Lost Lake Resort & Campground — Hotel in Hood River

We didn’t have the best experience. There was a pretty disturbing incident, and Trent Weseman, the manager told us he’d discount our stay, but wasn’t available at checkout and changed his story when we finally talked to him on the phone after we were back home. Read about the insect infestation for details under “Now for the bad.”||This review is mostly for people who are interested in the cabins. We stayed in Cabin 6.||First, the good.||Staff: The staff at the resort are responsive and cordial—not overly friendly, but accommodating and professional. The boat rental manager is super friendly and helpful.||Grounds and facilities: The grounds are kept clean, and although there are pit toilets, they are cleaned daily and kept stocked in hand sanitizer and toilet paper. The showers are private and beautifully maintained—new and shiny. The hot water comes on quickly and the shower room has hooks and a shelf for your things, with a mirror and sink.||Cabins: Our cabin, #6, has 2 bedrooms, a fireplace, a lovely wood kitchen table with 2 benches, a couch and a chair with a reading light. There is a coffee table and a side table for the reading chair. The kitchen has dishes, glassware, utensils, flatware, pots, skillet, and a baking sheet. Appliances include a microwave, toaster, coffee maker, a gas 4-burner range with oven. Both bedrooms have 2 windows, a comfortable bed for 2, a clothes rack with hangers, and plenty of electrical outlets. Bedroom 1 is slightly bigger with a nightstand. No nightstand in bedroom 2—very narrow space on both sides of the bed. I had a CPAP, so having my machine, water, and phone charging on the floor was a bit cluttered, but it worked. The beds are comfortable and clean. There is a deck on the front of the cabin with a rectangular table that fits 6 and 4 chairs. BUT, we couldn’t use it for eating (see the next section “the bad”). There is a short walk up a hill to the pit toilet that also has a double sink next to it for washing dishes.||The lake: Beautiful swimming and boating—no motor boats, so that was nice. Absolutely gorgeous views of Mt. Hood from the middle of the lake and the day use areas (a 5-minute walk from the lodge). We set up in the day use areas for swimming and kayaking. There is a great walk around the lake with a well-maintained trail.||Now for the bad:||The insect infestation : Cabin 6 has an unknown flying insect infestation every day around noon. It is not insignificant—there are hundreds. They crawl in from a crack around the fireplace and cover the 2 windows in the main area and crawl over the mantle and fireplace. They seem to be benign, but it is pretty disgusting and disturbing (see photos). We opened the door and they eventually fell to the ground and made their way out the door—we helped them along with a broom. Trent, the manager, offered us 2 rooms in the lodge, which have running water, a real bathroom with flush toilet and shower. However, they are dark and at the back of the lodge. The whole point of our trip was to be together with our friends playing games, visiting and sharing meals together. By the time we checked out the lodge rooms and got back to the cabin to decide what to do, the bugs had died, so we decided to stay in the cabin. They came back the next day, but we knew what to expect. Trent also offered us a boat rental for free, but we also declined it because we brought our own boat. We spent a lot of time talking about how to discount our stay, and he said he could discount us the price of a boat rental, and said “don’t worry, we’ll make it right.” Trent wasn’t there when we checked out, and when he finally called us back he reneged on his promise to “make it right.” It’s really disappointing to be lied to, and my husband wasn’t going to get into a futile and heated argument with him. We paid $1087 for 3 nights, and when you have something like this happen you expect to be compensated somehow.||The NOISE: In the lodge and cabin area the generator for the resort runs constantly and it is LOUD. You are never listening to nature—there is a constant humming/whirring from the generator. You can get away from the noise if you are further away from the lodge and cabins. The yurt area are quieter, and there are camp sites far enough away from the noise.|The view: Cabin 6 faces a huge graveled parking area—that is your view. Trees obscure the lake. Cabin 8, the largest, has a nice view of the lake.||Food prep and cleanup (specifically for cabin 6): We arrived on Labor Day and the restaurant had stopped being open during the week. We brought our food, so it wasn’t an issue. But, what we didn’t anticipate was not having a way to wash dishes in the cabin. The small counter space isn’t big enough to accommodate cooking and dish washing. There is no sink with a drain, nor any water disposal space outside. We had 4 people and dirtied a lot of dishes every day. We cooked and prepared breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We like things tidy and wanted to clean up after every meal. We wanted a dish pan with warm soapy water to wash our cooking pans, plates, and a clean water bin for rinsing. The only option for us was to set up a dish washing station on our outdoor table. I had anticipated not having everything we needed, so I brought our camping supply bin and had a large pot that we kept on the stove for warm water. There is a closer water spigot a short walk up the other side of the cabin, which is easier than trudging up the hill to the sink area. A note about the toilet/sink area: the only way to turn the water on and off is on the BACK side of the sink about 18” off the ground. This means that you are either keeping the water running or are going back and forth around the sink to man the spigot. If you choose to use the toilet/sink area for dishes, take 2 people—one to wash and one for the faucet. Also—bring a bin to put your dishes in to carry up to the sink. Our porch setup worked fine. But if rain might be expected, you’ll be washing dishes in the rain—the deck is not covered. Other cabins have a covered area/porch, but cabin 6 does not. Also, there is no room outside the cabin to set...

