Mt Hood Vacation Rentals

Escape to Mt Hood with cozy cabins, romantic cottages and beautiful chalets!

Why Mt Hood Vacation Rentals are Way Better than a Hotel

Why Mt Hood Vacation Rentals are Way Better than a Hotel
Posted by Mt Hood Vacation Rentals

HOW TO TRAVEL TO MOUNT HOOD USING VACATION RENTALS

With a TV commercial highlighting vacation rentals having aired in Sunday’s big game, football fans are discovering why renting vacation homes, cabins, chalets and lodges is a favorite choice for many travelers versus hotels. Beyond the experiences families and friends build by staying in a home away from home in The Villages of Mt Hood, there are numerous benefits to choosing vacation rentals – sometimes in ways they’d least expect.

Whether trying vacation rentals for the first time or if you’re one of the nearly nine in 10 travelers who plan to rent again*, here are some useful planning tips and insights as a post-game update for visiting Mount Hood, Oregon:

KNOW YOUR DESTINATION:

Whether you are a first-time traveler to Mount Hood or regular visitor, it’s recommended that you become familiar with the mountain’s special events, seasons and offerings. Here are some activities that guests find most enjoyable:

  • Sundays in February & March: Fusion Series Ski & Snowboard Competitions, alternating between Timberline and Mt Hood SkiBowl
  • Saturdays in February & March: Music in the Market at the Wy’East Day Lodge, Timberline Ski Area
  • 2nd Sunday of the Month: Free Fly-Tying Party at the Fly Fishing Shop
  • Ongoing: Art Classes at The Arts Cabins in Government Camp
  • Thru March 31: Windell’s Open Skate at the indoor skate park
  • February 27: Tubbs Romp to Stomp out Breast Cancer Snowshoe Series
  • March 6: Ski the Historic Glade Trail, groomed just one day a year
  • March 12-14: Sue Allen Studio Art Sale
  • April 10: Sustainability Day at Mt Hood Meadows
  • April 1-June 10: Quiet Season Discounts in Mt Hood Vacation Rentals: stay 2 nights and the 3rd night is ½ price, the 4th night is free.
For more local events, visit our Calendar of Events.

LOOK FOR PACKAGES:

During certain seasons, vacation rental packages can provide even more value, some with 3 bedrooms starting at just $144 per night, with all of the typical amenities of a resort and more. Visit Mt Hood Vacation Rentals to become familiar with various vacation rental types, reservation rates as well as travel specials available at Mount Hood.

USE SPACE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE:

Mt Hood Vacation Rentals’ cabins, cottages and lodges can be from 600 sq. ft. for a romantic, riverfront and secluded cabin for 2 to more than 2500 sq. ft. and sleeping up to 10 people, typically costing less than the multiple hotel rooms required to accommodate 10 guests.

SAVE ON DINING OUT:

With full kitchens and outdoor gas grills, Mt Hood Vacation Rentals’ guests often enjoy making family-style meals and storing lunches and snacks for their activities, including football favorites like homemade nachos or steaming pots of chili during postseason trips. Using local and seasonal ingredients like salmon, huckleberries and wild mushrooms to create your favorite recipes creates more memorable mealtimes. Of course, in Oregon, there is a bounty of local wine, microbrews and fresh-roasted coffee to accompany your special feast. This also provides healthy travel options, which may cut the amount of calories typically consumed while on vacation.

ASK ABOUT AFTER-HOURS SERVICE:

When looking into any vacation rental accommodation, check to see if there is an accessible customer service number for emergency needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and for after-hour requests. At Mt Hood Vacation Rentals, the toll-free number is answered 24/7/365 by a real person and there is always a local after-hours phone number for emergencies.

ENTERTAIN YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS FOR FREE:

All of Mt Hood Vacation Rentals’ vacation homes include amenities not often found in hotels, such as fireplaces and woodstoves, multiple TV’s, stereos and DVD players and phones with unlimited long distance not to mention the above-mentioned well-appointed kitchens . Most homes also offer high-speed Internet access, private outdoor hot tubs and spacious outdoor living spaces with decks, lawns or riverfront settings. And of course all homes are close to ski resorts, a 27-hole golf course, a mountain bike park, world-class fly fishing for salmon and steelhead and hiking trails. Adventure seekers can get their thrills by climbing Mount Hood or doing some rock-climbing while visiting.

ASK ABOUT PARTNERSHIPS:

Beyond the ability to live like a local in The Villages of Mt Hood, vacation rental guests can also take advantage of our relationship with Mt Hood Meadows, Timberline and Mt Hood SkiBowl. Throughout the winter ski and snowboard season, guests enjoy the privilege of purchasing discounted lift tickets with savings of up to $19 per person per day.

