Clouds covered the sky as I looked out from the deck of our room at the Shilo Inn Seaside Oceanfront (30 North Prom, 800-222-2244 or 503-738-9571, ShiloInn.com) but it looked like they might recede into the twilight of the night to reveal the sun by dawn.
Either way, one of my best friends and I were excited for our overnight retreat as the guests of the Shilo Inns, a chain of hotels located mostly in the Oregon and Washington states with a sprinkling of hotels around the U.S.
Overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the Oregon Coast in Seaside, a charming beach side town, that reminded me much of growing up in Santa Cruz, Calif., my friend and I felt the stresses of our busy lives melt away and time slow down for our overnight girlfriend getaway: a welcome respite.
We couldn’t wait to turn on the fireplace in our room and kick back with a nice bottle of wine or desert after dinner, depending on our mood. We were also pleased to see that we had a full kitchen with a counter and a table with chairs near the sliding glass doors leading to the deck, so if we didn’t want to go out we could order in and be fine with a fire, movies and food. That is if we wanted.
Instead, we chose to go to the bar and lounge downstairs for our complementary drink. Save your taste buds! We watched as the woman poured the wine that bubbled up like grape juice into our wine glasses. My friend and I looked at each other in fear for our taste buds. Not to be rude we took one sip and nearly choked. We sat at the bar for a minute contemplating if we should take another sip then slowly pushed the glasses away from us, left a tip and walked around the lounge to tour the rest of the hotel.
We walked out into Seaside to hunt down dinner to satiate our appetites and to get the awful taste out of our mouths. Neither one of us could understand why any hotel in Oregon, if they offered complementary wine upon check in, wouldn’t partner with or at least offer one of the states average, but good wine. We didn’t get to see if the wine originated in Oregon, to be fair, but no one has to be an expert to know what we were served was rotten grapes.
Too bad too, if the wine was good we might have stayed and enjoyed dinner overlooking the surf and taken in the music or entertained a slot machine (gambling is legal in Oregon) before returning to our room.
That was the worst thing about the hotel though.
From the moment that you step into the huge lobby you look out upon the beach. The steam from the indoor pool and Jacuzzi don’t obliterate the view of the pristine beach and the wisps of fog that hang over Tillamook Head that juts out into the water at the end of the beach. Swimmers and guests simply relaxing in the Jacuzzi take pleasure of the same view from the water 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. The pool rarely closes down I learned from one of the hotel staff. Guests can also luxuriate in the dry sauna or workout in the recently renovated gym.
Guests wishing to get outside to partake in the wonders of the Pacific Northwest or enjoy the fresh salt air can easily step out for a jog or walk onto the Promenade, the “Prom” as locals call it, or the beach from the hotel. The hotel is also within a block from the heart of the town where a variety of amusement park rides, bars, restaurants and shops are located.
There really isn’t need to drive anywhere once guests park in the garage at the hotel if they stay in town. Even if they want to go out to the golf course in Gearhart or take an excursion to Cannon Beach. Guests can hop on a local shuttle that will take them there.
At the end of the day they can retreat into their spacious rooms, that are comfortable and much like a home away from home, to relax, just as guests of yesteryears resorts in the same location did more than a century ago.
The Shilo Inn Seaside Oceanfront rests in a place where the town’s original resort once resided back in the late 1800s. The old building no longer exists, but photographs of the various incarnations of resorts built on the same stretch of beach are neatly framed in the hallway between the lobby and the lounge with a bit of the history. While the Shilo Inn doesn’t look like past resorts that have been built on the edge of Seaside’s beach in the same spot, it’s a point of pride that the staff at the front desk likes to show off. It’s worth checking out, just for a trivial fact of resort history.
THE FLUFF
Shilo Inn Seaside Oceanfront, 30 North Promenade, 503-738-0549, 800-222-2244 or 503-738-9571, ShiloInn.com.
RATING: 3 = Aqua
(5 best – 0 worst: color code: 5 = midnight blue; 4 = black; 3 = Aqua; 2 = orange; 1 = gold; and 0 = green)
TYPE OF LODGING: Mid-range; mostly a regional chain, with a sprinkling of locations around the U.S.
CHECK OUT: $$ = $100 – $175
(Lowest price for a single night in a standard room during high-season)
SWEET DREAMS: Fall asleep to the sounds of the waves lapping at the shore and wake up to breaking waves at dawn. Nothing is more tranquil than being on the beach and having everything you want for a relaxing vacation at your finger tips.
WORTH THE SLEEP?: zzz = Like being at home
VIBE: Comfortable, like being at an old friend’s house.
SCENE: Beachy, kick back and enjoy the surf.
LOCATION: A stroll takes you on an adventure of either: amusement park rides, kitchy shops, bars and restaurants or out into a peaceful convening with nature.
ROOM: Spacious and unpretentiously down home with a kitchen, fireplace and deck overlooking the beach or mountains.
BATHROOM: What more can you want other than a clean bathroom after a day at the beach and a separate vanity area away from the shower and toilet?
AMENITIES: This hotel offers the luxury of staying in or going out without much of a hassle. Park the car, check in with the friendly staff, kick back with a movie on cable, the fireplace turned on, and a view of the beach. Check email or surf the web for a local restaurant for free. Cook up something delicious in the kitchen or enjoy the view with a meal at bar and lounge. Take a swim in the 24-hour pool, steam up in the sauna, or get sweaty in the gym.
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