School’s almost out! Have you planned your summer vacation yet?

Top 5 Mt Hood Vacation Ideas

Although it seems like spring has barely started, summer is nearly upon us! Before you know it, school will be out and your kids will be BEGGING for you to keep them entertained. Or, perhaps you just need an escape from pressures (and heat) of the city and want to take advantage of the long sunny days of summer at Mt Hood. Whatever your objectives or needs, Mt Hood Vacation Rentals has countless suggestions for how you can make the most of your summer vacation. Here are 5 Mt Hood vacation activities that are sure to keep the whole family entertained:

1. Did you know that Timberline Ski Area is the only mountain resort in the US that offers skiing and/or snowboarding year round? Enroll your kids in one of many ski or snowboarding camps. Enjoy your own adult vacation while they’re off fulfilling their dreams of becoming the next Shawn White. http://www.skinet.com/skiing/photo-gallery/mt-hood-summer-ski-camps

 2. A hike a day keeps the doctor away. Not only is hiking a great way to see the amazing wildlife and lush landscapes Mt Hood has to offer, but the advantages of the clean, fresh air will work wonders for your heart, mind and soul. After a rewarding day of wandering through the forest, spend the evening relaxing in a hot tub with a river view and barbecuing on the back deck of your vacation home. For 3 beautiful and amazing hikes, visit: http://www.oregonlakesandrivers.com/content/base-camp-mt-hood

3. Tired of being stuck in traffic? Frustrated with waiting in line for your first cup of coffee? Fed up with the noise and crowds of the city? If you answered yes to all of these questions, then you need a “relaxation-cation”. Whether you’re napping on the deck to the lulling sounds of the river, spending an afternoon at the luxurious spa at The Resort at the Mountain, or curled up with a good book by the fireplace, you’ll return to your everyday life revived and refreshed. http://www.theresort.com/spa.php

4. Sure, the kids are out of school, but why not continue their education by visiting the many historical sites located around the Mt Hood area? Step back in time at the Philip Foster Farm National Historic Site, the “last leg” of the Oregon Trail. Explore the architectural wonders of Timberline Lodge with a US Forest Service Ranger, and meet Heidi, the resident St Bernard, along the way. Discover other wonders of the mountain at the Mt Hood Cultural Center & Museum: http://www.mthoodmuseum.org/

5. Calling all foodies! Forage for your dinner in the abundant Mt Hood National Forest, where depending on the season you’ll find chanterelle or morel mushrooms, wood sorel, fiddlehead ferns, and huckleberries. Another day, take a leisurely drive around the Sandy Area Farm Loop for your berries, heirloom vegetables and more. Whatever you bring home to put on the plate, you’ll enjoy cooking it in a fully equipped vacation home kitchen. http://www.mthoodterritory.com/countrypleasures.jsp

Location, Location, Location!

Mt Hood Vacation Rentals' New Office at 67898 E Highway 26, Welches, Oregon

After spending a successful 18+ years in the office on Welches Road (over 20 years in business!), Betsy LaBarge, owner of Mt Hood Vacation Rentals, found a spacious and charming building on Highway 26 to be the new home for Mt Hood Vacation Rentals. With pride of ownership comes an open and welcome front office, a landscaped yard, incredible visibility from the highway, room to grow (read: increase our inventory of vacation homes) and a warm and private office space for Betsy (seriously, there’s a fireplace in there!).

Cari and Emily S. in the front office look forward to greeting guests into the bright and inviting space, which features a comfy seating area flanked by well-loved plants. Housekeepers Dani and Emily R. have easier access to their own area, with double doors and more room for linens and supplies, a utility sink, and a prep table. Coby, our maintenance technician, appreciates having his own loading zone and storing all of his supplies in one accessible and well-organized area. Paul is eager to do some landscaping once summer hits.

Thanks to Cari for organizing the big move, and thanks to the rest of the crew for all your heavy lifting, sorting, packing and unpacking. Not only are we moved, we are spring-cleaned and de-cluttered! Just in time for the busy season of summer to start. Bring it on.

