The last batch of Priority Club PointBreaks from May 2012 included a hotel called The Lodge at Running Y Ranch Holiday Inn Resort outside Klamath Falls, Oregon. A look at the website indicated room rates over $200 per night for the dates I checked. I booked a three night stay for 15,000 points.
Holiday Inn Resorts are a growing brand in the InterContinental Hotels Group portfolio. The Lodge at Running Y Ranch along with Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond/Bend Oregon joined the Holiday Inn Resorts brand as the 16th and 17th members in February 2012. These are currently the only two Holiday Inn Resorts on the west coast of the U.S.
Holiday Inn Resorts appear to be partnerships between formerly independent hotels and a major hotel chain similar to Marriott’s Autograph Collection and Choice Hotels Ascend Collection. This is a strategy to improve marketing exposure for these hotels.
The Lodge at Running Y Ranch, Klamath Falls, Oregon
Running Y Ranch is located on Upper Klamath Lake about eight miles from the town of Klamath Falls on Highway 140, the road west to Medford, Oregon. In the 1990s the ranch developed part of the property into a resort with residential units, vacation timeshares, a hotel and an Arnold Palmer Golf Course.
Upper Klamath Lake is the largest lake in Oregon with a geography about 20 miles north to south and 8 miles east to west. The elevation here in the Klamath Basin is 4,120 ft. All the hills and mountains seen around Klamath Lake may look small, but tend to rise up to the 6,000 ft. range in elevation.
The Lodge at Running Y Ranch was built in 1996.
View over Arnold Palmer Golf Course at The Lodge Running Y Ranch.
Running Y Ranch is a vast property and also functions as a working agricultural and cattle ranch of 9,600 acres or so. The resort area of the Running Y Ranch is about 3,500 acres that includes The Lodge, Wyndham WorldMark time share properties, a village center complex by The Lodge with a small market, liquor store, ice cream shop, gift shop, Wyatt’s Restaurant, sales shops, several vacant shops and an Arnold Palmer golf course.
Important to note: the hotel is about 2 miles from the lakeshore. Residential country mansions take up the lake view settings. Not being on the lake was initially a letdown in the view. Then, the first morning at the resort I discovered the benefit of being a couple miles from the water.
Birds danced on top of the water before me.
Not having a hotel on the lakefront is a blessing for the quietness of the Upper Klamath Lake shoreline. Hiking a couple miles on the Skillet Handle peninsula to sit by the lakeside in the serenity of natural sounds was one of the great hotel stay experiences of my life. Running Y Ranch is in the heart of the Pacific Flyway for birds.
Ric Garrido
Skillet Handle of Running Y Ranch Resort.
Skillet Handle section of land at Running Y Ranch Resort has trails extending over two miles to spots on the lakeshore. There are no buildings or services in this section of the Resort. Hike or bike in and out. I will write up a separate post on hiking and birding around the grounds of the Running Y Ranch.
The Lodge at Running Y Ranch
The Lodge at Running Y has 82 rooms. Parking and internet are free.
Entrance to The Lodge at Running Y Ranch, a Holiday Inn Resort.
Two sets of front doors to The Lodge lobby open automatically.
The Lodge at Running Y Ranch front doors and entrance car port.
My first impression was this hotel could be a Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt or Starwood.
Lobby at The Lodge and Ruddy Duck bar and restaurant. Reception desk is on the right out of view.
This place is not your typical impression of a Holiday Inn.
The lobby has a large library for a hotel.
Crater Lake National Park is about 60 miles from the hotel.
Fishing, golf and bird watching are other popular activities for guests at the resort.
Check-in was easy and the receptionist pointed on the Running Y Ranch map to the locations of the resort indoor pool and fitness center, the golf course clubhouse, services in the village shops and the road to Upper Klamath Lake and where to park my car, if I drive to the lake.
View from The Lodge entrance to the Village at Running Y Ranch.
The Village center has a small, high-priced market, Wyatt’s Restaurant for lunch, dinner and a bar, an ice cream shop and liquor store.
The Lodge at Running Y Ranch
Room #337
Thankfully, I had a 3rd floor top floor room in The Lodge with a golf course view. There were some first floor rooms facing the parking lot that could be expected when staying on a PointBreaks reward. My Priority Club Platinum status might have helped me out on this stay.
Room 337 is a standard King room with a golf course view. There were Aspen trees outside the window. Watching the aspen leaves flutter in the breeze from bed was enjoyable.
My main complaint about the room is there was only one desk chair and no other place to sit besides the bed. There seemed to be sufficient space in the room for an additional chair.
Sink area beside the room door. Main problem with this design is the bathroom only has a toilet and shower and no sink or mirror. Open the room door and this area is totally visible from the hallway.
Room #337 shower. No tub in this room.
Room 337 closet, iron and ironing board across from sink.
I happened to see inside Room #335, a one bedroom suite, and the sitting room had a fireplace and couch. The suite rooms have nice features and a large space, if available.
Golf Course view from Ruddy Duck patio seats.
Running Y Ranch Resort Sports and Fitness Center with indoor pool, tennis courts, gym, Sandhill Spa and game room.
The Sports and Fitness Center indoor swimming pool at the Running Y Ranch is a shared facility for guests and residents of the Resort and located in a separate building called the Ponderosa Building about 50 yards from the Lodge hotel building.
Pool hours are 6am to 10pm and the pool is adults swimming only until 10am in the morning.
There is a water area for toddlers.
And a good size hot tub.
This area also has a sauna room and a wraparound outside deck.
Sunrise on the hills from the Running Y Ranch Sports Center deck.
Ruddy Duck Restaurant at The Lodge
The hotel restaurant breakfast buffet was $9.00 for all you can eat. The selection seemed no more than typical breakfast at a Holiday Inn Express or Hampton Garden Inn. Drinks were additional to the $9.00 price tag.
I ordered a vegetarian pizza for $12.00 one afternoon and it was extremely cheesy with lots of vegetables.
There was a microwave oven on the second and third floors by the ice and soda machine.
Running Y Ranch Arnold Palmer golf course.
The Lodge at Running Y Ranch Resort is a great addition to the IHG family of hotels. This Holiday Inn Resort is a 25,000 points standard reward with Priority Club. I booked three nights on PointBreaks at 5,000 points per night.
Rates during my July 2012 stay were close to $300 per night after tax and resort fees. Weekday rates for August 13-15, 2012 show a King Golf View room like #337 at $108 (AAA rate) and a one bedroom suite for $135 per night. That looks like a great deal to me.
The Running Y Ranch also has dozens of vacation rentals available through WorldMark by Wyndham.
Birding at the Running Y Ranch was an incredible experience with nature for me. The Klamath Basin is one of the world’s great spots for birding.
Loyalty Traveler original post link: http://loyaltytraveler.boardingarea.com/2012/07/23/the-lodge-at-running-y-ranch-a-holiday-inn-resort/
Ric Garrido, writer and content owner of Loyalty Traveler, shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. You can follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.
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