Hotel Grand Stark

Hotel Grand Stark opened in Portland's Central Eastside in 2021 inside a 1906 building that had spent eighty years as a furniture manufacturing plant before this conversion. The 57-room independent boutique hotel pairs minimalist-chic rooms with dining from Submarine Hospitality, the group behind Ava Gene's.

The place

Hotel Grand Stark occupies a three-story building from 1906 at 509 SE Grand Ave, in the Central Eastside — an industrial-turned-creative district across the river from downtown, well outside Portland's usual hotel cluster.

The concept

The building started life in 1906, but spent roughly eighty years as a furniture manufacturing facility before this project reimagined it as a hotel — a genuine adaptive-reuse story rather than a redecorated former hotel. During development the project was known as Hotel Chamberlain, and it opened under new ownership as an independent, pet-friendly boutique property positioned, in its own words, as an 'elevated reflection of the creative movements and quirky spirit of Portland.' Dining is handled by Submarine Hospitality, the restaurant group behind the well-regarded Ava Gene's, which gives the hotel a food-and-drink pedigree that most independent boutique openings in this room-count range don't have.

Dining & wellness

The hotel runs Little Bitter Bar for classic cocktails and small bites, plus Grand Stark Deli; Submarine Hospitality's connection carried over the project's original Bar Chamberlain concept, built around an all-natural wine list. A multi-use space called Study Hall serves as a lobby-adjacent spot for private meetings and small gatherings.