I'm kind of a low end/high-end girl when it comes to lodgings. My preference is for independently owned businesses of either kind. I'm all up for splurging on destination lodging on occasion, but because I tend to arrive late at night, the amenities are often wasted on me.
If you're looking for reliable and reasonably priced lodging in The Dalles, Oregon, I highly recommend you consider The Dalles Inn. It's an independently owned and older property that is well-maintained and has loyal staff. it is centrally located on the west end of the main street that goes through town. The best rooms are in the four-story hotel but there are also two stories of rooms outside of the hotel that have stairs leading up to them from the outside, similar to a motel. I've stayed in both the hotel and the separate building several times. I would be happy with either. There is safe parking.
Pre-pandemic, they had a lovely breakfast that rivals that of any I've had in hotels closer to twice the price. Due to the shortage of staff, the breakfast room isn't open right now but they prepare a lovely bag of breakfast goodies for you to take with you as you leave, or bring back up to your room.
My most recent stay was on 9/14/22. I had contemplated traveling to see my father in Washington via Walla, Walla, WA, in part because I wanted to stay at the boutique property, The Finch. Online, they were advertising rooms for $157 per night. But when I called, they wanted to sell me a room for $220 plus per night because they were hidden fees and the room advertised online only had a bunkbed. I told them I wanted to look around and we call back if I was interested. I started doing a little research and thank goodness I did, because one of the things that came up repeatedly was customers complaining about the paperthin walls. I got the sense that this remodeled property might have formally been a Motel 6, which I avoid at all costs. I don't care how bougie a place is, I'm not paying a premium for paperthin walls. That's part of the reason why I prefer older properties. I quickly decided to travel via my normal route and called to get a room at The Dalles Inn.
One of the nice things about independently owned businesses that are well-maintained is they usually provide a high level of customer service, which I have always found to be the case at The Dalles Inn. They generally don't have hidden fees either. When I called, the room that were available were outside of the hotel, which I was OK with, but the woman taking my reservation said she would make a note that if there was a cancellation of a similar room inside the hotel prior to my arrival, they would give me that room instead. As it turned out, I was able to get a room on the fourth floor.
With my AARP discount, my room cost $81 as quoted. There were no hidden fees. The room was worth every penny. I can't remember the last time I got such a good nights sleep in a hotel room. Usually when I stay at hotels/motels, I need to use ear plugs. Not here. I love that the rooms at The Dalles are large and have bathtub/shower combos. Most newly built properties do not. Everyone seems to be going towards a design that looks similar to what I would consider a fancy Motel 6, including even the new Best Westerns. I had everything I needed in my room, including a well concealed mini fridge.
I've been told of the owners of this property also have one or more in Albany, Oregon. I don't ever have a reason to go through Albany, but if I did, I would certainly be researching which properties they own.
Highly Recommended!!! read more