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.[3] Benson envisioned a hotel at the end of the highway, and completed the Mission style hotel in 1921.[1] 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.[1][4]
The then-48-room hotel closed in 1952, when it was sold to the Neighbors of Woodcraft,[1][5] a non-profit fraternal benefit society based in Oregon since 1905,[6] and converted into a retirement home.[1][7] It was sold again in 1978, with the new owners planning to reopen it as a hotel.[1] After a $1-million renovation, the now-42-room hotel reopened in September 1979.[4][7]
In January 2009, the hotel closed again, due to foreclosure.[8][9] 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.[3] Between 2009 and 2012, the hotel underwent a major renovation.[10] The Columbia Gorge Hotel is recognized as one of the Historic Hotels of America by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.[11]
