McMenamins Grand Lodge
| Address: | 3505 Pacific Ave, Forest Grove, OR 97116, USA |
| Phone: | +1 503-992-9533 |
| Site: | mcmenamins.com |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
TO
Toys and Books And Books And Toys
The building and history are great. 5 stars for that. The food is ok. 3 stars for that. Oh. I like Ruby Spa. Everyone there has been nothing but kind and polite. That said, I live in FG and come here at least 12 times a year. 2-4 times a month in the summer. I know who the best servers are. They are kind and engaging and happy. There are 3 of them. Everyone else is an @$$hole and I dont use that term lightly. They are rude, arent friendly even if you try to be friendly, arent HELPFUL (sorry, all our mustard bottles are being used, sorry, we are all out of high chairs [even when we point out that there are several sitting at tables that were recently vacated all around us] sorry, if you want a milkshake you have to get it in the bar and leave your 1 and 3 year olds out here alone, "sorry/not sorry" that we seated you 45 minutes ago and havent been back to even offer a glass of water..." I am just over this place. I dont care how nice it is outside or how good the band is or how bad I want Cajun tots. I kept coming back thinking that maybe I just was running into employees who are having a bad day or are new on the job... But after spending 4 hours here today and getting service from the ironworks grill, rubys spa, doctors office, Bobs bar and the front desk and 80% of them are rude... And all my other experiences here the last year... I realize its the culture. They need a total overhaul staff and culture, and some training in customer service... Maybe some morale boosters. I would only recommend this place to 2 people: 1. Those who want to be treated with complete disdain and know what it feels like to really really annoy a total stranger. 2. Out-of-towners who want first-hand experience interacting with a real Portland Hipster in all their assholiness. If you really want to be treated like pond scum, ask around for stamps on your passport.
JO
Joshua Agee
Disclaimer: I have never stayed as a guest at McMenamins Grand Lodge being that I live in Forest Grove. This review primarily reflects my experiences using the soaking pool, restaurants and bars on campus. McMenamins Grand Lodge is, like other locations, a beautifully restored older building. This particular location, evidently, served as the Oregon Freemason chapters Grand Lodge and actually resides directly next to the current Grand Lodge and a retirement community built by Masons. From the dim lighting, to the ghost stories involving apparitions of a woman wandering the halls, to the intricate plumbing hanging from the ceiling of the basement, this place has a striking and slightly creepy atmosphere. I usually begin my visit with a drink or two at one of the several bars on campus ($4 well drink happy hour, specialty cocktails are usually $7-10). The second drink I ask to be served in a plastic cup so that I can utilize the Japanese style soaking pool ($5 for the general public, free for hotel guests). Inlaid stone and native Japanese botanicals surround the soothingly warm and jetted water. The pool is 2-3 times the size of an average public pools hot tub. At times hotel guests children are playing in the water, so I actually prefer to visit during the cold and rainy weather not uncommon here in Forest Grove. The Iron Work Grill featues a short yet varied selection of well crafted comfort food including pizzas, burgers, and generally a few seasonal specials. Although Ive never stayed as a guest in the hotel given my other positive experiences visiting McMenamins Grand Lodge I can confidently rate it 5 stars. Live music events, soaking pool, in house movie theater, bars scattered across the property, good food, whats not to love? Its like a huge adult playground.
FO
FoxLore Beryll
My partner and I stayed at the Grand Lodge while we were visiting from Dublin. Our stay was a complete disaster. We booked online about three months before our visit just in case, and it wasnt until I could no longer cancel our booking (three days before our arrival) did the hotel inform us that the Grand Lodge would be undergoing renovations. Which included, sawing and hammering right outside our window. The hotel waited until it would cost us to cancel our reservation to inform us of the renovations. When we arrived the staff was crass and even though we asked to be place away from the renovations, we were given a room right beside it. The crew kept hammering in the rooms across from ours and banging on our walls at 8am. The Grand Lodge is completely over priced in food and drink, and many of their prices for food are not listed correctly on their menus, including a pizza my partner and I ordered that was listed as 10.00 but turned out to be over 30.00, because of "extra costs." During our visit, two young men managed to get upstairs where the guests rooms were, and started trying to open unlocked doors and push their way into rooms. I can only guess they managed to slip upstairs because of the renovations which were completely unsupervised after about 6pm. When I brought it to the attention of the hotel, they sent someone up to check quickly upstairs but did not make any effort to make sure we and other guests felt safe, or ever confirm that the men were asked to leave. I will say that the atmosphere of the Grand Lodge is very unique and the spas around the lower levels looked nice, however, that is about the extend of my positive praise for the hotel. I am sad that this was our experience here, because this was the first time my partner was visiting America.
JA
Jacob Pratt
The Grand Lodge is a quaint hotel with classic charm. Unfortunately that charm includes a lack of air conditioning. The high temperatures during our stay were around 97 so the entire hotel was very warm. The exceptions were the bar the in basement (which had fun games to play) and the theater (which was showing a recent movie release). We spent time in both places and enjoyed ourselves. The service at the restaurants and bars was never great and good was not spectacular. We stayed in a king room with a shared bathroom. The room was a good size and had its own sink. They even have a box fan to use on the hot days. Because of the heat we used the fan in the window during the night. However, the garbage truck woke us out of our slumber at 6am when it emptied the dumpster right outside of our window. I played the disc golf course thats on the property. Its only 8 holes but its well manicured. Because of the close proximity to the paths and restaurants, Id only recommend playing when there arent other people out. Overall, wed probably prefer to stay at Edgefield or Kennedy School before staying at this McMenamins hotel again.
KA
Kayla Castleberry
We started the evening with a relaxing dip in the soaking pool. Following that, dinner and drinks at the Doctors Bar were delicious, and the service was excellent. I was there with a friend to work on our passport, and found the picture clue to be extremely vague. After searching the entire hotel unsuccessfully, we asked for a hint, and were told that its in a glowing, secret, unmarked room, near a blue light. Such a room was found after further searching, but apparently it was the wrong glowing, secret, unmarked room near a blue light. The staff just told us to keep looking, but we were frustrated, and my friend with back problems didnt want to climb all the way up to the attic for what would have been a third time. We left without completing our passport for that location, which means well have to make another trip all the way out to Forest Grove, just to solve another picture clue. Ive heard horror stories from friends, but never had issues solving the clue before, and this is my second passport. The passport is fun overall, but overly vague photo clues like this one leave people frustrated.
