Columbia River Hotel, Ascend Hotel Collection

We were unfortunate enough to have been diverted to Highway 14 after a train derailment caused the closure of I 84. 4 1/2 hours to travel 42 miles. We were finally able to exit at the Dalles. Our friend had reserved a room for us when she heard of the back up-11:30 pm. Talk about a RIPOFF-charged us $179 plus taxes ($195 total) for a room that never reserved for more than $82 on the internet. Front desk "attitude" was "Take it or leave it". The room was one of the worse ones I stayed in after a two week Oregon coast visit and the service in the restaurant was NON EXISTENT. We had stayed in Shilo Inns during our trip but NEVER AGAIN. You should be proud of yourselves Shilo Shysters!!

We had just traveled from a popular destination in Lake Chelan, and paid 125 for the night for a lovely room. We also stayed in an Airbnb with a kitchenette, living room, large bathroom, which included a homemade breakfast, where we paid about 125 as well, and were surprised by the 175+ price tag at the Shilo. We were exhausted and decided to take the room. The person at the front desk was friendlyish, but definitely exasperated by her job. We told her we had called in to make a reservation 10 minutes prior. She stated she hadn't made a reservation 10 minutes ago, as though she couldn't think of any other way that may be possible. She insisted she couldn't find us until we told her we called an 800# online and like magic she found our reservation. She seemed to make easy things painfully difficult. Once we got to our room, the lotion dispenser had fallen into the sink, leaving quite a mess for me to clean up. We found the second sink in the shower room had about a quarter inch of sawdust the length of the countertop. We of course didn't have any kind of vacuum to clean it up, so we called the front desk. We were surprised to find the front desk receptionist was the one who had to come clean it up. We assumed there was maintenance of some sort. She was very nice about it. We just felt badly for her. There was dust around the perimeter of the room in certain areas, some pieces of hardware on the floor, and when we woke up to take a shower, I noticed there was no bathroom fan, which in this case turned out OK, because there was not a single drop of hot water at around 7:20AM. It's very surprising how diligently their automated text system is in asking for feedback. Through text, I let both Kristina Thornton and Doug know my impression of the place. Kristina admitted a refund of some kind was in order, but stopped texting back as did Doug. I called today to check in and got a careless employee named Belle who struggled to find the energy to take my number down. I am a motel owner myself, and I understand how tricky remodels can be but I am also horrified by the willingness of these employees to hide from customers instead of just tackling the issue. I'm just not sure this room was quite worth the price we paid and I certainly don't find the employees to be committed to any type of follow-through.

First, be wary of outfits claiming to be the hotel itself. Reservations.com is not to be trusted. We booked through them unknowingly for $107 night. Actual was $167 with fees and taxes. The hotel itself should be bulldozed. No hangers in the room, sink was broken, only two dim lights in the bedroom, a toilet that flushed every 20 minutes during the night, sliding door to the deck that hardly slides, threadbare linens… We’d been better off in Motel 6. No, we didn’t complain, we’re writing this review instead. It’s just paying attention that irks us.