Shilo Inn Suites The Dalles, The Dalles

Let me start this review by advising the readers that I was at the Shilo Inn for a long term stay and not just visiting for one or two nights and forming an opinion based on that type of experience. The front desk staff, generally speaking, are very pleasant to deal with. If you make a complaint, the front desk staff also appear to make things happen which is very positive overall. The room was generally comfortable but completely lacking in cupboard space. I always prefer to have a wardrobe type arrangement when staying in hotels. In may particular room they have an alcove in and area reserved for the hand basin outside of the main batthroom. It serves the function well enough but I just like all of my luggage out of site and behind closed doors. As the hotel is located adjactent to the highway (I-84) it is very convenient for getting around quickly and easily. It is probably too far out of town (The Dalles) for people who wish to walk downtown etc. They do have a splendid view of the Dalles Dam - great if you find concrete attractive but joking aside, it is an impressive looking dam. The negatives follow: Standards of cleanliness provided by the house-keeping staff ranges from below average to abysimal. On certain days all that will occur is that the beds are made and the towels changed. Sinks will not be cleaned, nor coffee cups and drinking glasses and neither will toilets, this is not something that should be missed out by default and I've never observed this type of situation in any other hotel I've had a long term stay in. The Portage Grill serves generally mediocre meals at best - depending on the day of the week you can order the same dish from the menu but it will be unrecognisable due to a different chef being on duty. I would like to add that the word "Chef" in this restaurant is a very loose description, probably bordering on artistic license. Breakfast times on days when the hotel are full are somewhat frustrating - it's like organised chaos. You will be served when the staff get to you, generally speaking. The included "hot breakfast" can be reasonable, especially if the restaurant not too busy and the staff can provide the type of service you expect when not pushed due to capacity or stressed out. Unfortunately, most of the time they appear to be running around like headless chickens getting nowhere while the patrons quietly fume to themselves. The Internet service is somewhat intermittent and unless you know what the problem is yourself, don't expect anybody to tell you how to connect. As we were on business we required an internet connection and after weeks we finally learned all of the peculiarities of the Shilo Inn internet service to get a reasonable service. Overall, based on my experience of this Shilo Inn property it certainly wouldn't be on any list of recommended chains that I would use in the future. I would hope that this experience is actually a one off for the Shilo Inns chain!