How Attendees Find Mindfulness in Portland
With luxury spas, forest bathing and llamas, these wellness offerings help attendees recharge.
Between crowded schedules and stressful travel, it can be all too easy for meeting and convention attendees to overlook their wellness and fitness habits. Thankfully, visitors to Portland have access to countless ways to relax, reset and recharge.
It starts the minute you arrive in Portland. Nestled within the city, you’ll find lush green spaces. Surrounded by shaded Pacific Northwest forests, Portland is packed with sprawling parks (like Forest Park and Washington Park) that offer everything from the tranquility of the Portland Japanese Garden to quiet trails for peaceful forest bathing. Even when you aren’t in one of Portland’s abundant natural areas, there are numerous ways to keep up your fitness routine or get a breath of fresh air — like our city’s bike-sharing program, or the 2-mile loop that runs through Portland’s Waterfront Park. A short walk from many downtown hotels, it takes pedestrians and cyclists along the Willamette River, the Eastbank Esplanade and the automobile-free Tilikum Crossing bridge.
In Portland, we go a bit further, with luxury spas, healthy food, and secluded forests all quickly accessible from the city’s urban center. Forest Park, one of America’s largest urban forest reserves, is a short Uber or Lyft ride from downtown, and features over 80 miles of hiking trails through verdant forest where lush sword ferns carpet the ground, bright streams rush down hillsides, and Douglas fir trees reach to the sky. And after — or before — a walk in the woods, Portland’s restaurants offer food that’s both healthy and delicious. (There’s a reason Wallet Hub has repeatedly named Portland the country’s friendliest city for vegans and vegetarians.)
If you’re looking to relax in a more refined setting, Knot Springs spa — located in a bustling part of Northeast Portland near the picturesque Willamette River — offers gorgeous views of the downtown skyline as it envelops visitors in hot tubs, a sauna, steam room, and cold plunge, along with massage and skincare treatments and yoga, pilates, TRX and HIIT classes.
In downtown Portland, atop the new Ritz-Carlton, Portland, the hotel’s spa and wellness space, Cloudbreak on Nineteen, offers visitors a different view: that of the striking Cascade Mountain Range. Cloudbreak on Nineteen welcomes visitors to the Rose City with a peaceful, intentional space that’s inspired by the unfolding petals of a rose and features the Hidden Lake Infinity Pool, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows.
Another new luxury retreat is Cascada, located in the Alberta Arts District, one of Portland’s hottest neighborhoods. A lavish, 129,000-square-foot, LEED Platinum-certified wellness sanctuary, Cascada is as sustainable as it is immersive. The retreat features 100 flex stay units, Portland’s largest hydrothermal spa, a solarium kept at 82 degrees, and underground pools that use purified water and natural minerals to bring the healing qualities of natural hot springs to the city. Guests also enjoy yoga, meditation, group fitness, sound healing, and a Hydrothermal Circuit designed to release endorphins.
Portland’s wellness options aren’t limited to spas and the outdoors. For qualifying citywide groups using the Oregon Convention Center, Travel Portland offers wellness services to make attendees’ visits more calming, lighthearted and enjoyable, with everything from Zumba classes to sound bath sessions to a delightful visit with Portland’s local therapy llamas.
Credit: Nick Mendez, nickmendez.com
Yes, you read that correctly. Soft, kind-hearted llama pals inspire higher levels of happiness and joy that attendees have to experience to believe.
With even more wellness opportunities to explore, Portland is a city committed to ensuring time spent here isn’t just enjoyable and productive — it’s also rejuvenating and restorative. And, sometimes, that means a llama or two.
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