Tag Archives: guests

As many prices continue to rise, ours just stay where they were in 2010

4 Dec

We’ve got remarkably good news for you. Some prices are not rising like a rocket. Such as? Well, those for rooms at the Hood River Hotel.

But first, bear with us. A little context, if you will. The national consumer price index shows that the collective costs for a variety of purchases has increased 7 percent since January of 2010 — roughly the last three years. Real estate has been sluggish, but gas prices (up 9% in the last year) and health care (4% in the last year) have continued to rise.

During that period, ours have increased … not at all.

Remember 1993? Gas cost $1.10 a gallon. Remember July of 2008, when gas prices hit $4.11 a gallon? Well, they’re back down to $3.50 a gallon, but not likely ever to get back to 1993 rates.

But in the last three years, room prices at the Hood River Hotel have remained basically flat. That’s right, as your cereal box gets smaller (but the price stays the same), as your bar of Irish Spring gets smaller (but the price stays the same), as your newspaper gets smaller (but the price goes up), as your cars get smaller (but the prices get larger), our rooms are available at three-years-ago prices.

Now, through the month of January, any available room, on any night is just $100. That means you get an auto upgrade if you’re looking for something roomier than one of our lovely courtyard abodes, which typically go for $99.

And, on-street parking is easy to find.

An additional note, comparing the size of our … boxes, with the size and price of theirs. Though our prices have stayed the same — or, for the season, fallen back a bit — for the last three years, we have not reduced our room sizes one tiny bit.

Take THAT, Shredded Wheat.

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These Hood River Hotel customers weren’t right, and won’t be coming back

6 Dec

The customer is not always right. For instance, when they tell us in advance of arrival at the Hood River Hotel that they intend to play music in our lobby in exchange for a discount on their room rate, even though we’ve already got music scheduled, and don’t need more.

Or when they arrive, and turn their dogs and children loose in our lobby to run all over the place, convert our historic elevator into an amusement ride, and turn our staff into a police force — to the detriment of other guests.

Or when at least one of their number, after consuming far too much alcohol, decides to play his trumpet at 3 a.m. in the parking lot below the rooms of other guests trying to sleep.

And, when one of these other guests yells out the window at this oaf to “Go to bed — we’re trying to sleep!” , he yells back, “Go f- yourself, you old man!”

We’re sorry. We try to be open and accommodating to anyone and everyone. But some people, obviously, just don’t know how to return the favor.

“They’re not coming back,” General Manager Cathy Butterfield said. “They were out of control.”

So, for anyone who was inconvenienced by these hooligans, we’re sorry. It won’t happen again.

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Our rooms have drapes for a reason. Use them.

1 Nov

We didn’t think we needed to tell you this, but you might want to close your drapes before you remove your clothes. At the Hood River Hotel, that is.

Obvious? Well, yes, but not if you’re … clue-less.

Uh-oh. This gentleman wasn’t our guest, but he had something in common with the person who failed to close his drapes one recent afternoon.

We’re not going to say who (we’re not even sure we know who), but last summer, one of our guests with a room on the second floor overlooking Oak Avenue apparently decided one afternoon that no one could see him through the windows. After all, his room looked out at nothing but a bunch of dark windows on the second floor of the building across the street.

First mistake. Based on that assumption, the guest removes his clothes and starts to mosey around the room while, um, appreciating himself. Manually, if you get our drift.

Not too long afterwards, the phone rings at our front desk.

“Hood River Hotel.”

“Uh, this is So-and-So across the street at Summit Projects.”

“Oh, hi, how can we help you today?”

“You might want to tell your guest in the room facing our building that his … activities … are completely visible to a room full of people who should be actively engaged in designing killer websites, but at the moment are irredeemably distracted by the looming question of when your guest will … finish.”

“Oh. Uh, thanks. We’ll give the gentleman a call and let him know.”

We did. He closed the drapes.

But we didn’t get a chance to ask him if he now realizes that dark windows don’t necessarily imply empty windows. Think “smoked glass car windows.” You know, as in rice rockets, or stretch limos, where the occupants want to hide their “gangsta” selves.

Heck, even cop cars in these parts, where the dudes in blue want to feel like “gangstas” but just look silly. Would you walk up to one of those rigs and take your clothes off? Thought not.

Bottom line? Close the drapes before opening your fly. Or blouse.

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The yin and the yang of it all

21 Sep

People say the funniest things. Sometimes they put them in writing. Such as?

Well, the recent guests, who left us a comment card that read: “No fridge or microwave. No parking. Where’s Fred & Wilma?”

Hmm. We offer those amenities in our suites, but not in the room those folks rented. If we had known, we would have been happy to shift them to another room. As for Fred and Wilma, they slept here — on a nice, comfy, queen-size BEDrock.

OK, there’s other people, too, who embrace the world with a bit more joi de vivre (that’s furriner for “happiness”). We like the note from John Link and Brandy Greene, who visited with us earlier this month: “I love this hotel! The entire staff has gone above and beyond mym expectations. The only complaint I have is we are leaving. Thank you so much.”

You’re welcome. And, well, you didn’t HAVE to leave. We’re glad to arrange long-term accommodations. Meanwhile, we’re glad John and Brandy enjoyed their short-term stay.

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