LOGE Bend — Hotel in Bend

This is my third stay with the Loge brand, my second at Loge Bend. The location is fantastic with great access to Mt Bachelor and biking. The spacious property is filled with cool things like fire pits, a bike wash, some bike features to ride, grills, bike rentals, ski lockers, and a pool.

Loge has recently renovated this older property and while the renovation is impressive, there is still a lot of work to do and several remaining rough edges. But it's a great start.

Essentially, for a last minute stop in mid-May, Loge asked for a $40 premium for their brand over what else was available in Bend on the internet, including the similarly cool, Campfire Motel. I paid the premium but ended up not feeling that I received fair value for the $162 price tag. Here's why...

It’s frustrating to get a text with check in instructions prior to arrival telling me how “stoked” they are to welcome me to Loge when the text was the full extent of my “human” Interaction with the Brand on check in day. The front desk was already closed prior to my 6 pm arrival. (I encountered the same situation at the Mt Shasta Loge two months earlier when I got there at 5pm) I had several questions for a real person (like needing help with the loud and minimal heat), but it was not urgent enough to call the emergency number posted on the locked office door. I could have had a stay that was completely employee contact free had I not gone to the office in search of breakfast the next am as checkout was also via text.

Coffee in the rooms is instant with hot water and no creamer- you can buy better coffee in the office but the office doesn’t open early (front desk is staffed during the day) There was essentially nothing but instant oatmeal and maybe a tired pastry available to purchase for breakfast, I had to drive a few miles to find breakfast - No big deal - but it slowed down my trip to the ski hill.

The bed was super low to the ground and more of a futon, making it generally uncomfortable. The rooms are filled with cool things like a hammock and yeti cooler, placed there I surmise as a marketing agreement for product placement. Heating in the room is loud and inefficient, Internet was great! Boot dryers were a nice add but there were few places to hang wet ski gear. Room Decor was fun, lighting a but dim. Overall - except for heat and bed, room was fine.

Reflecting on my current stay in Bend and a previous stay at MT Shasta Loge, my impression is that the HQ in Seattle is crafting a cool “brand” that is farther ahead in their minds than the reality being delivered to guests on the ground. It’s hard to care about the cool, outdoor, “find your peeps “ vibe they promote, when the basics of a comfortable stay seem to be just out of reach. Call me a curmudgeon, BUT Before the cool vibe, (and it is cool) first give me a staffed front desk, a nice and friendly staff, a decent, convenient breakfast, comfy beds and heat that works! I don't believe that is asking for much for my $162 on a weeknight during shoulder season.

While Loge Bend is far more creative than a "Holiday Inn" and has so much potential to be a fantastic stay, sadly, it’s not yet as clean, comfortable nor as welcoming as a boring chain.

First fix: Please find a way to deliver guests a decent, affordable breakfast (same situation at Shasta) and it would be nice to be able to get a real (not instant) cup of coffee with...

The concept of Loge is awesome and there’s clearly been a lot of thought put into the outdoor spaces of the property. That’s where it stops though. This is two star so I didn’t expect anything grand, but regardless of the type of motel, I do expect things to be clean and safe and for you to do what you say you will.

1- Cleanliness: The room was dirty with a very orange moldy shower curtain. 2 - Safety: This place is a fire waiting to happen and there’s no way it’s up to code. They had microwaves and electric kettles plugged into light duty extension cords that were draped across the wall. You should never plug either appliance into this type of extension cords. See photos for further details. 3 - The room was poorly stocked when we got there and didn’t include the in “free take home amenities” package that is promised in the description of the room. There were no toiletries, coffee or toilet paper (though supposedly included per the description). I texted the front desk the next morning with a list of things that seemed to be missing. They apologized and said they’re bring it all right over. We left for breakfast and when we came back, only some of what we requested was delivered. The “free take home amenities” package was delivered but the items were used and I suspect they never actually include it, but because we asked for it, they scrambled to collect whatever they could find and put it in a bag.

The location can’t be beat with trails all around including one straight to the river. The staff were pretty much non-existent minus one very friendly, middle aged gentleman that seemed attentive and took pride in his work.

This was my first stay at Loge and I’m not sure if it might be my last. For the price of the room (it was high because it was high season, a weekend and a high demand one at that due to shows at the amphitheater), I expected more and there is never an excuse for safety issues.

An observation: Loge partners with some high end outdoor gear and product companies, which also increased my expectations of the quality of the Loge brand and property. Yeti, Rumpl, Kammok hammocks, Traeger Grills, Specialized bikes. Unfortunately the Loge brand is actually low end, poorly renovated, dirty and unsafe. I’m honestly surprised some of these brands would partner with them based on the condition of the rooms. We weren’t the only ones with issues of cleanliness, disrepair, unsafe conditions and a poorly stocked room. We spoke to a couple of our neighbors while staying there and they all had...

The good and the bad...The location of this place is perfect; the ability to ride from your door and be on the trails in minutes is fantastic. Its a short 20 minute drive to Mt. Bachelor and the hiking trails around there and less than 10 minutes into town. The staff are super friendly and the LOGE concept is really good. We borrowed some tubes from the facility to float down the river and everything was super easy. The beds were pretty comfortable and the rest of the amenities at the site were good enough. The staff was super nice. Good beer in the Cafe, ability to use the Treager Grills, etc. is pretty good too. The bad parts were...We were a family of 4 so stayed in one of the rooms that had bunk beds and the bunk beds are metal so every time one of the kids moved in their sleep the noise the beds made was horrific and woke everyone in the room up; im not sure if the joints need greasing but no one in our family had a good sleep in the 5 nights we stayed due to this. The room was also a bit dirty when we checked in and my wife had to borrow cleaning supplies from the house keeper to wipe stuff down (some dead insects on the bedside table (maybe the window was left open?), coffee mug rings on the bedside table, tooth paste splattering on the mirror and dirt stains on top of the comforter underneath the extra blanket. We stayed for 5 nights and did not get room service once so we were responsible for finding a janitors cart to drop off dirty towels and getting new ones as well as searching out garbage bags after emptying the full garbages. There was also something wrong with our A/C unit and it sounded like a jackhammer and we did mention it to the front desk; we just put it on when we were out of the room. The buildings are also quite old and all the counters, etc. are just painted plywood and they have done the best they can to make the old place look nice and "rustic" but for the price you pay the value is not super great (after the resort fee, etc. we were paying about $320 CDN per night). In summary, the rooms were "good enough" and the staff, etc. were super nice, the pool and hot tub and other amenities were "good enough" but not great value although given the location, etc. I probably would stay here again if I was with a buddy on a biking trip or something and I might be able to convince my wife to stay here again (providing we couldnt find a nicer place with better value somewhere else) but I would never stay here again with my kids if they had to sleep in...