Frugal Snapshots From Skamania Lodge

My husband booked a two night stay at Skamania Lodge by taking advantage of a Black Friday offer that inflated our credit card airline points. (This was my birthday gift.) Two nights in a luxury suite was just $90, complete with an in-room fireplace and a vista to beat all other views. It would easy to adopt the mindset of “we got such a deal, let’s splurge a little” to justify other spending, but that’s not how I roll.

Frugal challenge activated!

I started by scouring their website, as well as poring through reviews on Travelocity.com. I learned that their pricey in house restaurants had spotty reviews, despite being pricey. This didn’t surprise me as there seems to be an inverse relationship between “the better the view, the worse the dining experience.” Is this universally true? Of course not, but I’m always looking for a reason to break out my honed can-I-spend-less? skills.

This was the view from our room:

I learned that Skamania will put a microwave in your room for free and there’d be a Keurig coffee pot for our personal use. Armed with this knowledge, I packed three ready made Trader Joe’s meals plus some extra snacks like a wedge of Jarlsberg cheese that I’d received as a Chanukah present. I didn’t feel bad about holing up in the room, as it was damned cozy in front of the fireplace.

I also brought reusable water bottles and dish ware, plus my beloved Tetley tea bags. I don’t trust that hotel mugs get properly washed and not just wiped out.

At this point, you may be thinking that I’ve crossed a line into miserly territory and frankly I wouldn’t blame you. Luckily I’d also researched the best places to eat outside of the resort which led me to a nearby taco food cart. I’d rather treat myself to a plate of $10.50 tacos instead the $19 lodge version. Sure, we dined à la minivan, but the view of the Columbia river was just as stunning.

My husband and I enjoyed a nice long walk along the river, even though the wind was bitingly cold. I’d somehow forgotten to pack a winter hat, but I remembered that my purse contained two clean bandanas, which I fashioned into hats for the two of us. Sure, we looked goofy, but we were the only idiots to brave the windy weather and were wholly unobserved.

We wanted some munchies beyond the frozen Trader Joe’s meals, so we popped into the locally owned grocery store and assembled a basket of low cost food. Whole wheat bagels, onion and chive cream cheese, oatmeal cookies, cut mixed fruit, apples and milk for the coffees. $21.

There was no deprivation.

My husband had the forethought to bring an HTMI cord to connect his laptop to the in room TV, which allowed us to access our streaming services. We also played multiple rounds of gin rummy in front of the fireplace.

Last but not least, we also spent a bit on tips — $1o for housekeeping and a $5 bill for the guy who carried the microwave to our fourth floor room.

It would have been easy to let the low cost of booking the suite rationalize spending out, but I’m able to have just as much fun, (if not more so) by flexing my frugal muscles.

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”