Oregon: Boutique hotel offers elegance in historical Ashland setting

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For years, travelers to Ashland, Ore., had two options.

They could stay in one of the Victorian-styled bed-and-breakfast inns that dot the side streets of this popular Southern Oregon tourist hamlet.

Or they could bunk up less picturesquely in one of the motels on the outskirts of town.

Now there's an alternative: the Ashland Springs Hotel. This boutique hostelry sits on Main Street a couple of blocks from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival theater complex. And though the Ashland Springs opened only last December, the building has been an eye-catching local landmark for 75 years.

The seven-story structure, one of Ashland's tallest buildings, began life as the Lithia Springs Hotel (due to the natural traces of the medicinal mineral lithia in the local water supply), then became the Lithia Hotel. It was an inviting establishment back when Ashland was a popular Chatauquah resort. Its elegant exterior, garnished with Gothic, Arts & Crafts, and beaux-arts accents, was preserved in 1978, when the structure won a spot on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Information The Ashland Springs Hotel is at 212 E. Main St. in Ashland, Ore. Room rates are $139-$159 (May 24-Sept. 30) and $89-$129 (Oct. 1-May 23). For information, call: 541-488-1700.

But the hotel became something of a white elephant in the 1980s and '90s, with rooms that seemed small, oddly shaped and drab. Finally, in 1998, Ashland residents Doug and Becky Neuman bought the building and spent two years and $2 million restoring the prized exterior, and refreshing the interiors.

The result is an inviting, tasteful place with an aura of glamour — and pricier room rates.

The airy, cream-colored lobby is something out of colonial Singapore, with giant potted ferns, weathered Persian rugs, plush easy chairs and whirring ceiling fans. On the walls are attractive drawings of native birds, and framed samples of herbs and wildflowers. One can easily spend a lazy day sipping sherry and reading before the epic fireplace.

On a recent stay, I landed in one of the hotel's loveliest (and most expensive) corner rooms.

Through large and attractive windows, I could see Mount Ashland in the distance, and a span of sky whose color scheme seemed to change by the hour.

While retaining the guest quarters' historic features, the Neumans and their designers, Candra Scott and Richard Anderson, made sure major conveniences are at hand.

The bathrooms are small but serviceable. TVs are tucked into charming armoires. There are wing chairs for lounging and firm beds outfitted with quilts, goose-down blankets and feather pillows.

Be forewarned, though, that the smallest rooms are cozy to the point of being cramped. And the amount of light and view vary considerably from floor to floor.

During my initial stay last February, the hotel was still working out some kinks. By summer, they seem to have been remedied.

Guests now get a breakfast credit at the hotel's Bulls-eye Bistro, which serves food and drinks into the evening. On the pretty mezzanine level, afternoon English tea (scones, pastries, tea, cordials) is available in the summer high season. A luxurious dining room, the Elfinwood, specializes in Northwest cuisine. Another amenity is the European day spa the owners have installed in a building across the street. In winter, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival goes on hiatus and tourism tapers off. But Ashland can still be a nice spot to tarry.