Riverhouse on the Deschutes

At first glance, guests arriving at this riverfront property might think it’s a peaceful hideaway, but this hotel bustles with activity year-round. There are wedding parties, families and couples on vacation, and business travelers attending meetings at the hotel's conference center. It can get quite crowded when larger groups stay here and hotel is at capacity, resulting in waits for service at times. It’s an older property with exterior corridors but a $10 million renovation completed in 2016 nicely refreshed it. It has a modern lobby, but the registration area is dark and has low ceilings. The handsome Currents restaurant is brighter and looks more like a rustic lodge, with vaulted ceilings and banks of windows overlooking the river. Lots of comfy seating and a large fireplace make the bar area a cozy hangout, and the fire pit on the large outdoor patio also is a popular gathering spot. 

The property is located on both sides of a narrow stretch of the Deschutes River about a 10-minute drive from downtown Bend. In town, guests will find the popular Old Mill District and its numerous shops and restaurants. The hotel is across the busy state highway from shopping mall with a supermarket, department stores, and restaurants. It’s a 24-minute drive to Sunriver Resort, and 15 minutes to the ski slopes at Mount Bachelor. Redmond Municipal Airport takes 22 minutes by car, and the airports in Eugene and Salem are approximately two-and-a-half hours away. Portland is a little more than a three-hour drive.

The guest rooms are modern and fresh from a 2016 upgrade, and while attractive, their gray-and-gold decor lacks energy and spaces are a bit dark. A predominantly gray palette includes a range of hues on walls, wooden furniture, and two-tone carpet with a busy pattern. Gold accents are used on bed throws and some of the upholstered furniture fabrics. Units come in four categories (including One-Bedroom Suites), differentiated by size and views, and all have either balconies or patios. The Deluxe (standard) Room we saw was contemporary and spacious, with a sofa, coffee table, and desk with leather office chair. It also had a roomy credenza that held a mini-fridge, microwave, and Keurig coffeemaker. Premier Rooms feature wood-burning fireplaces framed by natural stone, and Suites have separate living rooms.There are en-suite wood- and white-ceramic vanities, and similar but larger vanities in the spacious bathroom, which have nice wood laminate floors, magnifying mirrors, and white tiling around shower/tub combos. Views are of either the lovely river or the property (primarily of parking lots). Units facing the busy highway tend to hear more traffic noise, and some past guests have complained about noise from hallways and neighboring rooms. 

This rustic hotel offers a well-rounded amenities package for its business and leisure traveler clientele. Currents restaurant has a lovely outdoor patio and features fresh Pacific Northwest cuisine for breakfast (fee), lunch, and dinner. The hotel also has grab-and-go items for breakfast, and a gift shop that sells snacks and soft drinks. Room service is available. For wellness, the outdoor pool and whirlpool are open seasonally and have bar service in warm weather, and the indoor pool and whirlpool are open year-round. There's also a spacious and well-equipped fitness center with modern cardio and strength-training machines. Other amenities include a stand-alone convention center that can host up to 1,600 people, a dedicated business center with multiple computers and a printer, and a cozy game room with a pool table and flat-screen TV. Valet dry cleaning and laundry are among the concierge services, a guest laundry room is on-site, and there's a 24-hour front desk. On-site parking and Wi-Fi throughout are free, and pets are welcome with a surcharge. Travelers with limited mobility should be aware that there are no elevators to access second-floor guest rooms, and that some units are located across the river from the lobby and restaurant.