| Columbia Gorge Hotel | |
| Coordinates: | 45.7117°N -121.5531°W |
| Built: | 1920–21 |
| Builder: | Dinwiddie Construction Co. |
| Architecture: | Mission/Spanish Revival |
| Added: | September 21, 1979 |
| Refnum: | 79003736 |
The Columbia Gorge Hotel is a historic hotel in Hood River, Oregon, United States. It was built by Simon Benson, who was involved with the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway.[1] Benson envisioned a hotel at the end of the highway, and completed the Mission style hotel in 1921.[2] The new hotel was built on the site of the previous Wah Gwin Gwin Hotel, built in 1904. Between 1925 and 1952, the hotel went through several changes of ownership.[2] [3]
The then-48-room hotel closed in 1952, when it was sold to the Neighbors of Woodcraft,[2] [4] a non-profit fraternal benefit society based in Oregon since 1905,[5] and converted into a retirement home.[2] [6] It was sold again in 1978, with the new owners planning to reopen it as a hotel.[2] After a $1-million renovation, the now-42-room hotel reopened in September 1979.[3] [6]
In January 2009, the hotel closed again, due to foreclosure.[7] [8] The foreclosing bank later re-opened the hotel before selling it to Vijay Patel's A-1 Hospitality Group in October 2009 for around $4 million.[1] Between 2009 and 2012, the hotel underwent a major renovation.[9] The Columbia Gorge Hotel is recognized as one of the Historic Hotels of America by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.[10]
Guests of the hotel have included Burt Reynolds and Shirley Temple, among others.[1]