Postcard Cabins Mount Adams, Outdoor Collection by Marriott Bonvoy

The cabins used to be a company I was happy to support several times a year, back when it was called Getaway. Now it feels like another exploitative, anonymous corporation, and they won’t get any more of my money. It’s a shame because the product used to be great. Before Marriott bought the company, it was charming and customer-focused. They even gave me a free night to resolve an issue and said I had two years to use it. When I tried to redeem it recently, they refused, saying they’d set an arbitrary expiration date despite the earlier promise. Marriott owns the company, but Postcard Cabins still manages it, and their rude emails were infuriating. They also now charge a mandatory $40 resort fee for things that used to be optional add-ons, and prices have shot up over the past two years. The customer service team has become awful. The low reviews show the same pattern: cute locations, terrible service.

It’s still a beautiful place for a much-needed break, but I was sad to see the service decline since the takeover and change to Postcard. I’ve been coming for years, and this was my first visit since then. Some of the thoughtful touches that made it special are gone: there was no dog bowl or local treats for my dogs, and the nice salt and pepper grinders have been replaced with little packets. I also found a wad of chewing gum stuck to the A/C unit.

My friend and I stayed in a queen bunk bed cabin when we came to bury my partner in Goldendale at the end of September. It was the best little cabin stay I’ve had, and I can’t wait to return. I loved the books, snacks, and wall of windows beside the bed. I’ll find excuses to come back and am already telling my friends about it. I meant to write this a month ago, but time got away from me. Thank you!

We had fun and enjoyed the cabin, and the two-night stay worked for two people and two small dogs, though it was smaller than I expected. Staff left a cute personalized welcome note, and the kitchen had plenty of cookware and utensils. We bring our own skillet because we won’t use scratched pans for health reasons, and were glad we did because the supplied ones had several scratches. The burn ban meant no fire in the pit, which we knew in advance and were disappointed about. They thoughtfully provided an electric grill, but I’m not sure that made the $35-a-day destination fee feel worthwhile, since it included three packs of wood and a starter. We did enjoy the four Vietnamese pour-over coffees, four teas, two caffeine-free, four hot chocolates, a s’mores kit for two, two Smart Pop popcorns, and two oatmeals included in the fee. Ask early the next day for a refill so you can use the fee’s kit each day. I’m not sure refills happen automatically, though we got two kits for our two nights. I checked with Marriott and my partner checked the website before we arrived, and both indicated cabin WiFi was available. I’d also read reviews saying there was no cell service or WiFi, so I hoped our checks were right. But once we were out of cell range, there was no WiFi, even though Marriott had sent me the cabin username and password. That was a letdown. I wanted to unplug and stay off social media, but I was planning a client’s Thailand trip and needed to communicate with her over the weekend. We made the best of it, finished several books, and enjoyed time together. There were supposed to be hiking spots nearby, but without cell service we couldn’t figure out how to reach the trails. We did walk the one-mile loop within the Postcard cabin area. I’d stay again only after the WiFi is fixed. I don’t want to be quite that off the grid.