The Omni Homestead Resort

The Homestead has been around since 1766, so it is steeped in history. We enjoyed the historical tour by The Homestead historian. It is offered daily at 10:00. There are lots of activities here, for families and adults. We are golfers. Both courses are outstanding. It is a a little weird going to the driving range for the Cascades. The course is a few miles from the hotel, and the range is between the two. The locker rooms at The Old Course are true to the name. They are definitely old school. We are talking very basic. We booked a "Suite Deal" which charged us only $20.17 for the 3rd night. The first 2 nights were $450 each. The suite was beautiful, well appointed. However, it was not without some issues. In the living room, one of the 3 window shades was completely pulled off its track. They did send someone to fix it pretty quickly. It left me wondering what the housekeeping "inspector" does. It was impossible not to see it. The water never got as hot as we would have liked for our shower. They were unable to fix it, so they offered to move us, but we chose not to go to the trouble. They gave us a credit on our bill. We also had trouble with our keys. One day we had to go back to the desk 3 times. Why do I give it a 5 rating when we had these issues? Because they were very responsive, and they are clearly taking steps to restore and maintain the property. We understand that tending to old, historical properties is an immense challenge. The spa is fabulous. The facility itself is absolutely wonderful. The ambiance, the staff, and the services are unquestionably top notch. Treat yourself to a service and you and your spouse get a day pass to the garden pools and cafe. It was chili out, so they brought us lunch in the lovely couples relaxation room. I think the service to get this benefit has a minimum dollar amount, but I do not recall the number. Be sure to go to afternoon tea at least once. They serve a nice pastry, which differs daily. Enjoy tunes played on the grand piano in the great hall. A disappointment was that the lobby bar was closed Monday and Tuesday. The Casino restaurant is sometimes closed for dinner also. Overall, a great getaway! Worth the trip up the spiraling mountain road.

I am currently staying here as i review. They gave us a room with a view. The view was the driveway and surrounding grounds. Not the beautiful mountain scenery. After a room issue of a broken tile we did not want to have to worry about sharp edges cutting feet. We requested a new room. They offered us a new room but not complimentary as there was no room of equal value available.

Stayed three nights and four days in October 2018. Traveled with my elderly mother. I found this resort to be breathtakingly beautiful. It is an old, historic building full of surprises - cozy nooks, shortcuts, balconies - and I bet every guest room is unique. I felt like Nancy Drew wandering around. If you can appreciate antique wavy glass in a window pane without fretting about the chipped paint around it, you will like this place. The breakfast buffet was good. The chateaubriand in the main dining room is excellent. The crab cake small plate at Jefferson’s is excellent. FIVE PLUS STARS to the classy, professional, efficient and kind staff in the main dining room. I will never forget their kindness to my mother. Housekeeping was okay - bathroom was spotless and beds were beautifully made but I found several dead bugs throughout as well as some trash and other items left behind by past guests. Never got turn down service so it may not be offered here, which is surprising for a destination resort. We tipped every morning and we were gone every evening and I made sure the “do not disturb� sign was not on the door, but alas, no chocolate on our pillows. The beds were okay, not nearly as nice as a Westin heavenly bed. However, I loved the green plaid “studio twist� blankets in the room. I wanted to buy one but they are not sold at the hotel or on the omni website. They might consider monogramming them with the homestead logo and selling them in the gift shop. The spa is top notch with new locker rooms and various ways to relax with saunas, steam room, and experiential showers. The locker room is accessible for the elderly. Plan to spend at least a whole day at the serenity garden - two days if you like hot mineral springs and really need to relax! The stairs into the hot springs are slippery. Make advance reservations for the serenity garden, especially on weekends, because they do sell out. Five stars to the salon staff who gave us manicures and pedicures. Five stars to the reservations staff, the concierge, and the bellmen. Five stars to the locker room staff in the spa who were always ready to help. Five stars to the gardeners who maintain the lovely grounds. Despite all this, I can’t give five stars. Unfortunately we had no hot water in our room during our entire stay. I communicated with the front desk every day on this issue and mentioned it to the maintenance men in the hallways. The desk staff said that they were aware; that others had complained; and they were working on it. On our last day they offered to move us to a different room, but we declined since we were checking out the next morning anyway. 10 minutes before check out time I received a garbled voice mail message from a woman who did not identify her position and only gave an indecipherable first name. She was “checking to make sure our hot water problem had been fixed.� LOL! Of course it was not fixed, I had been telling them the whole time that we had no hot water for four days! I called back and said to please tell whoever it was that it was never fixed. The final invoice emailed to me reflected a small 12% discount off the room only ($1500 - $190). On the whole I would return and I would recommend it but only to people who are flexible enough to deal with cold showers in an expensive room.

The resort and its views are undeniably beautiful. However, that's about all the resort has to offer. All activities and restaurants are over priced. There are no guest discounts or anything to help guests out. Activities may not even be available due to events not advertised prior to your stay. Service at the entrance, front lobby, check in, restaurants were all lacking (e.g. getting orders wrong, inattentive). I will not be returning to the resort.

Beautiful place for a romantic getaway. Unfortunately it's expensive and there are too many hidden fees. I think they would get more guests if it was more of an all-inclusive. It's perfect in October.