Formerly: Hotel Benson
Hood River, Oregon · Founded 1921 · Building: 1921
Simon Benson's 1921 Hood River hotel, built on the former Wah Gwin Gwin resort site above a 207-to-208-foot Columbia Gorge waterfall.
Columbia Gorge Hotel opened in 1921 above Wah Gwin Gwin Falls, replacing an earlier 1904 summer resort at the same Hood River site. Lumberman and highway advocate Simon Benson commissioned architect Morris H. Whitehouse to create the Mission-style Hotel Benson, soon known as the Columbia Gorge Hotel. Its story includes a 1952 conversion from hotel to retirement home, restoration beginning in 1977, a 2008 closure, and a current-era return to hotel operation.
Hood River pioneer Robert Rand built the 20-room Wah Gwin Gwin Hotel on the site, naming it for the waterfall. It operated as a summer resort until 1920.
Source: History Museum of Hood River County, "Wau-Gwin-Gwin," September 24, 2024; Columbia Gorge Hotel, "Hotel History," accessed September 1, 2026
Simon Benson purchased the Wah Gwin Gwin Hotel and roughly 25 surrounding acres, then demolished the earlier hotel to make way for a larger new property.
Source: Columbia Gorge Hotel, "Hotel History," accessed September 1, 2026; Yakima Herald-Republic, "The Historic Columbia Gorge Hotel - Chapter Two," 2018
The new Mission-style hotel, designed by Portland architect Morris H. Whitehouse and initially called Hotel Benson, opened with a grand reception. National Register documentation says construction was completed in May 1921.
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Nomination for Columbia Gorge Hotel, reference 79003736; Columbia Gorge Hotel, "History," accessed September 1, 2026
The Columbia Gorge Hotel ceased hotel operations when Neighbors of Woodcraft purchased it and converted the property into a retirement home.
Source: National Park Service, National Register nomination, reference 79003736; Columbia Gorge Hotel, "Hotel History," accessed September 1, 2026
Restoration efforts began after the former retirement-home property changed hands, beginning its transition back toward hotel use.
Source: Columbia Gorge Hotel, "Hotel History," accessed September 1, 2026; Yakima Herald-Republic, 2018
The Columbia Gorge Hotel was listed in the National Register of Historic Places under reference number 79003736.
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Nomination for Columbia Gorge Hotel, reference 79003736
Financial problems led to a brief hotel closure.
Source: Yakima Herald-Republic, "The Historic Columbia Gorge Hotel - Chapter Two," 2018
A new ownership era began and the hotel entered a modern restoration and operating revival. A 2018 report identified the owner then as A1 Hospitalities; current legal ownership requires separate verification.
Source: Yakima Herald-Republic, "The Historic Columbia Gorge Hotel - Chapter Two," 2018
Columbia Gorge Hotel continues operating at 4000 Westcliff Drive in Hood River as a historic lodging, dining, and event property.
Source: Columbia Gorge Hotel official contact and history pages, accessed September 1, 2026; Travel Oregon, "Columbia Gorge Hotel," March 6, 2026
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Robert Rand's 20-room Wah Gwin Gwin Hotel operated at the site from about 1904 until 1920. Simon Benson purchased the property, demolished the earlier hotel, and built the present Columbia Gorge Hotel, initially known as Hotel Benson, which opened in 1921.
The waterfall is an unmistakable hotel landmark, but published measurements vary. The hotel's own history calls it 207 feet, while several regional sources use 208 feet. A geographic survey should be obtained before treating either exact figure as definitive; "about 207–208 feet" is the reliable wording.
The National Register nomination identifies Simon Benson as responsible for building both the hotel and highway and says the hotel was designed to accommodate travelers on the completed Columbia River Highway. Current hotel history quotes Benson explaining that Oregon had built roads but had not yet created places to care for visitors after arrival.
Regional histories widely repeat the "Waldorf of the West" description for the Columbia Gorge Hotel. The phrase is a credible historic promotional nickname, but this review did not locate an original 1921 advertisement or contemporaneous newspaper account proving that it was used at opening or widely adopted at the time.
The hotel operated until 1952, when it was converted to a Neighbors of Woodcraft retirement home for roughly a quarter century. It returned to hotel use after restoration beginning in 1977 and experienced another brief closure in 2008. The property has a continuous historic presence, not uninterrupted hotel operation.
The National Park Service's nomination record identifies Columbia Gorge Hotel as listed on September 21, 1979, under National Register reference number 79003736.