We didn’t have the best experience in Cabin 6. There was a pretty disturbing incident, and Trent Weseman, the manager told us he’d discount our stay, but wasn’t available at checkout and changed his story when we finally talked to him on the phone. Read about the insect infestation under “Now for the bad.” THE GOOD The staff at the resort are responsive and cordial—not overly friendly, but accommodating and professional. The boat rental manager is super friendly and helpful. The grounds are kept clean, pit toilets cleaned daily and have hand sanitizer. The showers are private and very nice. Hot water comes quickly. Cabins: Our cabin, #6, has 2 bedrooms, a fireplace, a nice wood table with 2 benches, a couch and a chair with a reading light. The kitchen has dishes, glassware, utensils, flatware, pots, skillet, and a baking sheet. Appliances include a microwave, toaster, coffee maker, a gas 4-burner range with oven. Both bedrooms have 2 windows, a comfortable bed for 2, a clothes rack with hangers, and plenty of electrical outlets. Bedroom 1 is slightly bigger with a nightstand. No nightstand in bedroom 2—very narrow space on both sides of the bed. See the Bad section for more.

The lake: Beautiful swimming and boating—no motor boats, so that was nice. Gorgeous views of Mt. Hood from the middle of the lake and the day use areas (a 5-minute walk from the lodge). There is a great walk around the lake with a well-maintained trail.

Now for the bad:

The insect infestation : Cabin 6 has an unknown flying insect infestation every day around noon. It is not insignificant—there are hundreds. They crawl in from a crack around the fireplace and cover the windows and mantle. It is pretty disgusting and disturbing (see photos). Trent, the manager, offered us 2 rooms in the lodge, which have running water, a real bathroom with flush toilet and shower. However, they are dark and at the back of the lodge. The whole point of our trip was to be together with our friends playing games, visiting and sharing meals together. By the time we checked out the lodge rooms and got back to the cabin to figure out what to do, the bugs had died, so we swept them out and decided to stay in the cabin. They came back the next day too. Trent also offered us a boat rental for free, but we also declined it because we brought our own boat. We spent a lot of time talking with him about how to discount our stay, and he said he could discount us the price of a boat rental, and said “don’t worry, we’ll make it right.” Trent wasn’t there when we checked out, and when he finally called us back he reneged on his promise to “make it right.” It’s really disappointing to be lied to, and my husband wasn’t going to get into a futile and heated argument with him. We paid $1087 for 3 nights, and when you have something like this happen you expect to be compensated somehow.

The NOISE: In the lodge and cabin area the generator for the resort runs constantly and it is LOUD. You are never listening to nature—there is a constant humming/whirring from the generator. You can get away from the noise if you are further away from the lodge and cabins. The yurt areas are quieter, and there are camp sites far enough away from the noise.

