The four of us (two 30-something couples) stayed in Ben's beautiful apartment for a weekend. We absolutely loved our stay. The apartment was beautifully decorated, spacious, clean and located on a quiet residential street - yet Alberta St with all its cool bars and restaurants was just a 5-minute walk away. There is also a delightful local co-op grocery store. The kitchen was well equipped and there was also a washing machine and dryer available for us - very handy as we'd been on the road for almost 2 weeks. The bathroom had loads of products to use - another very handy feature.
In terms of location we really enjoyed being in the Alberta district; everything you need is there and there are loads of options for going out for food and/or drinks - however, the city centre was only about 10 minutes away by car and the airport 20 mins. We also drove out to the Columbia Gorge area - another 30 mins fro the apartment.
I would definitely recommend Ben's place for a stay in Portland.