Columbia Gorge Hotel
Hood River, Oregon
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About the Hotel
On a bluff overlooking the Columbia River sits Oregonâ€(TM)s most exclusive Inn, the Columbia Gorge Hotel. Built in 1904 as the Wah Gwin Gwin Hotel (Native American for "rushing water" for the 208' waterfall on the grounds), the Columbia Gorge was painstakingly restored to its former level of grandeur in the early 1980â€(TM)s. Today, guests of the Columbia Gorge can delight in the breathtaking beauty of the river and surrounding landscape, while relaxing in the gracious comforts of an elegant and inviting hotel.
Location
Columbia Gorge Hotel
4000 Westcliff Drive
Hood River, Oregon
97031
Nearest Airport: PDX
Features and Amenities
- Activities
- Fishing
- Windsurfing
- Wine Tasting
- Business
- Meeting Rooms
Reviews for Columbia Gorge Hotel
Enjoyable visit.
The history is especially interesting. The front desk young lady was awesome (long, dark hair). All the dining room servers were great, as well as the pianist. We enjoyed breakfast and coffee by the fireplace. Basically we had a good visit.
Aurelia W
Valentines Weekend
The room was fine, and we could see the river out the end window. Bed was comfortable. Staff was pleasant. The building was built in 1921 and has had a bevy of famous Guests stay there over the years. The grounds were mainly covered in snow. They have wonderful lighted gardens on the Freeway side of the hotel and river views for rooms facing north and on the ends. A small irritation that I finally adjusted the next day was the motion detector closet light. I had my suitcase in there and the motion light was apparently on the 10 sec setting before going dark. Took out the two screws and moved the dial to the "+" direction. We should've also checked the mini fridge setting because our dinner leftovers were frozen solid the next day. Adjusted that too. We stayed there 2 nights over Valantine's weekend because we knew that the Piano Bar person, Ted Horwitz played Friday and Saturday nights. He's awesome and we highly recommend going to listen to Ted play. He was playing the dinner crowd rather than the lounge and had to tone it down it bit, which is understandable. We made reservations for the 2/14 Valentine dinner, which had a $100 pp charge for food. The restaurant appeared to be at capacity, and we seemed to get off to a good start with the Maitre d' serving our drink and 1st round of hors d'oeuvres. We knew the meal would stretch out through the evening and were being entertained by Ted and his piano. However, apparently a fairly large lack of communication had occurred because after almost 2 hrs, we realized that the people seated after us were finishing with their entrees, and we hadn't been served our second hors d'oeuvres. Interestingly, the Maitre d' walked past our table all night and didn't seem to notice our basically empty table. Once it was figured out there were many apologies, and we were compted half. We had dinner in Town Saturday night and then upon our return hung out in our room while my girlfriend read out loud a series of Guest posts regarding their Ghostly experiences while at the hotel. She likes that kind stuff, and we did have a conversation re why the motion detector closet light kept going on/off our first night even though there was only a tiny crack in the door from being fully closed. Afterwards, we went down to hear Ted play some more. Only 3-4 couples and we danced a couple times since no one was having dinner in the main room. I will say that we had a wonderful breakfast on Sunday morning with a view of the snow coming down and the Columbia River. Our waitperson Micah was excellent and volunteered out of the blue to comp our coffees because no one greeted us when were there figuring out whether we were supposed to wait for someone to seat us. It's a great, historic hotel with wonderful grounds (when not under snow) and ample dinner and lounge space for meals and meeting other folks, including a basement ballroom area for catered events. No pool or hot tub but there is a spa treatment place attached to the building. We enjoyed our stay but will probably stay at other places in Hood River during future visits, as this was $300/night (after taxes, fees and Hospitality/Grounds fees and also being Valentine's Weekend). My girlfriend says she remembers an incredible Brunch at the Hotel years ago and we understand that "it" will return in the Spring 2025. We will probably check it out if we're in town.
Scott H
Cool historic hotel with great views
Cool historic hotel with beautiful views. The view of Wah Gwin Gwin falls right below our window was an added bonus. Nice lounge with great fireplace. Trip Advisor is asking for 200 characters which is the reason for this last sentence including this word.
andrewber - Portland, Oregon
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
Our entire stay was excellent from start to finish. Staff was accommodating and informative. The food in the dining room was very good and reasonably priced with an excellent waiter. Our room was clean, and the bed was comfortable. The only downside was the decorating of the rooms, lobby, and especially the bar area was as if it was done by Home Depot and Target. The lighting throughout (fixtures included) was way too harsh. The entrance was not welcoming. The grounds were not up to the level I remembered several years ago. Whoever decorated the hotel did not even attempt to match the uniqueness of the building and it's time period. A grand fireplace with a pathetic gas flame is just one example. I'm not a decorator but just have an appreciation for such a potently great property for the want of (granted some serious investment) of love and care. Ron Royse
Ron R - Tigard, Oregon
Lovely hotel, great service
The hotel is beautiful, very clean and well maintained. The staff is super friendly and helpful. Ate breakfast at the restaurant, the food was excellent as was the service. The river view, waterfall and the grounds are wonderful - the holiday lights are a nice special touch.
Sonja A
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I purchased a package at the Columbia Gorge Hotel, Hood River, OR. We live only 70 miles from this venue, but we were surprised at how little we knew about the area. The room, meals and other amenities were outstanding. The Hotel staff was very friendly, helpful and they went out of their way to fulfill our every need. This made a very wonderful 46th wedding anniversary.
-E. Perry
My husband and I stayed at the Columbia Gorge Hotel last October. We thoroughly enjoyed the hospitality of the hotel, including the wonderful dinner along with the bountiful breakfast each morning that was also included. The spa package was also quite a treat.
-C. Landry
