We'll start with The Society Hotel; it's perhaps the most "Portland" of the hotels in our list on two counts. Firstly, it blurs the line between poshtel (a posh hostel), hotel and rental apartment in a progressive way that's just so typical of the city. Secondly, it's housed in one of the city's oldest buildings (it was originally founded in 1881 as a mariner's apartment complex) and is speckled with artfully distressed antiques and 19th-century spoils to prove it.

While the original Jupiter hotel has garnered a reputation as the city's go-to spot for thrill-seeking 20-somethings, Jupiter NEXT is its more grown-up sister property - a six-floor, modernist pad with more of a cocktail than tequila-chaser vibe inside. That isn't to say it's dull. Jupiter NEXT treats guests to views out over LoBu (that's Lower Burnside, it's A Thing) - one of Portland's less tourist-trodden but most lively neighbourhoods.

This riverside mansion is right in the heart of the city, though you'd never guess from looking out over the grassy Tom McCall Waterfront Park. If you grimace at the prospect of organised fun, perhaps look elsewhere. Expect to be invited to yoga classes, farmer's markets and spots of fly fishing. The staff here even invite guests to mingle over craft-beer tastings in the evenings - this is Portland, after all.

If you weren't already up to speed, "tiny house hotels" are happening - thanks in part to this place in Portland's bohemian Alberta Arts District. This cluster of whimsically decorated caravans started a nationwide trend for self-contained, eco-friendly huts which are filled with all the amenities of a house (albeit on a much smaller scale). They're impressive exercises in economising on space but maybe a little intense for the claustrophobic…

Rock up to the graffiti-splattered streets of any formerly up-and-coming destination and you'll find an Ace Hotel. We're not complaining. True to form, Ace's Portland outpost is peppered with retro-style fittings - a photo booth in the lobby, record players in each bedroom - and we're head-over-heels in love with the building's art-deco shell which dates back to 1912.

Design-savvy types should book a room at this 20s-style hotel when they're in town. You won't find any hipsters kicking back in the cool cloisters of this industrial yet luxurious pad in central Stumptown. Inside, it's a glossy prism of dark wood, reclaimed tiles and polished brass illuminated by hand-blown glass fixtures. Grab a table at its Bullard restaurant, where chef Doug Adams has combined the recipes of his Texan roots with the bounty of the Pacific Northwest.

Okay, The Hoxton might be a chain hotel so to speak, but it's a good one. Tucked just outside the red gates of Old Town Chinatown, its Portland outpost is a multicultural mishmash, decorated with European mid-century furniture and grounded by a Mexican restaurant which serves possibly the best tacos in the city. Don't just take our word for it…

Lovers of all things Scandi will be smitten with the design-driven hostel located in gritty East Burnside. There's a smorgasbord of pickled fish, cheese and capers for breakfast, Jolaglogg (an Icelandic mulled wine) stocked in the bar and a sauna (of course) in the basement. Upstairs, 14 private rooms and 15 shared rooms play with Portland's creative energy: headboards are refashioned from old fireplaces and the eccentric wallpaper is hand-drawn by a local artist.