We had a fantastic experience staying with Tom. His guest room is in a basement, but it's very clean and bright with all new fixtures, so it doesn't feel basement-y at all. We happened to be visiting Portland on a particularly hot weekend, and the room stayed cool and comfortable even when outside temperatures approached 100 degrees. Tom provided EVERYTHING a guest might possibly want -- the room even has a refrigerator, microwave, and coffee maker. The bathroom is huge and the shower has great water pressure -- a real luxury compared to our apartment in Los Angeles. And the private entrance meant we could come and go at our leisure without worrying about disturbing anyone.

As for the neighborhood, it couldn't be better. We were visiting friends who live off Mississippi Ave, and Tom's house is not only within a couple of blocks of them, but even closer to everything on Mississippi -- shops, restaurants, bars, and some absolutely delicious food trucks.

We couldn't believe our luck finding somewhere this comfortable and convenient at such a great price. We would stay with Tom any time, and can't recommend his place highly enough.