McMenamins
Continuing with our Pacific Northwest discoveries, McMenamins was one of our hotel destinations we were really looking forward to. The website was so intriguing and their locations all seemed so idyllic. We chose the Edgefield place for our visit. So let’s get on with The Good….front porch rocking chairs everywhere,
large gracious porches and beautiful brick buildings, an absolute gorgeous view from our room in the photo below,
homegrown vegetable and herb gardens for guests to meander through and chefs to be inspired by, sunflowers, apple trees…
old worn and weathered benches for you to sit a spell and gravel paths to wander down at sunset….
and the most charming umbrella filled courtyards to relax in and enjoy a meal with your loved ones…
and I even admired their condiment boxes with the painted table numbers on them…
Lots of Good wouldn’t you say? Me too. But…and this is a VERY big but, our room was horrific! And now, for the first time in my blog history, I am going to write something negative. Truthful but negative. I feel it’s my duty to share and I will keep this as condense as possible.
First off, we booked a King Suite with a Private Bath, the very best they have to offer. Didn’t want you to think we stayed in their cheapest room. Here’s the details on our Very Best Room….dust and dirt in every single corner and table in the room, baseboards with a layer of dirt and grime, Milk Duds under the bed, NO air conditioning yet there was air conditioning in the HALLWAYS, a large box fan either from Walmart or a garage sale to put in your window, grungy old crusty paper thin bath towels that had to be at least 5 years old (I am not exaggerating), an old wooden hospice seat in the shower with what appeared to be white mold on it, No television or phones, No ice machine on any floor-you had to go to the downstairs bar with your mason jar and ask for ice, a flat sheet on the bed with no mattress cover, old dirty bedspread with tears in it, bathroom sink that had not been cleaned and a large chair with stains all over it. I’m afraid I’ll have to stop there…the list could go on and on. Just know that The Man, who is used to sleeping on a fishing boat during lobster season said the room was the worst he’d ever been in. Seriously. Why even one of the bartenders said that most of their guests are so drunk they don’t care about the rooms. For real, that was his take on their disgusting rooms. I guess they don’t consider their sober guests.
If you’d like to visit one of their establishments, I recommend having lunch or dinner. The grounds and settings are beautiful but never in a million years would I ever, ever sleep there. And to the hotel management at McMenamins….you should be ashamed of yourselves. This is 2009, you can do better.
47 Responses to “McMenamins”
Thank you for the honest review. I am a traveler who always appreciates honesty and candor. Unfortunately, the website really does makes everything look very idyllic. 🙁 After reading your review and checking out the website, I noticed that they do not have a single picture of the INSIDE of the Edgefield. Not a good sign. Yikes.
Wow, Heather, from all the beautiful pictures of the surroundings you posted, I figured the rooms would be top notch! That’s really, really interesting…and very, very strange indeed. I hope you were able to complain officially. Makes you wonder how a place like that even stays in business, doesn’t it?
oh my goodness! i hope you got your money back. you should call whoever it is you call and turn them in.
disgusting.
blessings,
aimee
Eat in their restaurants? If that is how they take care of their rooms…what do they do in the kitchen??? My dad and grandpa were in the restaurant business. Once whilst passing through North Dakota, my parents asked the locals where to eat. They suggested the restaurant at the hotel. When our food arrived, my dad took one look at the green hash browns and told the manager he wanted to inspect the kitchen. The manager sheepishly responded, “I’m sorry, my wife is the cook.”
: )
Julie M.
ps The Edgefield sounds quite a bit like the establishments they feature on BBC America’s, “Hotel Inspector.” Have you seen it?
Oh my goodness, Heather….that sounds absolutely AWFUL. And yes, I agree about the restaurants. Can you imagine how dirty the areas you CAN’T see are? Blech!! The outside is pretty because GOD made it, not them, lol.
So sorry you had that experience. Did you stay or leave to go somewhere else? Glad you didn’t have a black light with you. Would hate to see what was on the bedspread, chair, floor, towels, and walls. Ick.
Jennifer
Oh Heather,
There is nothing more dissapointing than a dirty hotel room. So often it looks good from the outside, but not necessarily on the inside. I am sure you had difficulty sleeping in the room too. I would rather sleep in a tent than a dirty room! Kind of have this OCD when it comes to clean…
Hopefully next time your hotel experience will be quite the opposite!
Oh my goodness!! Your experience sounds absolutely horrible…are you SURE those were milk duds??? EEEWWWWW…
I would have slept in my car. And eat there? Never! So sorry you had such a bad experience.
