My girlfriend and I were visiting Portland for the first time, and we found Margo's Artisan Sanctuary to be a charming escape. While this unit is connected to Margo's house, it still has its own entrance and offers a lot of privacy. The space itself has a big and well-stocked kitchen (Margo left us coffee, eggs, juice, cheese, toast, jam and enough ingredients to make breakfast everyday), which was perfect for the times we opted to cook and not eat out. The bedroom was huge yet cozy, and had a very comfortable queen-size bed, a couple of beautiful chairs, a desk for writing, and enough closet space to bring our entire wardrobe over with us (which we almost did). The entire place was beautifully decorated, and the fact that Margo, who is a carpenter, worked on it and built a quite a few of the furniture pieces makes it even more charming. We honestly did not want to leave.

Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to meet Margo in person as she was out of town during our stay, but she was easily accessible by phone and was always very responsive. But we did have the pleasure of hanging out with Daisy, the friendliest cat in the world. In addition to leaving us food and ingredients to cook, Margo also left behind extra pillows, blankets and towels, a couple of bikes, plenty of books to read and anything you might think of. It really felt like home, but way cooler.

In terms of location, Margo's house is very close to bus stops that will take you to different parts of the city, and it is only a short walk to N Williams and N Alberta streets, which are full of shopping and dining options. Despite its proximity to these lively streets, the neighborhood was very quiet. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and are looking forward to visit again.