Hotels

Suttle Lodge Is Now Open (Paging Wes Anderson)

In the Deschutes National Forest near Sisters, a painstakingly renovated wilderness lodge aims to marry highballs and vintage lawn chairs, canoes and camp chic.

By Ramona DeNies August 30, 2016

Suttle Lodge & Boathouse—Sisters, OR

For nearly a century, there have been lodges on this lakeside property at the edge of the two-million-acre Deschutes National Forest. Most have burned down, says the property's new co-operator Donald Kenney. But the current structure, built in 2005, has sprinklers!

Suttle Lodge back deck

The lodge proper has 11 rooms that extend from the wings, with outdoor entrances. From the expansive back deck, scope the 15-acre property, which houses cabins both rustic and luxe, along with the public Boathouse restaurant and ancillary structures that Kenney says are still in development.

Lakeside Adirondack chairs

A patio offers a shaded view across Suttle Lake, which hosts myriad campers, along with a summertime Methodist camp and, at the far end, Dan Wieden's Caldera Project.

Highballs, juleps, negronis and 'ritas

A lobby bar offers house cocktails like this, the Cash Mountain—"our take on a watermelon margarita," says Kenney, with housemade watermelon shrub, fresh cane sugar, apple cider vinegar, and 100 percent agave tequila.

Suttle Lake? Get on it.

Available for rent: canoes, stand-up paddle bards, kayaks, and rowboats. Or, you know, just take a dip for free.

Boathouse Restaurant

Kenney and his partners completely rebuilt the lodge's old boathouse as a fast-casual eatery with sublime views. Inside, the restaurant seats 60; the deck fits another 60, and the beer garden opposite holds 20 eight-person tables. Bring the whole crew!

Haute hoagies and crunchy veg with lodge sauce

Joshua McFadden, of Ava Gene's and Tusk, consulted on the Boathouse menu, which is designed for quality execution at a faster pace. Says Kenney: "We're not doing white linen and shrimp cocktails. How would we handle 100 people who all wanted steaks? We'd be like Morton's." Instead, expect fresh crunchy veggies from Groundwork Organics, a pasta salad that will trend heartier in winter, and soft serve for the kids—"but in the forest!"

The Idaho troutwich: "fish and chips as a sandwich"

McFadden made a mean fish sandwich for a recent Bon Appétit photo shoot in Maine. Here, the Suttle Lodge take—crusted with potato chips, served on a steamed bun.

Beer garden tables

Vintage folding lawn chairs

Lodge room

Lodge rooms will run between $200 and $300, says Kenney. Upstairs, the rooms offer a seating/sleeping loft in addition to king-size beds, double vanity sink bathrooms, a jacuzzi tub and stand-up shower. Onsite luxury cabins (starting at $275/night) offer all that along with private decks, kitchens, fireplaces and other amenities. (There's an affordable option! Rustic cabins with shared bathrooms, which sleep up to six, start at $65/night.)

Starlight, all night, and all winter long

The road to Suttle Lodge stays plowed all winter, says Kenney, who hopes the year-round vibe is always chill. "We've done a good job of bringing down the level," he says. "The way we communicate, serve your food, etc.—it all needs to be honest to what this place is: a casual lakeside retreat."

Last September, Donald Kenney got an invite from his friend Joshua McFadden—he of Ava Gene's and Tusk fame—to spend a lakeside weekend in Maine. And though the purpose wasn't pleasure, there was much of that to be had, as the resulting spread from Bon Appétit magazine, published this past July, makes very clear.

There were fried fish sandwiches with steak-like slabs of heirloom tomato. "Faux lobster pho." Blondie sundaes with candied fennel. And cocktails, plenty of them, made by Kenney—the Ace Hotel Portland's general manager, and business manager at bars Spirit of 77 and Pepe Le Moko.

But Kenney had yet another reason for making the trek to Lake Megunticook. He and his two Austin-based partners in hospitality/development concern the Mighty Union had just committed to completely overhauling the historic Suttle Lake Lodge north of Sisters, Oregon—recently purchased by investor/owners Robert Sacks and Dave Schrott of A&R development. (The Mighty Union's continuing role is as the property's operator.)

"We were looking for people to tell us we weren't crazy," says Kenney.

Maybe it was the booze, or the good food, or the camaraderie amidst so much natural beauty. But by the end of the Bon Appétit shoot, Kenney was not only reassured—he'd also enlisted McFadden to create the menu for a newly conceived public restaurant in the lodge's old boathouse.

Last Thursday, the refurbished, rebranded Suttle Lodge opened for business. (Scroll through our slideshow for closer look at this Moonrise Kingdom-meets-classic Adirondacks venture.) There are rustic cabins, luxury cabins, and even a historic cabin. There's a beer garden with six carefully curated taps: Red Tank ciders to tiny Bend-based Bridge 99. There's a record player in the public lobby, flanked by a fireplace, custom-welded bookshelves, and a cozily dim bar.

February, 2016

A photo posted by The Suttle Lodge (@suttlelodge) on Feb 24, 2016 at 6:16pm PST

And, reflecting the biggest takeaway from Kenney's weekend in Maine, there's a brand-new hotel dock jutting out over the lake, fully stocked with kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddle boards, and more.

"I went in thinking that docks are for boats," says Kenney. "But docks are for people, to hang out and do nothing. People love docks in all forms."

Hotels

Portland Monthly

Suttle Lodge Is Now Open (Paging Wes Anderson)

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