You can’t miss us! The NEW Mt Hood Vacation Rentals is located at 67898 E Highway 26 in Welches, Oregon, just west of the stop light at Welches Road. Stop in, say hi and see our new digs.

Guest Entrance to the Mt Hood Vacation Rentals Office

For Reservations and Information:

Email   Book Online   866.761.8029

Clackamas County Officials to Speak about Recent Flood Events at Mt Hood Chamber Meeting

County Officials will be available at the February 1, 2011 Mt Hood Area Chamber of Commerce meeting to provide updates and answer questions regarding the Lolo Pass Rd flood and road rebuild and the Zigzag River Bridge repairs. The meeting will be held at 8 AM at Mt Hood Village RV Resort.



Mt Hood Vacation Rentals Guest Survey - Fall 2010



Many thanks to our past guests who completed this fall's Guest Survey.  Your answers help us to know what you are looking for when you stay in a Mt Hood Vacation Rental and to serve you even better, the next time you visit.

There was a good cross-section of guests who completed the survey.  The vacation rentals you stayed in were spread evenly across our inventory of homes.  You visit Mt Hood throughout all of the seasons of the year.  And you all agreed (65% - 88% of you) that the most important factors in making the final decision of which home to stay in were:

• The home had the amenities you wanted
• The home was in the location you wanted
• The home had enough bedrooms and bathrooms
• The home was available for your desired dates
• The rental rate of the home was a good value

However, surprising to us is that for about half of you, the decor and style of the home was only a consideration; for the other half of you it was very important.

 

• When asked to rate amenities on a scale of 1 - 5, with 5 being very important, you all mostly agreed here, too.

• 73% rated riverfront or creekfront as a 4 or 5
• 72% rated secluded settings as a 4 or 5
• 66% rated fireplace or woodstove as a 4 or 5
• 62% rated a hot tub as 4 or 5
• 60% rated decor & style as a 4 or 5

Even though 26% of you told us you visit for skiing, snowboarding and snowplay, 44% gave the importance of staying in a home at the snowline a 1; 26% of you rated the snowline location as a 3.

A pet-friendly home was rated as a 5 for 34% of you.  And 43% said it was not important.

Your reasons to visit are varied.  However, a whopping 72% told us that you come to relax.  The top reasons to visit are:

• 36% visit for a Friends' Gathering
• 26% visit to Ski/Snowboard/Snowshoe/Snowplay
• 26% visit to Hike
• 25% visit for a Romantic Getaway/Anniversary, Honeymoon, Proposal
• 25% visit while on an Oregon Vacation
• 12% visit for a Family Reunion
• 12% visit for a Birthday Celebration

And it turns out that of our guests who answered this survey, you tend to be in the 30-59 age group and traveling without kids. 

• 54% visited without anyone under the age of 18.  Of those who did travel with kids, 38% brought 1-3 children with them.
• 52% had 1 or 2 in the group aged 19-30
• 66% had 1 or 2 in the group aged 31-45
• 61% had 1 or 2 in the group aged 46-59
• 44% had 1 or 2 in the group aged over 60; equally 44% had no-one in the age group

Over 60% rated our website, mthoodrentals.com with a 5.

• 64.5% gave top ratings to Gathering information about the homes
• 63.5% gave top ratings to Overall navigation of website
• 61.9% gave top ratings to Ease of online booking
• 61.3% gave top ratings to Searching for homes

 

A few of you mentioned that you would like to see the address to the home on the website.  We do not give out addresses to homes until check-ins to protect the privacy and honor the security of other guests and to protect the overall security of the home.  As noted above, 72% of you told us that a secluded location is important to you.  And 40-60% of our guests live within a 2-hour drive which makes it easy to drive up to the mountain in advance of their visit to check out the home.  When you are visiting, we do not want you to be disturbed by a future guest who is just looking around.  This policy ensures that everyone will enjoy their private and secluded vacation.

