We realized we had FF miles left (after booking some Europe trips) for a domestic flight and have reserved the following in Oregon next August. We live in Norfolk, VA and hope we are escaping the hot, humid weather. If we are not, perhaps it's best just not to tell us.
We arrive 8/9 and have 2 nights at Black Walnut Inn in Dundee, next 2 nights are Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood, then 1 night in Bend enroute to 2 nights at Crater Lake Lodge. Then to the coast...3 nights at Overleaf lodge, Yachats and 2 nights at Surfsand at Cannon Beach. Last 4 nights are booked at the 5th Ave. Suites in Portland.
How have we done with our scheduling? We had to make adjustments based on availability at Crater Lake Lodge. My husband felt that, if we were traveling that distance, he wanted to stay there.
Are the B & B's/hotels OK? Any and all advice appreciated.

I think it sounds good! Since I live here, I have not stayed at all the hotels, but can vouch for the Surfsand and 5th Avenue Suites. The others are well thought of, and so I wouldn't worry at all. If you have any other questions, just ask.

Oregon can certainly get hot in the summer; we went over 100 degrees a few days in Portland this year. However, the upside is, the humidity is not bad at all, nothing at all like the east coast. Even if the weather is hot you may find it much more pleasant than a summer in Virginia. The Oregon Coast should be mild, however.

Why two nights at Timberline out of curiosity? I'm guessing you won't be able to ski in August. Mt. Hood is an easy day trip from Portland. I think I'd take an extra day in Bend and another somewhere else, perhaps at the McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale, which is just east of Portland and on the edge of the Columbia River Gorge. The Edgefield is a unique hotel/mini-resort, very funky and original, with golf, several restaurants and a winery on premises, etc. Even if you don't stay there, the place is worth a visit, a uniquely Oregon experience.

Not sure I would book at the 5th Avenue Suites for next August because the Portland Bus Mall (5th and 6th Avenues) will be under heavy construction in 2007 and 2008 as they add MAX tracks and re-do all the bus stops on those streets. And the 5th Ave Suites is at the corner of Washington and 5th. Not to say it would be awful inside the hotel - may be fine - but outside there could be quite a lot of noise, dirt, dust, etc. I've also heard the hotel itself is going to be renovated soon. I think I'd recommend a different hotel like the Hotel Vintage Plaza (the 5th Avenue's sister property, same class of hotel) instead.

Andrew

Hi Judy!
August is a great time to be in Portland, it is warm and dry with cool nights and doesn't get dark til late so you can really enjoy the city and the walking and eating in cafes and sightseeing.
I agree with Andrew, sadly, the bus mall might be a mess for the hotel, but I love the 5th Avenue Suites and always recommend them.
They will still be a Kimpton Hotel but soon will be a Monaco Hotel.
if it is looking bad closer to that time, with the street work and all, I guess the Vintage which is ok but does not have such nice suites, is good.
Some people like the Heathman and by then, maybe the work will be done in front of the Paramount, that is a very nice hotel, just has a bit of construction going on right now.
When you want to know more about eating out and shopping and sightseeing, ( if you even need to know) just ask

Hi Judy,

Where are you staying in Bend? We have stayed in quite a few of the hotels in town. (We loved Bend so much we now have a vacation home near Sunriver Resort; we live near Sacramento, CA.) Our favorite hotel is the Phoenix Inn. It is within walking distance to old town Bend with resturants, bars, art galleries and shops. One of our favorite resturants for riverside dining is Anthony's (specializes in seafood) in the Old Mill District. They have an early bird dinner that includes salmon...oh yum. You can sit by the window or on the patio that overlooks the Deschutes River and watch the rafters or kayakers go down the river.

There are many things to do near Bend. Sisters is a cute western town. The High Desert Museum is a wonderful indoor/outdoor museum. Lava Lands Visitor Center (part of Newberry National Volcanic Monument) is very interesting.

Hope this helps. Have fun in Bend.

Barb

Usually August is a great month to be in Oregon. It rarely gets too hot, and never too humid (compared to back East).

I have a few suggestions that may or may not interest you (depending on your interests). In August the Shakespeare Festival will still be going on in Ashland, and it's very well worth the trip.

Also, Eugene is a nice town to check out, home of the University of Oregon (I went there, so I'm a bit bias here), but it is a nice campus and the surrounding area is lovely.

Thank you, all, very much. We will rework our itinerary a bit.

