SCP Hotel Redmond is an ideal hotel for a wellness retreat in Oregon. You’ll find veg food, hangout and work spaces, good non-alcoholic drinks, an impressive gym, nature, and a yoga studio.
The person at the reception desk gave me a ticket for a welcome drink as I checked in at SCP Redmond Hotel in central Oregon. As a non-drinker, such tickets have often been wasted on me. But not at SCP, which makes sure that the non-alcoholic welcome drink is as thoughtfully created as the welcome sangria. I got a winter SCP soda, which combined soda water with an apple shrub. The bartender enthusiastically described to me the way they created the apple syrup in-house, using demerara sugar. This was light years ahead of my ordinary welcome sparkling water. And SCP only got better from there.
Our non-alcoholic welcome drinks. Photo by Teresa Bergen
Redmond is about 17 miles from the bigger and more well-known town of Bend. But as Bend has exploded in popularity—and population—in the last ten years, now Redmond is showing off its smaller-town vibes. It was the first time we’d stayed in Redmond instead of Bend, and we were ready to see what the hotel and the town had to offer.
SCP Redmond is Dog Friendly!
My dog Rudy was also on the trip, and he scored even more than a welcome drink. At check-in, Rudy got a whole bag of goodies, including treats, waste bags, a quality rope chew toy, and a reusable, collapsible travel bowl. He had a fabulous time at SCP Redmond Hotel, which was so dog friendly that there are dog beds in the lobby in case your pup wants to hang out with you down there. All the staff were all kind to him, and guests and locals also stopped to pet him. Dogs are allowed in most parts of the hotel, except restaurants and the gym. Probably because of pesky health codes.
“All this is mine!” says Rudy. Photo by Teresa Bergen
A Wellness Focus
SCP Redmond Hotel has a wellness and outdoors theme throughout. Our spacious room had a Himalayan salt lamp, which some people claim cleans your air, improves your mood, and helps you sleep better. A large mason jar sat on a tray with some glasses and a note inviting guests to refill the jar at the purified water station on the ground floor. We had a fun metal wall sculpture of two rock climbers, a nod to nearby Smith Rock, one of the area’s major draws for climbing and hiking. If you like to fall asleep to soothing noises, you’ll love the gizmo we had on the nightstand, which offered more than a dozen sound choices, including ocean, chimes, rain, restore, and calm.
Our sofa and Himalayan salt lamp. Photo by Teresa Bergen
Indoor plants grow throughout the hotel, even in the stairwells. Downstairs, painted canoe paddles hang as art on one wall, and the library is full of nature and adventure books. A stump serves as a table in the dedicated meditation room. My favorite part of the outdoorsy décor was a big photo of an early rock climber approaching the underside of a rocky precipice—and she’s wearing a skirt! Those definitely aren’t climbing shoes like people have today.
The meditation room. Photo by Teresa Bergen
The gym is way better than most hotel gyms, with a fine selection of small equipment such as medicine balls, TRX straps, kettlebells in many sizes, dumbbells, and lots of yoga props, including bolsters and blankets. Two Peloton bikes provide an opportunity for some cardio.
The tidy, well-equipped gym. Photo by Teresa Bergen
Wayfarer Bar
Before we visited, I was excited that SCP has a “plant-forward” menu. But I didn’t realize the property is currently all vegetarian. As somebody who’s been vegetarian since childhood and mostly vegan for the past two decades, this was indeed an unexpected thrill. Especially in a smaller Oregon city.
That’s my veg burger behind all those fingerling potatoes. Photo by Teresa Bergen
We ordered dinner at the Wayfarer Bar the first night. It’s a small but promising menu. I was disappointed that they were out of jackfruit tacos, but my mushroom-quinoa veggie burger was very good. I also appreciated the detail that went into their zero-alcohol drinks. Places that make their own ginger beer are the best, and the Wayfarer whips up a ginger lime cordial. There was also a rotating selection of kombucha on tap and their housemade soda. The bar was cute and cozy, with an exposed brick wall and comfortable sofas. When my husband went upstairs to watch a World Cup game, I stayed in the bar and got an avocado-based vegan chocolate mousse with berries on top. It was delicious, and I felt at ease as a nondrinker sitting in the Wayfarer. No creepy bar vibes.
Provisions Market
The Provisions Market is a bright, friendly breakfast and lunch spot that opens right onto the street. It’s a bustling place in the morning, full of locals and hotel guests downing smoothies and espresso drinks. I was impressed by the milk alternatives—you can choose almond, coconut, hemp, oat, or soy in your latte. We ate breakfast there on both days. My avocado toast came with a side of spinach salad, which I was surprised to find I enjoyed eating first thing in the morning. The second morning I ordered a very satisfying vegan breakfast burrito with a wonderfully grilled tortilla. The smoothies were excellent, especially one that proved coffee and peanut butter really do mix.