 

We do try to post as many photos of the surrounding area as possible, so you can get an idea of the type of neighborhood and the proximity of other homes. We also have 360 virtual tours for each home posted on the website. You can find the virtual tour by clicking on the Overview page of each home, then scrolling down to the end of the text and clicking on "Take the Tour".

 

How do you prefer to make your reservation?

• 64% said you prefer to book online
• 62% said they would prefer to email us
• 38% said your least preferred method of contact is by phone, while 38% said your most preferred method of contact is by phone

38% of you have a smart phone and 91% of you use it to view emails.  The next most popular use at 57% is for using the GPS to find our office and your rental home.  We want to warn you that GPS systems are often inaccurate in the Mt Hood area.  The tall trees and mountains sometimes get in the way of the satellites; it is not uncommon for our guests who use GPS's without referring to the maps and directions we give you to get lost.

 

How can we do better?

 

Besides asking for addresses for homes, the most common requests are to provide more detailed descriptions and photos of the homes and surrounding landscape on our website.  We will work on that during the next 6 months.  You also made miscellaneous comments regarding maintenance and housekeeping. We strive to keep our homes beautifully maintained and cleaned; during October and November, we are doing a thorough deep clean of all of our vacation homes. We are also servicing furnaces, woodstoves and fireplaces, septic systems, cleaning all gutters and windows and having our carpets and upholstery professionally cleaned.

 

You had lots of great compliments, too.  Most of the compliments were also regarding the maintenance and housekeeping.  We heard several comments like the one below:

 

"It was beautiful, relaxing, the house was perfect for our vacation, quiet, peaceful, and the hot tub was great! We had a WONDERFUL time and will definately be back!"
"Location & pet friendly-ness. I love that we can stay in an exceptionally beautiful and clean home with our pets."
"The whole rental was amazing. The location, how secluded it was, that INCREDIBLE kitchen, the amenities (seriously, how soft those sheets were!). I have traveled extensively and this ranks in the top two trips. Thanks!"
"Everything about the home was exactly how it was described and explained both on the website and by your wonderful and very helpful office staff. They were very responsive and friendly. The home was clean and amenities were great"
"We loved that the kitchen was well stocked for cooking. The home was cozy and felt clean, not like a "revolving door "rental."

 

A very common sentiment is "It was very secluded, yet near to everything. We absolutely adored the privacy of the personal hot tub overlooking the river."

 

Congratulations to Karen S. of Washington.  She won our random drawing of all survey takers.  She will receive an adult lift ticket and an annual Sno-park permit when she stays in a Mt Hood Vacation Rental this winter season.

 

If you would like to make a reservation at a Mt Hood Vacation Rental, please contact us:

 

866-761-8029   Email   Book Online   Live Chat   Push to Talk

Mt Hood Vacation Rentals will have a New Home Soon

Very exciting news for us.  Paul and Betsy just closed on the purchase of the Heart of the Mountain Building at 67898 Hwy 26 in Welches.  We have wanted to own a building to house Mt Hood Vacation Rentals for some time, so when this property came onto the market last May, we decided to take a closer look.

Because the property was involved in a foreclosure and bankruptcy proceeding, this was not your usual real estate deal.  It took us 5 months to get here.

Now we have some county permitting hurdles to get over which will get us into the renovations right about the time La Nina's promised snow arrives to the mountain.  Thankfully most of the work is on the interior.  We will work on cleaning up the yard in the next few weeks.



This is the view of the building from Highway 26.  We won't be painting soon, but eventually hope to update the color to something a bit more subtle, like Betsy's favorite sage green.



This will be our new front office.  This was the dining room for the Backyard Bistro Restaurant.

We will need to take out a couple of walls, but this will become our linen room.  It even has double 6-foot doors to the outside for laundry delivery.  Mt Hood Cleaners is going to like that.

This will be our conference room/lunch room.  Note there is a fireplace in the corner.



This space will be divided into 2 offices, one for Betsy and one for the bookkeeper.

We will keep you updated on the progress and let you know when we get closer to our move-in date.