Hood River
Columbia Gorge Hotel
Simon Benson's Mission Revival hotel at the end of the Columbia River Highway, above Wah Gwin Gwin Falls, later a retirement home; reopened in 1979.
- Built
- 1921Completed 1921 by Simon Benson on the site of the 1904 Wah Gwin Gwin Hotel (the state SHPO record gives 1920).
- Style
- Mission Revival
- Type
- Resort
- Credentials
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The story
Simon Benson, a backer of the Columbia River Highway, built the hotel at the highway’s end and completed it in 1921 on the site of the 1904 Wah Gwin Gwin Hotel. It closed in 1952 and became a retirement home, then reopened as a hotel in 1979 after a renovation. After a 2009 foreclosure it was sold to A-1 Hospitality Group, which unveiled a multi-million-dollar renovation in February 2023. Guests have included Shirley Temple.
The ghost story
A woman in white, said by some to have fallen from a hotel balcony, is reported to haunt the hotel.
Source: 1859oregonmagazine.com
Good to know
- Address: 4000 Westcliff Drive, Hood River, OR 97031
Sources (3)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Gorge_Hotel
- https://heritagedata.prd.state.or.us/historic/index.cfm?do=v.dsp_siteSummary&resultDisplay=37608
- https://www.hospitalitynet.org/announcement/41009141/historic-columbia-gorge-hotel-spa-in-hood-river-oregon-unveils-completion-of-multimillion-dollar-renovation
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.