Red Lion Hotel Kennewick – Columbia Center

I debated on how many stars I should give this place because they had some great aspects, but they also had not-​so-​great ones.
LIKES
CUSTOMER SERVICE: My coworker and I were placed here because we were attending a conference at the Tri-​Cities Convention Center (15 minute walk or 5 minute drive to/​from). I would have walked but the heat was crazy and I didn’t want to feel icky all day. We asked the front desk person if their hotel shuttle — they provide free shuttles for pick up and drop off to the airport — could drop us off to the convention center and they were very accommodating to our request, for both days of our conference. In addition, I also requested if they could pick us up from the convention center to drop us off to the airport. Again, they accommodated that for us. Five stars for customer service alone.
COMPLIMENTARY NEWSPAPER AND COFFEE: Located in the lobby.
LOCATION: In comparison to the airport, it isn’t very close but they are located in a great spot. They are neighbors to a mall, Target, and other eateries. Red Robins is 1 minute walking distance from them. Again, it is only a 15 minute walk from the convention center and the Toyota arena.
NOMAD: Located within Red Lion is a very trendy bar/​restaurant, which also houses this establishment’s breakfast buffet.
ROOM/​AMENITIES: Room was spacious enough for me. WiFi was available although it is open (no password). They also have a microwave and a mini refrigerator hidden in the tv stand. They also have a mini coffee maker with coffee, tea, cream and sugar. The bed and pillows were amazing. I slept well for the most part.
DISLIKES:
NOT HANDICAP FRIENDLY: This hotel is two stories but they do not have elevators. In addition, the only doors that open automatically are the ones at the entrance. If your room was in the back, you would have to manually open the doors. It would be nice if they could upgrade the doors that lead you to the back part of the hotel.
GYM: This establishment’s gym is small but my only complaint is the smell. It smelled like foot odor combined with clorox. Not very appealing whatsoever. I don’t know if I missed something but the gym has a sliding door that leads to the outside pool but for some reason, they placed a block which stops you from opening the door fully. I really wanted to air the place out but the widest it could open was probably less than 3 inches.
OUTDATED AC/​HEATER — It was loud. As I mentioned earlier, I slept well but I could have slept better if the ac was decently quiet. The room I had did not have a thermostat or remote so anytime I wanted to lower/​increase the ac, I had to walk to the ac. Since it was also loud, I had to increase the volume on the tv. I noticed that a lot of rooms had loud tv’s when I walked the hallways.
ADDITIONAL CHARGE FOR BREAKFAST BUFFET: My breakfast was already pre-​paid but I think the hotel should make it complimentary. The selection isn’t much. Hot foods include sausage, eggs with cheese, bacon, and potatoes. They also have breads and a few selection of cereal available, as well as one selection of fruit (apple from what I saw on my last day there). They have cold water, coffee, tea, OJ, apple juice, milk and cranberry juice. Breakfast, as I mentioned, is located at the Nomad restaurant.
NOMAD MENU: Red Lion’s website mentions the restaurant’s hours but no menu. If they could input that on their website or provide a hard copy of the menu in each of their rooms, that would be very convenient.
This hotel still has a lot of potential to be better and it seems they are heading in that direction with a newly renovated lobby and Nomad. Like I said, it was a debate (between a 3 or 4 star) but I ended with a 3 star because of the reasons mentioned.

You know how part of what people like/​dislike about Red Lion is the frequently outdated and kinda kitschy décor/​old buildings? This one appears to have been recently redecorated and is surprisingly nice. The outside definitely has that dated 70s vibe that is kind of reassuring/​comforting about Red Lions, but the modern interior renovation is glossy and pleasant as well! The hotel is very close to where I needed to be for work, which is great & convenient. There is a Red Robin restaurant next door. I had a few drinks at the bar, Nomad, which works hard to provide a chill club atmosphere. I just had wine and so can’t comment on the food (or the cocktails, which looked enticing), but I did enjoy the vibe. Apparently you can get drinks «to go» to your room if you’re staying at the hotel, which is nice. :) The bartender was super pleasant, letting me know where to find plugs for my laptop, and the woman working the front desk was super fast at checking me in and really nice as well. Kudos to the staff working the evening (around 7 PM) on 4÷4÷16. Oh and the hotel has DirecTV if you’re like me and don’t have any TV at home and so get excited for hotel stays for that reason. The wifi was fast too. I will likely stay here again the next time I am in Kennewick for work.