REMEMBER BIG EVENTS:

Whether it’s for football championships, ski and snowboard races, golf tournaments or weddings and family reunions, vacation rentals can save guests from the hassle of finding multiple hotel rooms during big events, and save on the cost of multiple reservations. Vacation rentals also provide a romantic location for a special moment such as a proposal, honeymoon or anniversary.

SMALL BUSINESS RETEATS:

Vacation homes are an ideal location for small business retreats for 2 or more days. Business associates find the private and relaxed setting of a vacation home’s living room to be an asset to getting a lot done in a short time-frame without the distractions of the office. And the full kitchens can be used to prepare meals by the group or by a local caterer.

For general answers to frequently asked questions about vacation rentals or for more information, visit Discover Vacation Homes as an official resource for professionally managed vacation rentals across the country. Also connect with travelers and experts in the Facebook Vacation Rental Community and join the conversation on Twitter @GoVacationHomes.   Visit Mt Hood Magazine for information about ongoing events, recreation, dining and the history and culture of the Mount Hood area. For more travel information about The Villages of Mt Hood, visit Mt Hood’s Online Info Center.

For Reservations and Information:
www.MtHoodRentals.com or 866-761-8029

*PhoCusWright’s Vacation Rental Marketplace: Poised for Change

Mt Hood Vacation Planning

Book Your Holiday Vacation Air Travel Now

Book Your Holiday Vacation Air Travel Now
Posted by Mt Hood Vacation Rentals | Friday, September 25, 2009

In his radio show today, Clark Howard quoted an article in Kiplinger.com about how to get the best deals and rates on your holiday airfare. The airlines are anxious to fill the flights now, so they are offering better prices for your holiday travel.

They have also provided a couple of tips on the best days to travel.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year, so try to head out a couple of days earlier or fly in on Thanksgiving Day. Your flight will likely be less expensive and less crowded. I flew to Long Beach, California once on Thanksgiving and the airports were not crowded at all. Of course the flight was direct and only a couple of hours, so it was doable.

The Sunday and Monday after Thanksgiving are also very busy, so if you can wait until Tuesday or Wednesday to head home that is best.

This year the Christmas and New Year’s holiday has a bigger window of potential travel than usual. The airlines anticipate that business travel will be fairly non-existent between December 12 and January 11. This leaves a lot of seats to be filled for about 4 weeks. Again, now is the time to book those flights when the prices are lower and their are lots of options.

Because Christmas and New Year’s Day both fall on a Friday this year, you should avoid traveling the Wednesday and Thursday before the holidays and wait until the Tuesday or Wednesday afterwards to get the best rates and again less crowded flights and airports.

Traveling on Christmas Day is sometimes a good option. I flew home from Palm Springs last year at about 4 PM on Christmas Day. The airport was empty. The employees told me their last flight was at 6 PM and there were 4 passengers booked on the flight.

Just as the airfares will increase as we get closer to the holiday periods, so will the lodging rates. When there is only a very small selection of vacation rentals left for the holidays, the rate goes up because there are so many last-minute planners trying to get into these few openings for their visits.

Additionally, if you book your holiday lodging now, you have much more selection than if you wait until the last minute. You have a much better chance of finding the perfect place to celebrate the holidays.

If you would like to stay in a Mt Hood Vacation Rental for the holidays, contact us today to confirm the best place for your family and friends. Remember, we always provide discounted lift tickets for Mt Hood Meadows, Timberline and Mt Hood SkiBowl to our guests as well. You can save up to $20 per person per day on your lift tickets.

All of our vacation rentals have fully-equipped kitchens which are ideal for preparing family feasts, fireplaces or woodstoves-always a plus on a cold, snowy night, entertainment systems for listening to music or watching your favorite movies and are fully furnished. Most homes have private outdoor hot tubs, offer free wifi and are also allow your family pooch to join you.

For reservations, 24/7/365:
Call us at 866.761.8029
Email us
Book Online
Chat with a Live Person
Push to Talk to a Vacation Advisor Now

Holidays At Mt Hood Mt Hood Vacation Planning

Important Tips When Renting a Vacation Home

Important Tips When Renting a Vacation Home
Posted by Mt Hood Vacation Rentals | Sunday, July 19, 2009

Recently, in the news in Oregon, a vacation rental scam was uncovered at the Oregon Coast. Apparantly a woman who had been cleaning houses, started taking photos of the homes, then offering them up as vacation rentals on Craig’s List and on websites she actually created for this purpose. She even made reservations for dozens of guests and collected money from them. Unfortunately, she did not have contracts with the property owners to represent their homes, and most of these homes were not even available for rent. Just as the Lincoln County Sheriff’s office caught wind of her fraud, she skipped town; they are still looking for her. And dozens of people have been duped out of their cash and they do not have a place to go on vacation this summer.