The view: Cabin 6 faces a huge graveled parking area—that is your view. Trees obscure the lake. Cabin 8, the largest, has a nice view of the lake.

Food prep and cleanup (specifically for cabin 6): We arrived on Labor Day and the restaurant had stopped being open during the week. We brought our food, so it wasn’t an issue. There isn’t room to clean dishes in the cabin. We cooked 3 meals a day, every day. We had to set up a dish washing station on our outdoor table. I had brought a large pot, so we kept water warm on the stove. A note about the toilet/sink area: the only way to turn the water on and off is on the BACK side of the sink about 18” off the ground-take 2 people. Also—bring a bin to put your dishes in to carry up to the sink. A porch setup works as long as it doesn’t rain. There's no room for an outside canopy.

We...

The beauty of this location doesn’t need a review — you’ve seen the pictures, you already know. This is strictly about the operations of the facility.

We booked a last-minute stay in one of the four lodge rooms on a Saturday in July. We were honestly surprised there was availability, so that was a win. I wasn’t expecting much since most of the cabins and tent spots only offered shared outhouses, so when we saw a large, clean bathroom with a flushing toilet in the lodge room, we were sold. My days of roughing it with a shovel are long over.

The Good: The café’s burgers and pizza were genuinely good. The fries were still frozen in the middle, so maybe skip those, but everything else was great. Prices were surprisingly reasonable for a destination spot. The room itself was clean and, for the most part, quiet. And of course, the proximity to the lake was great... though not without a few quirks (more on that below).

The Not-So-Good: I don’t say this to complain, but to offer constructive feedback the owners may have unintentionally overlooked — things that could improve the guest experience without major investment.

First, the guest experience policies need work. On a summer Sunday morning, having workers driving loud motorized vehicles right outside open guest room windows at 7:30 a.m. is a no-go. Same with starting construction on the building at 8:30 a.m. while rooms are occupied. Maintenance should happen off-season, mid-week, or at the very least, late morning. Additionally, the place attracts partiers who blast music and yell through the night and into the morning. There need to be strict quiet hours and a no-music policy enforced. Guests didn’t travel to the lake to hear someone else’s party playlist.

Second, the rooms themselves need attention. The lodge is only about 25 years old but shows heavy wear. Nails are poking through drywall. The mattresses felt like straw-filled sacks... definitely overdue for replacement. And while clean is appreciated, the overwhelming stench of cleaning chemicals was rough. I’d honestly rather smell nature than walk into walls of ammonia. Even more concerning was the decking outside the rooms: many nails sticking up half an inch or hammered sideways, leaving sharp heads exposed. It’s baffling that maintenance would overlook something so obvious and hazardous.

Third, the outdoor guest experience could be improved. From the lodge, there’s only one lake access point... completely monopolized by the kayak rental operation. That means the dock is off-limits to paying guests. Want to launch your own boat? Drive a third of a mile and pray for parking. There’s nowhere for guests to sit by the water and relax. The lodge has nice chairs, but the view is blocked by trees. It’s odd that a lakeside lodge wouldn’t offer a decent lakeside view. Also strange: the lodge is unnecessarily brightly lit all night, which ruins stargazing in an otherwise ideal location. The trail around the lake is another issue. Much of it is a wooden boardwalk... and much of that boardwalk is in such poor shape it’s a trip hazard. Several areas are overgrown with prickly bushes. A little regular upkeep would go a long way.

Final Suggestion: Ditch the large gift shop. Keep a small corner rack of overpriced souvenirs, sure. But turn that prime real estate into a sit-down café offering basic breakfast. The nearest food is a 30-minute drive away. You already have good coffee and a kitchen... scramble some eggs, toast some bread, and give your captive guests a reason to stay a little longer in the morning.

In Conclusion: While it may sound like a lot of negatives, we truly had a great stay and didn’t want to leave. These aren’t expensive fixes... mostly policy adjustments and minor maintenance. With a little care and attention, this could go from a good experience to an...