People hanging out in Provisions Market. Note the old photo of a rock climber on the fireplace. Photo by Teresa Bergen
The market is full of locally made food items, lotions, lip balms, and other souvenirs of central Oregon. You can bring some Back Porch Coffee or Metolius Tea home to your catsitter. Or a bag of coffee coconut pecans from Smith Rock Nut Roasters, the side hustle of a local high school teacher. Vital intel regarding Provisions Market: It supplies hotel guests with coffee 24/7 from a help-yourself carafe.
Terra Kitchen
The fanciest eating at SCP Redmond happens in Terra Kitchen. I was beyond thrilled by the all-veg menu with small plates like kale hazelnut tartine and the most delicious beet salad imaginable. As executive chef Erin Behzadian explained to us, SCP is not anti-meat but was having a hard time ethically sourcing local meat. So they decided to go all veg for now. However, for Redmond locals, the veg menu is a harder sell. The restaurant has just added pizza as a more approachable veg option.
Beet salad. The garnish mimics the SCP logo. Photo by Teresa Bergen
For a main course, we ordered Persian stew. The saffron-flavored dish is based on Behzadian’s grandmother’s recipe. As a child, Behzadian once visited her grandmother in Iran and was impressed by how much time and energy people put into cooking.
Behzadian explained that SCP values serving healthy food that leaves a low carbon footprint. You won’t find heavily processed alterna-meats on the menu, nor even tofu, which she worries is bad for the environment. Instead, Behzadian elevates the humble chickpea. She’s considering adding chickpea-based tempeh to some dishes, and a lentil dish will be coming onboard soon.
The non-alcoholic beverages were delicious at Terra, although the selection was small. We had a ginger beer and a lavender honey shrub. The tiny vegan crème brûlée cheesecake was so good I wanted to order a few more, but how piggy would that have looked? Behzadian also let us sample her new coconut-based vegan caramel sauce, which she’ll serve with a new apple dessert this winter.
Vegan crème brûlée cheesecake. Photo by Teresa Bergen
SCP Redmond Hotel Connects with the Community
Unlike most hotels, it seemed to me that there were more locals than guests in the building at any moment. Artsy kids from a nearby school talked animatedly over coffee at the Provisions Market. When I peeked into the coworking space, an entrepreneur was on a Zoom call. A local knitting group takes up residence in Provisions once a week. And my first night at SCP Redmond Hotel, I think I was the only guest participating in a readers’ theater-style production of The Christmas Carol (my star turn as the Ghost of Christmas Past).
My favorite lobby hangout spot. Photo by Teresa Bergen
“We say community is our middle name,” general manager Tobias Colvin told me. “Because it is.” Sure enough, the “C” in SCP stands for community. And the Redmond hotel really lives up to that promise. In addition to social events for locals, the hotel has worked with an organization called Diversability to find jobs for hard-to-employ folks. Job coaches train the workers until they can do the job on their own. Current success stories include cleaners and a dishwasher that have a difficult time with verbal communication. “It’s giving them confidence in their abilities,” said Colvin. “The goal is to be self-sufficient.”
Things to Do Around Redmond
If you’re outdoorsy, you’ll find lots to do around Redmond. We braved the snow and ice to check out part of the 4-mile Dry Canyon Trail, which features a dog park right at the beginning.
Snow hiking around Redmond. Photo by Teresa Bergen
We drove up to the head of the Metolius River and watched hundreds of ducks at the Cline Falls day-use area.
I wanted to take this friendly Muscovy duck home with me. Photo by Teresa Bergen
And, of course, you won’t want to miss Smith Rock, the area’s crown jewel for hiking and climbing. After a day of exploring, Love Bird Yoga is less than a block from SCP Redmond and offers everything from advanced vinyasa to relaxing yin classes.
Smith Rock at sunset. Photo by Teresa Bergen
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When You Visit SCP Hotel Redmond
SCP Hotel Redmond really impressed me as having everything I needed inside and nearby: veg food, hangout and work spaces, good non-alcoholic drinks, an impressive gym, nature, and a yoga studio. Next time we will skip Bend and return to Redmond. And I hope to check out some of SCP’s other properties in California, Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii, and Costa Rica. When planning your next trip to Oregon or a wellness-focused trip, let Wander With Wonder be your guide.
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