Log cabin being taken care of by a professional property managerVacation Rental Homes are a great lodging choice for families and friends when going on vacation. These homes offer great amenities including complete kitchens, fireplaces, entertainment centers with TV, DVD players, stereos, phones with Internet connections, washer and dryers and private hot tubs & swimming pools. Many offer other amenities such as pool tables, theatre rooms, free bikes or canoes to use or the use of a fitness center. And they are located in resort towns where people like to go on vacation; near beaches, lakes, rivers, mountains, deserts, golf courses and so on. A vacation rental provides a lot more space to the guests than a hotel room. The vacation rental home is often the destination for vacationers. And the best thing is that a vacation rental often costs less per person to stay in than a hotel. There are plenty of good reasons to consider a vacation rental home when traveling.

However, you can run into some problems if you do not do your homework. Here is a list of things to look for when choosing a vacation rental for lodging when traveling away from home.

1. Do business with a professional management company.

A management company has streamlined systems because they are performing these services for several homes, not just one. And because they do this every day, all day, they know what they are doing. Look for a professional website that lists all of the homes offered, features and amenities of the homes, rates, dates of availability and rental policies. There should be clear contact info which includes an office address, mailing address, phone numbers (including a toll free number) and email contact. Even if you choose to book online, make a phone call to the office to make sure there really are people working there. Remember, the management company provides jobs and is the livelihood for the owner, so they care about their reputation and that they stay in business.

 

2. Make sure you get a rental contract from the vacation rental manager.

The rental agreement should clearly outline the name of the home you are renting, the arrival and departure dates of your stay, a break-down of your total charges along with payment due dates and rental and cancellation policies. You should receive this rental contract by email within 24 hours or by regular mail within a few days.

 

3. Check the Chamber of Commerce or Convention and Visitor’s Bureau

Call the local Chamber of Commerce or Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) to verify that the vacation rental management company is a member in good standing. When shopping online, does this company’s name or listing keep popping up? A professional property manager will be easy to find in several locations on the Internet.

4. Look for online reviews of the vacation home you are considering renting.

If the reviews are not on the Vacation Rental website, you can find them at FlipKey.com and at TripAdvisor.com. Previous guests will be honest about their experience while renting the home.

5. Make sure there are lots of photos and details about the home on the website.

If there is a room or location setting that you do not see a photo of, call and ask for more details. Ask to be emailed photos if they are super important to you. Also, look for Virtual Tours or Videos of the home on the website. They will give you a sense of what it feels like to walk through the home and grounds of the vacation rental.

6. Pay with a credit card, not cash or check.

Your credit card company may be able to refund your money if there is a problem. (Services like PayPal do not offer fraud protection as they are 3rd party merchants.) You should receive some sort of documentation of payments received, either an actual receipt, an email confirmation or an actual rental agreement.

7. Follow your intuition.

This transaction like many other business dealings that you engage in on a daily basis should feel friendly, yet business-like. Were you treated with respect? Did the person you emailed or phoned courteously answer all of your questions and help you find the best vacation home for your visit? When you contacted the vacation rental manager by email, through an online booking or by phone, did they get back with you within 24 hours? Overall, do you feel good about the interaction?
By themselves, any one of these tips might not keep you from being scammed. Obviously, the woman who ripped off Oregon Coast visitors was fairly sophisticated because she actually posted ads on Craig’s List and even built her own websites. However, if you follow all of the steps above, you will have a pretty good idea if you are going to get what you paid for.
Have a great summer and enjoy your vacation rental home wherever you end up this year. Doing your homework before you leave home will help insure that you have a great time while on vacation.

Mt Hood Vacation Planning

Easy, Close-to-Home Vacations in the Villages of Mt Hood Posted by Mt Hood Vacation Rentals | Monday, June 8, 2009

Easy, Close-to-Home Vacations in the Villages of Mt Hood
Posted by Mt Hood Vacation Rentals | Monday, June 8, 2009

Are you unsure about making plans for a vacation this summer that is lengthy and far from home? No worries, you can take your vacation in the Villages of Mt Hood where the Mt Hood Vacation Rental you stay in is the destination. Mt Hood Vacation Rentals are located in riverfront, secluded and view locations, so relaxing on the back deck with a refreshing libation is an experience in itself. All homes are fully furnished with complete kitchens, entertainment centers, phones, washers & dryers and high speed Internet access in most locations, too.