Columbia Gorge Hotel has operated continuously as a luxury hotel since it opened in 1921.
The hotel ceased hotel operation in 1952 and became a Neighbors of Woodcraft retirement home for about 25 years. Restoration began in 1977, and the property had another brief closure in 2008. Its current success is a restoration-and-revival story, not uninterrupted hotel operation.
Source: National Park Service, National Register nomination, reference 79003736; Columbia Gorge Hotel, "Hotel History"; Yakima Herald-Republic, 2018
The Columbia Gorge Hotel was the first hotel on the Wah Gwin Gwin Falls site.
Robert Rand's Wah Gwin Gwin Hotel operated at the site from about 1904 until 1920. Simon Benson purchased and demolished the earlier hotel before building the present 1921 Columbia Gorge Hotel.
Source: History Museum of Hood River County, "Wau-Gwin-Gwin," September 24, 2024; Columbia Gorge Hotel, "Hotel History"; National Park Service, National Register nomination
The Columbia Gorge Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 under reference 78002281.
The National Register record identifies Columbia Gorge Hotel as listed on September 21, 1979, under reference number 79003736.
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Nomination for Columbia Gorge Hotel, reference 79003736
Wah Gwin Gwin Falls is exactly 208 feet high.
Published accounts differ by one foot: the hotel's own history gives 207 feet, while other regional sources use 208 feet. Until a geographic survey is reviewed, the most accurate wording is that the falls are about 207–208 feet high.
Source: Columbia Gorge Hotel, "Hotel History"; Yakima Herald-Republic, 2018; History Museum of Hood River County, 2024
The Columbia Gorge Hotel survived because each generation recognized that its setting above the Columbia River and Wah Gwin Gwin Falls was too distinctive to lose. Simon Benson used the highway-era tourism boom to create a dramatic luxury property; later owners kept the building standing even after it ceased to operate as a hotel in 1952. Restoration from the late 1970s onward and a post-2008 revival brought lodging, dining, events, and river-gorge tourism back to a site whose history is defined by reinvention rather than uninterrupted luxury service.
The present Columbia Gorge Hotel opened in 1921 after Simon Benson bought and demolished the earlier Wah Gwin Gwin Hotel, a 1904 summer resort on the same Hood River site. Benson commissioned architect Morris H. Whitehouse to build the Mission-style Hotel Benson, later known as the Columbia Gorge Hotel, above the waterfall. The property stopped operating as a hotel in 1952, became a retirement home, returned to hotel use after restoration beginning in 1977, and reopened again after a brief 2008 closure.
No oldest-hotel title is established for Columbia Gorge Hotel in this record. The current hotel dates to 1921, and the site had an earlier Wah Gwin Gwin Hotel from about 1904. The Columbia Gorge Hotel also stopped operating as a hotel in 1952 and did not return to hotel use until later restoration, so it should not be presented as an uninterrupted oldest-hotel claimant.
Before the present Columbia Gorge Hotel, the property held the Wah Gwin Gwin Hotel. Hood River pioneer Robert Rand built the 20-room summer hotel around 1904 and named it after the waterfall on the property. Simon Benson bought the site in 1920, demolished the older hotel, and built the larger 1921 hotel now known as Columbia Gorge Hotel.
Simon Benson, an Oregon lumberman, philanthropist, and Columbia River Highway advocate, commissioned the Columbia Gorge Hotel. Portland architect Morris H. Whitehouse designed the 1921 Mission-style building. It initially opened as Hotel Benson before becoming the Columbia Gorge Hotel.
Wah Gwin Gwin Falls is generally described as about 207 to 208 feet tall. The Columbia Gorge Hotel's own history uses 207 feet, while other regional sources use 208 feet. The waterfall is on or immediately adjacent to the historic hotel grounds, but an official geographic survey would be needed to settle one exact measurement.
Yes. The hotel stopped operating as a hotel in 1952, when Neighbors of Woodcraft converted it into a retirement home. Restoration began in 1977, and the property later returned to hotel use. It also had a brief financial-problem closure in 2008 before entering a new ownership/revival period in 2009.
4000 Westcliff Dr, Hood River, OR 97031
(541) 386-5566
Columbia Gorge Hotel is an active historic lodging and event property above Wah Gwin Gwin Falls. Confirm current room availability, restaurant hours, spa offerings, waterfall-access conditions, and event schedules before traveling.