when i first checked the lady was being very sassy. She said our room was right next to my friends but it was a whole floor above it. True story. then in the morning when i went to breakfast, the lady who is there to check in for food, her name (sue) was also very sassy, i was part of a team and so we had to keep our money on a tab and she made everybody in line there pay $ 5.38 per person, and then she said i couldnt get in until i explained why i didnt money. and the hotel walls are disgusting. in the morning the workers woke us up by painting the walls and singing loudly. theres a lot of saw dust on the ground. and in my friends room their wallpaper started coming off. also when my friend and i were sitting in the lobby, there were free cookies (there was no sign that said only one cookie) we took 4 each and they ladies gave us the death glare. on the first day that we were here, there was actual plates and silverware. then the next days, there were only plastic plates and forks/​spoon/​knives! you cant even cut a sausage with these knives or your pancakes. when my friend and i went in the pool, she tripped and fell in because the steps were so slippery. the benches it flips up and my friend he spilled some hot
chocolate on himself. the toast machine doesn’t work it overcooks your toast and makes it pure black. on our 2^nd day here there were no bananas in the bowl, only apples that weren’t even ready to eat. the doors into the building it was wide open so any body could walk in with out checking in. theres no elevator, so if you have a far room, and youre disabled theres no elevator. the room tags arent even on the door its either hanging on the side of the door with tape or just paper w your room #. when the mexican baptism party was there they went hard and partied really loud. (sue the sausage) one last thing, when we booked hotel, they didnt mention a thing about the great interruptive construction that was going on, otherwise never wouldve booked here.

I did not check in here. It was an accident. Lol. But I’m sure it’s a great place so I can not give it any stars. Now I’m stuck writing this review only to explain I did not come here

Absolutely terrible hotel. Reserved the executive suite and when we got to our room there were two conference tables in the room. They’re renovating and the hallways reek of paint fumes. I wouldn’t come back here again.

Staff was great but overall would not recommend. Internet is open to anyon… super slow, room wasn’t all that great. Again, I appreciate the staff but more could be done to make this a better place.

I wish there was a ZERO star option. The rooms are old. Our bathroom had mold on the ceiling in the shower. The website doesn’t state it is a seasonal pool, so kids were disappointed. We had a group of 16 rooms. At least three of the room reservations were messed up. The group was for 16 double queen beds. Three of the families got one bed and no cots available, for 4 – 5 people! When asked about it, the rude, arrogant front desk person, Shawn (sp), just said they outsource reservations so it’s not their problem. Completely unsympathetic. He acted like he didn’t care at all. When I asked him if he liked his job, because he was acting so uninterested, he threatened to evict us and call the police. Two of our families wound up staying at other hotels in the area. Overall, the worst hotel our team has ever stayed at.

BAR REVIEW:
Haven’t stayed a night in the hotel, but the bar is awesome. Great bartender! Dude is awesome.

Old hotel.
The room was HOT.
A/​c was noisy and didn’t work well.
Saggy mattress.
Rude staff.
Unfortunately I have to stay here a lot for work and each time dread it.
Not a good place to get a good night sleep.

The exterior really needs the redo it’s getting. The construction was underway weekdays in Sept 2014. The halls need a redo. The rooms are great. Fridg, quiet, comfortable. Pool was unheated in late Sept. No hot tub. Service staff lacking in warmth. Jaya (sp) told me she didn’t have a reservation for me and was rather cold about it. She’d be a better accountant than front desk person. Turns out the guy who took my reservation had my name misspelled. Several of us had problems raising anyone at front desk in person or on phone on a Sat night about 10pm.

