Gearhart Hotel opens for business

Published 5:00 pm Thursday, May 10, 2012

GEARHART – It has a deep history in Gearhart and has been located in different spots four times.

On May 11, the new Gearhart Hotel opened at the historic Kelly House, the same building that houses the Sand Trap pub and Gearhart Golf Links Pro Shop following construction that began in January.

They completely gutted the upstairs and started over pretty much from scratch, said Chad Hooley, the McMenamins Gearhart Hotel sales and catering manager. Theyve framed it in with dense insulation, two layers of drywall and with knotty pine on top of that so it gives us nice quiet rooms.

Eighteen king and queen guest rooms with all the amenities were constructed on the top floor of the Cape Cod-style building each featuring bathrooms and decorated in Pacific Northwest coastal style with McMenamins signature artwork. Room rates at the McMenamins Gearhart Hotel will range from $130 to $225 a night, depending on the season.

The rooms have Mike McMenamins magic touch, said Hooley. Hes been doing this for a long time and the rooms always end up looking great.

Hooley said the target guests will be just about anyone.

We have pet-friendly rooms, rooms for families, rooms for golfers and we will be doing many weddings, so well have rooms for brides and grooms and their families, he said.

During the grand opening weekend, May 25 to May 27, Gearhart Golf Links and McMenamins will hold a golf tournament, offer live music and McMenamins ales, wines, spirits and coffee tastings and more.

Hooley said he loves the history of the hotel. The hotels date back to the early 1800s and have burned down or been torn down, so its nice to see the hotel rise again.

The new Gearhart Hotel had three predecessors over the past 122 years, each at different sites in Gearhart, but all connected with the pioneer golf course.

The original Hotel Gearhart, built in 1890, was a popular summertime retreat for wealthy Portlanders and their families. Within a year or two, an informal golf course was laid out nearby (which evolved into today’s 18-hole Gearhart Golf Links). It burned down in 1913, as did its successor, two years later. The third Hotel Gearhart opened in 1923, and remained an Oregon Coast landmark until being razed in 1972.

The newest incarnation of Gearhart Hotel is owned by McMenamins, which  leases the third floor of the Kelly House from Gearhart Golf Links.