Best Western Plus Hood River Inn — Hotel in Hood River

When I searched online for the perfect hotel looking at a body of water somewhere within a 3 hour drive of Yakima I found the Hood River Inn, while looking at it online I called the 1-800 to book a room. Specifically requesting a river view patio or balcony with two queen beds. I asked the 1-800 reservation person if they allowed pets. She said it is best to call the hotel directly for that and gave me the number. I called the number and verified we had a river view room with patio and 2 queen beds. She (Lexie) said it was pet friendly and I was so excited. I drove from Seattle to Yakima, showed my best friend of 50+ years the website of where we were going. She was so excited. She is not well and never gets to go anywhere. I looked specifically for a hotel with the "resort" feel. Out door pool, nice onsite restaurant....all the things the Hood River Best Western had to offer. We saw the motel from the freeway. I went in to check in and was told our reservation was not for there but for a hotel 18+ miles down the highway at the Locks. I was shocked and not happy. We went down the road to the hotel at the Locks. The manager there was very nice, thoughtful and sorry for the mix up. They put us in a room facing the river with two queen beds and a patio. (but you cannot get out to the grass from the patio because it is fenced) The pool was indoor and there was no restaurant. I called the 1-800 and complained but with no real help. The next morning I called again asking if she could check to see if a room was a available for the remaining two nights of our stay at the Hood River Inn. She put me on hold came back and said yes but it was a King bed. I said that is fine if it has a patio or balcony on the river side. She put me on hold again, came back and said yes it does. I booked it then cancelled our existing reservation. We checked out and drove back to Hood River. When we checked in we were told we had a room facing the parking lot not the river. The manager was rude, condescending and horrible. She handled the situation with no empathy or understanding. There may have been nothing she could do to help but her attitude made it a thousand times worse. She informed me each Best Western is individually owned and they have nothing to do with Best Western as a group. Certainly not connected with the 1-800 number and did not care what they portrayed to me. 33 years in a customer service industry, I have not experienced customer service at a lower level. I met another person staying there that had the exact bait and switch happen to her, right down to the pet friendly, patio room facing the river. She also ended up facing the parking lot. So moral of the story,...

This was my first time staying here. Some close friends recommended it to me who frequent Hood River and stay here.

I just spent two nights here, spent nearly $600 dollars. Check-in was rather slow... but it is the middle of a pandemic, I understand. The guy who helped me check in was very friendly and nice.

As far as my room, a few flies buzzing around... no big deal, someone before me probably left the door to the outside open. Good view. Nice path into downtown Hood River. TV had lots of channels. Also liked that they let you check out as late as 12 noon.

However, everything took a turn for the worse as I left. I was given a couple $5 coupons to use at the hotel (Riverside). I thought I'd get a couple coffees on my way out, so I went to the restaurant to see if I could use the coupons. There were two younger girls at the desk who were extremely friendly and helpful - they told me that coupons are not good for "to go" items (such as coffee), but that they would make an exception for me this one time. I looked closer at the coupons, and sure enough it said not valid for "to go" items. So I thought it was extra nice that they did this for me since they didn't have to and they could have turned me away. These two girls then left, and a middle-aged woman brought me the two coffees - valued at $7.50 - and asked me to pay for them. I told her that two girls had just told me I didn't have to and I could use the coupons. She told me that I couldn't. She was very short and rude with me. She hardly apologized - didn't even offer to follow-up with the two employees who had told me otherwise. I wouldn't have bought the coffees had they not let me use them, so I was rather irritated over this. I don't think it would have bothered me much except this woman was very rude to me - the only thing I regret is not asking for her name so that I could include it in this review. Worst customer service I have experienced in some time, and only the 2nd time in my life that I've felt compelled to write a review online over something worth just $7.50. But it's the principle of it all that really got me. As a business owner that really values customer service, I would not hire this woman.

I won't go back to this hotel ever again. I will advise my friends (who stay here at least once every summer) to not go to this hotel. I will copy and paste this review on all of my social media accounts. I am happy that this woman is so short-sighted to see... that she can have here $7.50 for two coffees... and lose out on a much greater amount of money over the long-term with me and my friends not doing...

We were thrilled by the room and the amenities. Beyond our expectations.

I enjoyed a fabulous Old Fashioned from the bar while waiting for a table. All staff were attentive and should be commended.

Now here comes my complaint. First off, the restaurant manager and Quincy, our waiter were rock stars.

However, due to my wife's allergy we requested that they omit chili from her dish. I got a steak which while I asked for medium rare, it came almost blue. My wife had an allergic reaction and her dinner was ruined.

They took it off the bill but we got to keep it. They even comped us dessert. Perfect. So happy. I sent back my steak. I was told they would just cook a new one. I didn't mind just getting mine cooked a bit more.

They sent the same one back, but that was ok. It still was barely rare. I decided at that point our dinner was over.

Did I mention it was our anniversary? Yeah. It was. My wife was now zonked out on benedryl. I just gave up at that point. We told them not to put chili in her food, Quincy even double checked (He was spot on as a server.) I figured if I took my expensive steak to go I could cook it better and enjoy it.

The problem arose when I got back to my room. They gave me two bags with food, but alas, my delicious looking steak meal did not make it into the bag. I was hugely disappointed. I am trying to get healthier, so I basically ate very little in anticipation of that meal. I'm obviously still disappointed. $43 bucks. What I did get to eat was fabulous, so imagine my sadness.

I guess it got lost in the shuffle. I wasn't trying to get free anything, and gave a 40% tip to reflect that I knew they tried, but damnit, the only meal I cared about ended up in compost. A sad end for a noble cow's sacrifice.

I guess the kitchen just wasn't on its A game. The steak itself was rather expensive. The kitchen wasn't reading tickets. The notes about my wife's allergy was written clearly. My preference for my steak was ignored, or they just didn't care.

I will keep all that in mind. It ruined my anniversary. It's sad, everything else was great. But that memory is tarnished. Again, the staff was great, but our dinner ruined the stay.

I must amend my review.

The hotel stepped up big time to handle our complaints, as minor as they were. We are currently eating here, right now. We are very happy with the response from the hotel, and once again, our favorite waiter, Quincy is on the job. Many cudos, and we plan to visit again and again in the...