Lodgings in Roseburg?

July 25, 2005 11:01 AM

Where should we stay in or around Roseburg, OR?

My wife and I are going to be doing a little driving around Oregon next week. We're starting out in Portland, swinging by Crater Lake, and ultimately ending up in Bend. I didn't plan ahead, and Crater Lake Lodge is booked for the night we were hoping to stay there. So I'm thinking maybe we'll just shoot down I-5 from Portland to Roseburg (or somewhere in that vicinity), stay the night, and make a day trip to Crater Lake on the way back to Bend. I'm a native Oregonian, but aside from a high school swim meet or two, I have never spent any time in Roseburg; where should we stay to get the real flavor of the town? Do we want to get the real flavor of Roseburg? Would we be better off somewhere else? Grants Pass, maybe (if so, all the same questions apply)? TIA

posted by willpie to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

It's probably full, but the brewery-hotel chain McMenamin's has a hotel in a renovated school in Bend, The Old St. Francis School.

I haven't stayed there, but on a recent trip to Portland I stayed at their Kennedy School Hotel, and it was my favorite hotel of all time. You stay in renovated classrooms, complete with chalkboards and cloakrooms, the girls' bathroom is a brewery, the gym shows movies, the bars are named Detention (smoking allowed) and Honors (no smoking), and the teacher's lounge is a huge hot soaking pool. Plus just the character of this bldg that was once a school was a hoot. I imagine the Bend one is similar.

Like I say, probably full, but worth a shot. Or keep it in mind if you come abck.
posted by GaelFC at 11:09 AM on July 25, 2005

Mmmmm Roseburg is where the papermill is located, no? If so, avoid it because holy cow it REEKS. There are places in Kalamath Falls and no bad smell.
posted by yodelingisfun at 12:36 PM on July 25, 2005

One of my coworkers is from Grant's Pass, he says that the Riverside is a good place to stay. Right on the river, wot. GP is an easy four and a half hour drive from Portland.
posted by SpecialK at 2:18 PM on July 25, 2005

A little out of the way (depending on how you travel) but I would really recommend considering staying in Klamath Falls. There's this resort called the Running Y that's really quite nice, owned by the giant Jeld-Wen window corporation. Or stay in Ashland. What I'm thinking is you could just jet down I-5 (boring I know) then take 66 over from Ashland to K-falls. It's an easy hour drive from Kfalls (or Ashland) to Crater Lake, and 66 is the prettiest highway in Oregon, even better than 101. Or, if you're doing the Bend route, you could just stay at Sunriver, but that's a bit further north and at least two hours from Crater Lake.

If you're going for sure to Roseburg, I don't have any suggestions of where to stay, but make sure to check out the ice cream shop in Rice Hill, located maybe 20 miles further south. It's got great $2.5 cones or milkshakes with giant scoops of Tillamook icecream and at least 30 flavors.

(on preview: yodelingisfun, there might be a papermill there, but are you thinking of Millersburg? Cus the smell is awful there.)
posted by Happydaz at 3:35 PM on July 25, 2005

Yes, stop for Umpqua Ice Cream in Rice Hill, about 25 miles north of Roseburg, which should take you three hours from Portland. You might see a lumber or plywood mill, but not a paper mill. Having spent many years in Roseburg I find I cannot recommend anything to see, nor imagine staying there unless you are in jail. Well, there is a WalMart, but you've probably already seen one.
Instead of wishing you were staying at Crater Lake Lodge, call Union Creek Resort. Nice lodge & cabins and it's about 25 miles from Crater Lake.
posted by Mack Twain at 11:30 PM on July 25, 2005

Bah. Thanks Mack Twain, can you tell I didn't get enough sleep yesterday? Yes it's Umpqua, yes it's to the north, but I don't think I ever said how far it was from Portland :-(. Driving through Roseburg always made me sad, it was like driving through east Springfield without a Eugene next door to compensate.
posted by Happydaz at 10:50 AM on July 26, 2005