Pros:
- Crane Hot Springs is a beautiful, developed hot spring. It features a very large hot spring pond, as well as some lodging units that have in-room hot tubs, and you can rent private soaking tubs in the bathhouse for $15/hour. The private soaking tubs are really nice - it feels rustic, charming, meditative. The big pond has less of a sanctuary vibe and more of a hotel pool vibe with people splashing around with styrofoam noodles. The water is good and hot.
- There's free coffee all day in the nice little community room.
- If you hit it on a day when there are not a lot of RVs with loud generators, the campground can be very peaceful.
- This part of the world is stunning: beautiful high desert, mountains in the distance, migrating birds stopping at nearby Malheur Wildlife Refuge. It's beautiful.
Cons:
- The Sage Inn rooms are really low quality and I will not stay in them again. Even at the price point of $89/night (regular price) and $123.75/night (holiday price), they still don't feel worth the money. Our room did not have even a table or chairs in it, nowhere to lay a book or sit and play cards or anything. Literally just a bed and a dresser that didn't have a knob on the drawer which made it hard to open and close. The walls are so thin you can hear people in the next room snoring. We were woken up at 7am by the sound of a dog barking incessantly in the next room. There are no bathrooms, running water, or kitchens in the Sage Inn rooms, which is made clear on the website.
- The port-a-potty by the Sage Inn rooms does not seem to be cleaned or drained regularly, it was almost overflowing.
- There are no lights leading the way from the Sage Inn to the rest of the resort.
- The Camp Kitchen smelled bad to me, like old bacon grease.
- This place is really a huge RV parking lot, at least these days. I'm sure that's a pro for RV owners, but it's not for people who want a quieter experience without the sound of generators. A lot of developed hot springs are surrounded by campgrounds, this one really leans on the RV side of things.
- The staff seem to be a buffer between disappointed travelers like myself and owners/managers who aren't interested in hospitality. After our first unsatisfactory evening, we asked the front desk if we could get our money back for the third night of our 3-night stay, as we were only a few hours within the 36-hour cancellation window. The staff refused, saying it was against "policy" and they advised, "You can just leave" as in, we could leave early without any refund. While this was true, we could just leave without a refund, it didn't seem like the best way to treat a customer that you hope will return one day, recommend the resort to others, and write favorable reviews etc.
- There are no indications of Crane's connection to the regional Indigenous tribes, so seeing big teepees, often used on the marketing materials, feels appropriative.
Suggestions for Crane:
- In your emails prior to guests, tell us to bring the following, since these are necessary items and you do not supply them: forks, spoons, bowls, cups for drinking, flashlights.
- Empty and clean the port-a-potties regularly before they start to smell awful and before they become so full they seem in danger of spilling out of the pot.
- Add some kind of illumination from the Sage Inn to the main office and soaking pool. This will help guests who have trouble seeing, have mobility issues, are older, etc etc.
- Take some courses or read some books or talk with someone about hospitality and how you can increase the level of hospitality at your resort.
In sum: 1 star for the resort and 5 stars for the hot spring gives us 3 stars. My advice is to stay elsewhere in the area and come to Crane to soak for the day. Or try the higher priced Crane lodgings if you have the dough and want the 24-hour access to the water. read more