I sure hope you reported this to the management, we have Mcmenamins is our town Centralia Washington and I wouldn’t let my dog eat there. Sorry but I don’t know about the rooms.
No need to apologize for this rant — you are doing a public service. If the hotel is listed with Orbitz or another website like that you can post a review. I always appreciate those! Hope the rest of your trip was, or continues to be, wonderful.
~Marilee
OMG…Did you go stay someplace else and complain? Did they do anything for you? I would write the company and complain that so sound like a health issues…ugh! Yuck..thanks for sharing you poor thing…. I don’t think I would eat there now can’t imagine what their kitchen looks like… Grace
We are so sorry about your visit to Edgefeild, as I told you Ludmil and I had stayed there several years ago and had a lovely time… things sound like they have not been cleaned since we were there, and you are right they should be ashamed… I am so glad you found our other favorite place however, the French bakery.. sooooo goooood.. I am eager to see all your stories, it was fun to see you both, and I we will see you again in the spring, here in Texas!!!!! I hope you passed on your blog entry to management, I would hope they would at least refund your money.
that just is plain crummy……we have been to a few bad places & it is not pleasant.
good thing you seen some fun places {oh, that bread and jam jars} so that is a plus!
hope all is well!
kara & darcy
that just is plain crummy……we have been to a few bad places & it is not pleasant.
good thing you seen some fun places {oh, that bread and jam jars} so that is a plus!
hope all is well!
kara & darcy
that just is plain crummy……we have been to a few bad places & it is not pleasant.
good thing you seen some fun places {oh, that bread and jam jars} so that is a plus!
hope all is well!
kara & darcy
That is so disappointing! I, for one, appreciate the honesty. And I would absolutely complain to the management.
Looks beautiful too bad it had to be dampened by the rooms…Thanks for the tour and your comments will be remembered if we are ever in that area…we live in B.C. and head down to that area quiet often!
Yikes- how disappointing! You should definitely submit your review on tripadvisor.com so other travelers don’t make the same mistake.
Miss Heather, all I can say is that you REALLY condensed the story that we heard from you at dinner… in the interest of time and brevity, I know… but it was so hilarious! (The ‘All Seeing’ Jerry Garcia eye?!)
And really, don’t worry, this wasn’t negative. Just think of all of the people you’ve SAVED from a similarly disappointing experience. Hopefully next time you are up, we’ll have the Guest Suite ready…dusted….no Milk Duds….. ;0)
Heather I do hope you will get a refund, you are right the grounds are wonderful, the porch with the rocking chairs are inviting, they have got to have some bad management going on there. I was pleased to get to meet you in person at The Queen of Tarte and Willow Nest and Annie, Fannie and Abigail’s sale.
Oh Heather that just sounds awful! I’ve only went out for dinner or a movie at McMenamins. I’ve always wondered what the rooms were like. Now I know, I sure haven’t missed anything!
It’s a bit of a rule of thumb around here that if the room is filthy I won’t be eating in the restaurant where I *can’t* see what hygiene standard they do (or don’t) employ.
I agree with MorningT, harsh though it sounds, I think that posting a review on tripadvisor might make the owners pull up their socks and in the meantime save others from a bad experience.
Hi Heather,
We have yet to eat at one of their places and get good service or have it clean. We will not go back. We have eaten in Oregon and Washington. There is no excuse for filth and they are giving themselves a bad name.
Sandy
Heather, I just wanted to tell you that I also totally apprecitate your fair and honest review!!
Thank you,
Maryann
That’s too bad… such a beautiful place.
You should call the folks at 20/20 that go into places like this with a blue light for detecting germy things. I bet the whole place would light up blue. Thanks for the public service announcement and I don’t look at your post as being negative, just the cold hard truth. As sometimes it is. Besides your photos are still positively pretty!
Oh my! That really takes the cake, I probably wouldn’t eat there if there rooms are that way, then how does that kitchen look? Maybe just visit for pictures only? Of the outside that is.
Thanks!
♥ Jen
I am so sorry! Like Linda, I believe I too recommended this place to you when we were at Barnhouse. My husband & I went 6 years ago & it was perfection. So sorry. You can probably lodge a complaint on their website. I would think the Mc Bros would want to know of your experience.
Hope that was your last yuck hotel experience.
Kathrine
Wow! You would think with such a beautiful place that the rooms would be spectacular?! I think I’ve seen better at Holiday Inn. At least there weren’t bugs in the bed, like one of my experiences at a hotel. The owner just asked if they were big or small? Seriously! Who cares, just give me my money back! Too bad,, but the pics are great!