Cook up a family BBQ on the back deck while your kids throw a ball for the dog. Or stay in Government Camp and take in the infectious excitement of the young skiers and snowboarders after a morning on the slopes. The summer before the winter Olympics you might even catch a glimpse of a world-famous athlete in training.
There are plenty of trails for mountain biking and hiking or maybe you enjoy the thrill of reeling in a steelhead or salmon on one of our glacial-fed rivers. The Resort’s 27-hole golf course has recently undergone a $17 mil renovation which has just added more value to the already beautiful splendor of this course.

And our minimum night stay in a Mt Hood Vacation Rental during the summer is only 4 nights, so it is easy to take a break this summer without breaking the bank. If you can only take a long 3-day weekend, we can accommodate you by booking less than 45 days in advance. And if you can only spend 2 nights, call us 21 days or less in advance.

We look forward to seeing you this summer and sharing this community that we call home.

Mt Hood Vacation Planning

Planning a Family Reunion at Mt Hood this Summer Posted by Mt Hood Vacation Rentals | Sunday, May 11, 2008

Planning a Family Reunion at Mt Hood this Summer
Posted by Mt Hood Vacation Rentals | Sunday, May 11, 2008

Mt Hood Vacation Rentals are the ideal accommodations for family reunions. There is plenty of room for everyone to enjoy a variety of activities, plus a full kitchen for meal prep and a backyard and deck with gas grill for afternoon gatherings. If your group is large enough to require 2 or more homes, you’ll have a variety of locations for your meals and events.

 

 

And there’s lots to do around Mt Hood in the summer:
  • Ski or Snowboard (yes-you can hit the slopes all summer long at Timberline!!)
  • Flyfish in the Sandy or Salmon Rivers (for more info visit FlyfishUSA.com)
  • Ride a Mountain Bike on one of our forest trails or backroads (for more info visit Mt Hood Nat’l Forest Trails page)
  • Go for a Hike in the National Forest or at Wildwood Park
  • Tour Cascade Streamwatch, an interpretive, handicap-accessible 1-mile trail inside Wildwood Park
  • Golf 27 holes at one of the most beautiful golf courses in the Northwest at The Resort at the Mountain
  • Have an awesome time at Mt Hood Adventure Park boasting over 25 rides & attractions including bungee jumping and a 40-mile mountain bike park
  • Enjoy an exquisite meal at one of our more than 35 restaurants
  • Find a special gift or souvenir at one of dozens of specialty shops

We came across a really good article with great tips for planning a family reunion. The info is in an E-Newsletter from Upscale Consignment, a used and surplus furniture store in Gladstone, Oregon. (P.S. We have found some great bargains on good quality furniture and home decor at this shop.) Here is a reprint of their advice:

Planning the Perfect Family Reunion
As the summer is quickly approaching, do not delay on planning the perfect family reunion. In addition to being a lot of fun, family reunions provide a great way to catch up with relatives and strengthen family bonds. However, family reunions can be difficult to plan and organizing a successful reunion does take some work. Nevertheless, if you are willing to take the time and are interested in planning a successful reunion, here are a few steps that you may find quite helpful.

 

First, you will need to decide which family members you are going to invite to the reunion. You may only choose to invite direct family members, such as parents, grandparents, brothers, and sisters. On the other hand, you may choose to expand the reunion to include 2nd and 3rd cousins. Remember, before you get carried away inviting every relative that exists, the bigger the reunion, the more difficult it is going to be to plan.

 

Second, you may find it helpful to form a small committee. Creating a committee will make organizing the reunion drastically easier for you. With a reliable committee, you will be able to pass some assignments to others and not have to worry about doing all the work by yourself. Then, think about which of the tasks below can be assigned to the different committee members.

 

Third, it is beneficial to do a quick survey and find out when the best time for the reunion is going to be for the majority of your family. There are likely going to be conflicting schedules with some people, so send out an email with a few dates, asking each family member to list which dates they would be available for the reunion. That way you can plan for a time that works best for everyone.

 

Fourth, you will need to pick a location. If everybody lives close, just pick a convenient location for you to all meet. If your family is spread out, try to pick a central location so that traveling will not be too much of a burden.

 

Fifth, you need to find how much you need to budget for the reunion. How much are you and everybody else willing to spend? This will ultimately determine where you go, how long you will be there, the activities you will do, and the food you will eat.

 

Sixth, you will likely have to reserve a site ahead of time. You might want to reserve rooms in a hotel, a park pavilion, or even a swimming pool.

 

Finally, once you know the amount of people that will be coming and the budget that everybody is willing to spend, make sure to plan a large variety of activities for everyone. Remember that you will need activities for children as well as adults so that everybody that comes will have an enjoyable time and want to participate in the reunion next year!

 

Plan to have a great summer and we look forward to seeing you on Mt Hood!!

 

 

Mt Hood Vacation Planning

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