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Make Your Child's Next Party Epic at Embassy Suites by Hilton Portland

By Kimberly French, Publisher of Macaroni Kid Portland January 18, 2019

My family is always looking for different birthday and holiday party ideas. We’ve done just about every theme you can think of at pretty much every venue around town. I must confess, I do love having a party or get-together at a place other than my house so that I don’t have to deal with the mess; I especially like the venues that actually take care of the mess for you! I mean, what mom wouldn’t, right?

As my girls are getting older, they’re starting to move away from themes and large gatherings and are leaning more toward smaller, intimate get-togethers with one or two of their closest friends. Recently, my girls decided they wanted a Christmas sleepover party where they could just enjoy their friends’ company and do a little gift exchange. Still wanting to make it special and being the creative thinker that I am, I wanted to come up with a way to make it a bit more interesting than just your typical sleepover. But how? 

After a little thinking and exploration of my contacts, I came up with what I’d like to think is my best party idea yet: a sleepover in a two-bedroom suite at Embassy Suites by Hilton Portland! My grandmother has stayed there for years when she comes up to visit from Florida, so I was familiar with the property and all it has to offer. With three separate sleeping areas (two bedrooms and a living room area), my older daughter and her two friends could hang out in the room with two double beds, my younger daughter and her friend could have the living area with the pullout couch, and I’d have the king bedroom all to myself, including my own bathroom (the girls could share the other bathroom). Of course it wouldn’t hurt that each room also has its own TV! Indeed, this plan was going to be EPIC!

Once I told my girls my idea, they were so excited that they started planning right away. Which friends? What to bring? What would we eat? What else could we do? While they decided on the friends and on what to bring (lots of 18” dolls, crafts and board games it turns out), it didn’t take me long to figure out what to eat and do: order room service (complete with dessert, naturally) from Waypoint’s yummy menu and hang out at the pool/hot tub, of course! No cooking? My kind of party. Dirty dishes and wet pool towels? Taken care of the next day. Yes, this would also be a relaxing retreat for this mama. I made sure to pack a book and left my computer at home.

To say the least, my girls had an absolute blast. From the moment we walked into Room 614, we knew it was going to be a great time. The spacious living area with small kitchenette would be perfect at dinner time and for storing leftovers, but then would be a great little space for my younger daughter and her friend. They set it all up and pretended it was their apartment. So cute! Then they swapped gifts and donned their matching pjs! My older daughter and her friends immediately took over the smaller bedroom with two double beds and before much time had passed, it looked like there had been an explosion of dolls, beads, gifts and candy. It made me so happy to see them all having such a good time, and there were no screens being used, either!

We decided to head to the pool before dinner with the promise of a later swim, as well. I took my gaggle of giggling girls down to the spacious pool area, but not without a quick stop at the nightly Manager’s Reception for some Goldfish crackers first! Once they had their fill of crackers, they had plenty of energy for the pool and hot tub. It was such a pleasure to watch them all simply enjoy each others’ company and just be 8 and 11 year olds. No drama. No screens. Just good old-fashioned silly fun. I happened to also enjoy the fact that they are old enough so I don’t have to be on the edge of my seat all the time, so I enjoyed my book from the sidelines.

Despite all the fun the girls were having, our bellies told us it was time to retreat to the room for a while to eat some dinner. The Waypoint menu has so many goodies on it that we had a hard time deciding, so we ended up with nachos, two pizzas, chicken tenders and fries, a salad, plus three desserts to share between the 6 of us! Surprisingly enough, there wasn’t much left over!

We let our stomachs settle for a bit and all separated into our respective rooms for some quiet time. I peeked in at the little girls and they were doing a craft. Then I peeked in at the big girls and they were doing each others’ hair. I couldn’t have asked for a better evening.

It wasn’t long before we were at the pool again having one more swim, then we headed back for the night. At this point I did allow the TVs to come on and I thought it extremely endearing when I checked on the girls and on each TV was “Rudolph”--a timeless classic for all ages, including, apparently, third graders and sixth graders alike. Mind you, the TVs were on, but there was still action happening as the silliness continued for a little while longer before settling into our comfy beds. 

As I lay there in my king-sized bed, I couldn’t help but think about how fortunate I am to have such wonderful girls who have such sweet friends. It truly was an evening of memories to last a lifetime. As an added bonus, I had a great night’s sleep!

With morning came 6 growling bellies, so we all cleaned up and headed downstairs to the Waypoint restaurant for our hot breakfast, included with all stays at Embassy Suites by Hilton Portland.

 

Again, so many choices, so little stomach room! Not only are there hot and cold options, but there is an omelet station that is SO yummy. 

We found ourselves full once again, but not too full for one last visit to the pool and hot tub! I am so thankful I didn’t have to deal with cleaning all of those pool towels. Wet bathing suits . . . well, that’s another story. 

As my girls’ friends were picked up to go home that morning, they looked content, refreshed, and full of smiles. My girls declared that it was definitely the best sleepover party they’ve ever had. Happy kids, happy mama, happy life. 

I highly, highly recommend having a sleepover party at Embassy. You will not find a better deal for all that you get. For an average of $299 for the two-bedroom suite, you have your party space (suite) for almost 20 hours (compared to 1-2 hours for a typical birthday party venue), unlimited access to the spacious and accommodating pool and hot tub area, as well as an included meal (breakfast), room service for other meals (mention MACKID and receive 20% off your in-room dining order), housekeeping the next day (did I mention this is my favorite part?), and superb overall customer service. 

For more information on how you can create your own epic party at Embassy Suites by Hilton Portland,  call 207-775-2200. Tell them Macaroni Kid sent you!

I’d like to thank Brad Bosse at Embassy Suites by Hilton Portland for working with Macaroni Kid Portland to make this visit possible. I was provided the experience in exchange for this review and placement in the Macaroni Kid Portland Birthday Party Guide. All opinions and experiences are my own and 100% honest.