The Allison Inn & Spa in the Williamette Valley, Oregon
We celebrated Thanksgiving a little early this year with a four day trip to Oregon with our Dad a few weeks ago. The indian summer in LA had us craving some semblance of true fall, so we headed up north to luscious, notoriously rainy Oregon. Two nights in hipster Portland (which we'll fill you in on later this week) were followed by two luxurious nights at The Allison Inn and Spa in the Williamette Valley.
The Allison, named after Ira Allison, the Oregon State University geologist, is a family affair. Not an Allison family affair, but rather the Allison is an Austin family labor of love. A rather unlikely tale that all started with dentistry led to the birth of The Allison. After founding A-Dec, a dental company that became extremely profitable due to patents on several water pressure devices, Ken Austin stayed focused on the engineering side of A-Dec, while his wife and CEO Joan, ran the company and consistently bought land around their property in the Williamette Valley.
Joan's vision and passion for the area (and business savvy for buying up the stunning hills and valleys all around them) grew wings and morphed into the 85 room, 4 story, gold leed certified resort, The Allison, that sits on 700 acres. The Allison is also a sort of community living room for the area and is a place for all the locals to congregate- coming for drinks, massages and just to hang out.
The 85 luxury rooms, all have gas fire places and balconies that allow for maximum privacy. We loved the basket of complimentary local goodies including: Skout trailbars, dark chocolate covered hazelnuts, and kettle chips. We also splashed around in the deep soaking tub with complimentary tangerine & sage bath salts.
After a day of wine tasting and exploring the staggeringly beautiful Oregon countryside-- think a greener, more forested Napa Valley, The Allison's world class spa was a welcome spot to restore ourselves. We steamed, swam in the picturesque indoor pool, soaked in the whirlpool and indulged in massages. Feeling like new, we were able to take on the world and it's culinary and vineyard spoils once again. While we sadly didn't make it to dinner at the property's restaurant, The Jory boasts an 800-label wine list and the kitchen is run by Executive Chef Sunny Jin who interned at French Laundry before mastering his craft all over the world.
We can see why people from all over the world make the Allison a repeat visit. It is truly relaxed luxury in an idyllic setting -- the view of the golden colored vines splashed against fir trees from our window, is burned in our minds. Til our next visit.
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