We tried to get earlier accommodation at Crater Lake Lodge but couldn't. My first thought was to spend a couple of days seeing the Columbia River Gorge and Mount Hood, then Bend, but 5 days seemed too many....thus we added Dundee. Then I wanted to avoid too many one night hotel stops so thought we could drive from Dundee, see the gorge and overnight at Mt. Hood before moving on to Bend. The second night was to have a day to hike/relax.

We arrive in Portland around 5 pm on Thursday so could spend Friday and Saturday around the Willamette Valley, overnight in Edgefield Saturday night and cut a night from Timberline. I guess another option would be to add a night to Bend.

We will have to research Bend a bit more to decide....we haven't researched the area around Bend that well. We KNOW we love wine!

Thanks to all of you mentioning the construction in Portland. We'll look at the other hotels!

Judy

Judy, If you love wine then you need to spend 2 days in Ashland and the Rogue Valley.
http://www.sorwa.org/
http://www.weisingers.com/cottagepage/cottage1.htm
http://www.winchesterinn.com/
http://www.southernoregon.org/
We're a low River Valley between 2 Mountain Ranges.

If you do end up staying in the Rogue Valley and dont care for Shakespeare check out The Britt Festival! ITs an outdoor concert series that puts on some great shows. They are doing part of the performances in Medfords new theater which I haven't been to for a show yet but the outdoor theater in Jacksonville is an amazing place for a show. If you come through the Valley you might also want to look at Oregon Caves and Hellgate Jet Boat Excursions to get up close and personal with the Rogue River.
BBQ- what part of the Valley are you from?? I am in Grants Pass. I took a drive up towards Lake of the Woods this last weekend and the fall colors were really exploding...You should try to get up that way before they are gone!

Thanks for the links, bbqboy! It all looks good....we need more time. We could probably give up a few coast days for the Rogue Valley. This is getting more difficult!!

We have a new plan. The only reservation that couldn't be changed was the Crater Lake Lodge so I've reworked everything around it, realizing that we cannot see & do everything we'd like!

We now plan to stay in Portland on our arrival, hotel to be determined, for 4 nights (we arrive at 4:30 pm so this is 3 full days.)

We'll then drive to Timberline Lodge for 1 night, hiking enroute. Then on to Crater Lake Lodge for 2 nights.

Now we have 4 more 2-night stays....don't usually do this but want to see a lot! We'll book 2 nights in Ashland, thanks to bbqboy, before we move to the coast for 2 nights in Yachats and 2 in Cannon Beach.

Our next 2 nights are at Black Walnut Inn in Dundee and our last night is to be determined. After that we have a 7:15 am flight and would like recommendations for a hotel close to the airport or information that we can turn in a rental car at 5 am.

Thanks for all of your help. We may need a long rest after this trip.

We are going to Italy in May and on our return we will have lots more questions!

Nice itinerary, and great lodging choices, Judy! You wouldn't have room for another couple, would you?

But, are you still open to suggestions??? I'd bet you'll regret not giving yourself more time on the coast. So I'd recommend cutting Black Walnut back to one night, and adding a night to Overleaf. For two reasons: the beachscape there is jaw-dropping beautiful, and it's a long drive to there from Ashland, regardless of which route you take.

If you arrive in Dundee in early afternoon (2 - 2.5 hour drive from Cannon Beach), there are several wineries nearby - notably Domaine Serene, Domaine Drouhin, Archery Summit, Argyle, and Sokol Blosser - where you could taste before closing. Then, spend the next afternoon tasting before heading into Portland and the airport.

I agree that you should probably stay close to the airport with a 7:15am flight. The Sheraton is right there, practically on the tarmac. It's an older Sheraton, but still nice by Portland airport hotel standards.

Oh... and for Ashland, check out this place: http://www.ashlandcreekinn.com/. It's the place I WISH we had stayed last time there.

Another nice place in the Valley is the Weasku Inn between Grants Pass and the town of Rogue River. http://www.weasku.com/

Thanks panhandle and beachbum. Beachbum, we'd love company with local knowledge! At least meet for wine.

We're looking at Ashland options and considering another night on the coast. Surfsand at Cannon Beach has a 3 night minimum in August which was waived for us as they could not accommodate us in the unit we wanted for 3 nights....moving that again might be a challenge! If we spent three nights anywhere it would be at Overleaf. We live on the coast, although not as beautiful I'm sure, and many of our vacations are spent on the water and that impacted our original plan.

Thanks for the Sheraton information....perfect for our needs.

With all of your help, my husband and I do feel much better about this itinerary than the one we did on our own!

Even with the early flight, you could spend the last night in Portland and take MAX to the airport in the morning, returning your rental car the day before.

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