The Press Hotel, Autograph Collection

As the name suggests, the Press Hotel is newspaper-themed. If a hip hotel with vintage journalist-inspired decor sounds like a concept ripe for Portlandia-style satire, reserve judgment for a moment and consider two things. First, we’re talking about the other Portland — the east-coast Portland, the largest city in Maine. And second, the place is steeped in real newspaper history. Located in the Old Port neighborhood, the corner building served as the headquarters of Portland’s Press Herald from 1923-2010. Now it’s a 110-room hotel, a member of Marriott’s Autograph Collection.

As anyone who’s ever been to Vegas can attest, it’s tough to pull off a theme hotel while retaining a certain level of sophistication. But the Press Hotel manages it. Some elements of the design scheme might have seemed a bit on-the-nose — the accents in black slate and white marble, inspired by newsprint, for instance, or the typefaces that resemble the fonts of an old-fashioned typewriter — but the look is so sleek, and the concept so well-executed, that it works. Guest rooms are modeled after 1920s-era newsroom offices, complete with retro writer’s desks, reeded glass doors, and smooth white Frette linens that, if you want to really get into the theme, call to mind blank sheets of paper. Technology, of course, has come a long way since the golden age of newspaper journalism: each guest room has complimentary wi-fi, a flat-screen TV, and multiple docking stations so you can charge all six of your mobile devices at once.

If the hotel's laid out like a masthead, low-level reporters would stay in the Superior Double with City view, and the publisher belongs at the top. The Penthouse Suite, in fact, occupies the same space that once held the publisher’s offices: in addition to a rooftop deck with sweeping views of Munjoy Hill and Casco Bay, the suite has a fireplace and a separate dining area. Downstairs, you’ll pass a letterpress art installation on your way for a stiff drink at the Inkwell lobby bar, or Union, the Press Hotel’s restaurant, serving classic American dishes with a gourmet farm-to-table twist.