to stress how welcoming, caring and friendly the staff is…from all the Front Desk persons, the delightful housekeepers, Debbie and everyone in the kitchen, the shuttle drivers, and the two-member maintenance guys. Really..it was *everyone*….they made what was a very challenging situation for me, so bearable. They were so accepting of me wandering around with my squeaky and clunky hospital-bestowed walker and they possessed that beautiful blend of leaving you completely alone but you knowing they were available should you need anything. It truly was like living in a safe and enveloped community and I could see by the quality of their work, the staff cared for each other and the hotel itself.
There’s someone at the desk 24/7 and the doors are key secured, though even with its proximity to the Max stop, the place was very safe, which really mattered to me as I felt so vulnerable outside while on my crutches. There are many planes going by of course…..but you don’t really hear them in the building..only the nearby F-15s on their once daily team excursions. I watched a lot of planes take off out my north facing window which I enjoyed.
Even though not recovered, I grew strong enough to transition home yesterday and while my cat is happy to have me back now recuperating at home, I would rather have stayed longer at the hotel. But as we know, all good things must end. I did learn from this experience, living in community might be in my future,
How would I rate my experience at the Marriot Residence at Cascade Station? 100/100. Thank you Daniel, Melanie, Ryan, Debbie, Maria, Nadia, and all the housekeepers, drivers, cooks, maintenance and admin persons. You made an unfortunate, life-changing situation not only bearable…but healing. Thank you.
US