Tricia S.
I really haven’t had the experience to be the reverse of the old attage..don’t judge a book by its cover.
I am so sorry for you Heather. I hope they gave you some money back and look you as a dissatisified customer havent told 10 you told 1,000s in todays world YOu DO YOUR BEST! and exceed your own expectations by expecting more than others ever would.
WHat a snake charmer! Love the grounds. definately the good.! On a fun note I have loved your connection to flea market studios and have you and the button already on my blog …the giveaway helped me set up the button etc.
BEST TO YOU!
Warmly,
Stacy~Creativemuse
http://www.creativemuse.etsy.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52895107@N00/
http://creativemusewhereinspirationsflourish.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/542876@N22/
Sooo…where is this place? If the rooms are in poor condition, how does the rest…the grounds, restaurant…etc, actually look underneath the ambiance?
No way!!!talk about pitch a fit!!!!! Oh Yes I would!
Ewwwwwwww! And you STAYED????? I would have promptly turned around and left – have done it before. That is awful! I agree, couldn’t eat there either after reading your post, which you should not be sorry for. Thanks for letting us know.
Hope you don’t mind Heather, took the liberty of alerting the McMen’s to your website & disappointment & they will be contacting you. They too are very sorry & horrified. So be on the look out for someone from there calling you.
Hope to see at Barnhouse again one day to munch on KFC and the “Afterglow” party!!
Kathrine
The trouble with going to the restaurants, is that you have to wonder how clean they keep the kitchens!!
ugh.
I’d have complained too, Heather.
Karla
If they can’t take care of their rooms, just imagine the horrors in their kitchen! I’ll pass, thanks. Though the outside did look lovely, great photo opps there. I’d report this place to the state health department.
Yuck! Makes you want to check the kitchen before you order dinner! That kind of service is unimaginable…hopefully in this very tactful post you are able to get them to update for future guests.
What a disappointment! You’d have to get drunk just to sleep there. Thanks for giving the heads up so others don’t experience the nightmare.
I recently had my first experience with a Mcmenanins in Bend, Oregon. I had heard great things about it. We were just going for lunch but we wandered through the halls of the lodging area to catch a glimpse. I agree the grounds are beautiful! The buildings are quaint and historic. The entertainment options are fun and whimsical. This one had a movie theatre, I believe Edgefield has a miniature golf course. The food was great, good service and nostalgic ambience. But… the hallway of the hotel was dark, and dingy, I observed the linens on a service cart and they also looked poor quality and condition. I decided I would not want to stay there. What else did you do while in Portland? Did you find any great shops?
Thanks for the heads up. We’re headed to Portland next month and we’d heard such great things about McMenanins. Sorry for your bad experience-I hope the rest of the trip made up for the “ugly” you experienced there.
Nan
So sorry you had a bad experience at the hotel. I have never stayed there but visited it twice. I love going there and our favorite resturant is the Black Rabbit. I told my son and he is a big fan..of course he has stayed there but probably in the spring. He admitted he had to have TV and airconditioning..but he thought maybe they want people to experience what it was really like back when it was the poor house..he was guessing. I wont be staying there but will just visit it…Sally
Sorry about your stay at what looked like a great place to visit. I also had a bad hotel experience and let them and the booking company know. I think we need to get the word out about poor conditions at places like this so maybe they will improve or…like the bar tender said…it can stay the place of those who don’t seem to care!
Connie
You deserve a rant! The rockers on the front porch look like Kennedy Rockers. The style was named for Kennedy as they were the rockers they gave away to campaign contributors. The one I have has a metal plate on the back. Even if they are replicas, I’d have a hard time putting it out on the porch for the weather to ruin. I’d go for something a little less expensive.
So sorry to hear about the horrible conditions! We were so dissapointed with our visit to McMen’s in Gearhart. Seems like they have gone down super fast in the last few years.
I hope you complained to the management. I’ve stayed at the Kennedy School and other McMenamin’s hotels & eaten at their restaurants and only had good experiences. There’s not much worse, though, than being in a dirty hotel room.
I just went there for dinner. It was not very good. Would not recommend it.
OMG! I am so glad I just read this, ironically my friend and I just booked a room there!! We may need to reconsider quickly! Did you notice any other places around that would be better? Is the area nice, or should we go southwest of Portland to the Wilamette Valley wine country area? Never have been so no idea where to go?! Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!
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