The Red Lion Hotel Columbia Center is my home away from home. For the past eight years I have spent a minimum of four weeks a year in the Tri-​Cities. I have stayed in every one of the better hotels. There are only a few in the area that are up to my standards and this is my current favorite. The only nicer hotel is the Hampton Inn in Richland but it has become a bit snooty.
This Columbia Center Red Lion is better than the Pasco property but probably similar to the Richland in quality. The buildings may be dated but they are currently working on some upgrades. The rooms are very clean, the beds are rather comfy, and it is located near quite a few good restaurants. As a woman traveling alone most of the time, I feel safe here even in the dark.
The breakfast is very good. They actually have a hot breakfast every day with eggs, potatoes, bacon and sausage. They have breads, fruit, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, cereal, juices, teas, coffees, and real plates and silverware. They also have a good hotel waffle-​maker. The $ 5 others complain about is very cheap for the substantial breakfast you get. This is not just some dumpy old store bought pastries, cereal and coffee like most hotels «full breakfast». If you are a member of their loyalty club you get a premium room rate, free bottle of water when you sign in, and free breakfast every morning. The lady who runs the breakfast reception desk is always very sweet and remembers my name even though I cannot seem to remember hers.
The wi-​fi is average hotel speed and not lightning speed like at my office.

The assault of mildew to the nose… mixed with stained dirty carpets… black mold in the bathroom… dirty coffee pot (it was only rinsed, before us)…with a tub that does not drain, very well, it is rather unseemly to stand in your own filth – to clean yourself (water backed up to our calves).
We were woke up the next morning from –busting up pavement at 4:45am – 30ft from our window…
Then the staff states, «We had no idea that there was going to be work done. That is Red Robin and not us.» … What about the noise permit process… didn’t this establishment get notified, before hand??? Why didn’t they notify their customers??? (I really dislike being lied to)
Of course they did notify the customers about… the day after – when there was going to be pressure washing to there own establishment – before 8:00 am.

Very disappointed with this hotel. We are on vacation and had made reservations here because it looked nice and it had a pool. My kids love to swim and it was the first thing that they wanted to do after we checked in. When we get to the pool we heard music and there where a lot of people there. Then we noticed that most of them were drinking. We also saw a few people smoking. One lady was smoking in a chair, and 2 of the ladies were smoking in the pool. The rules of the pool state that no one under the influence of alcohol can be in the pool and there was also a sign that said no glass in pool area and there where people drinking beer out of glass bottles. This was very disappointing for us to see and completely inappropriate for our kids to see. We also saw a man dump his beer on a lady in the pool. I went inside the lobby and talked to the lady a few times. She tried to call for help but they were so understaffed and no one did anything about it… at least while we waited around and hoped for something to be done so our kids could swim.
After we had dinner that night we went back to the lobby. There were 2 employees at the desk and I told them what went on and showed them pictures and they were kind of apologetic but were saying that it’s the weekend of the boat races… as if it’s a reason for it to happen. I don’t care about the boat races… drinking and smoking should not be happening at the hotel pool. And now my kids are going to bed tonight totally bummed that they didn’t get to go swimming today.

I gave it two stars but paid for a FIVE star rate as that is what the hotel is rated as. Its older but clean. Needs to be renovated. Everything was extra nickel and dime ya. SO shocked they charged $ 5/​per person for breakfast at $ 119/​a night shocked there was not a comp. Breakfast. Staff was great but won’t stay again bc of the add’l breakfast cost.

Stayed at both this Red Lion and the Pasco Red Lion this weekend. If you are looking for a nicer hotel, go to the Pasco RL. The rooms are much larger, I think all the rooms have decks or patios, the pool is nicer and there is a hot tub. Overall quality is equal. Beds are comfy and clean, flat screen tvs, some nice amenities (fridge, coffee maker, microwave, etc) but nothing to write home about. The Kennewick Red Lion is closer walking distance to the mall and restaurants but that is the only thing I found to be preferable.

You have to pay for breakfast. I am out of town 9 or 10 months out of the year for about 5 years, and have only seen this a hand full of times. It seems greedy to me. Its nothing special for breakfast either. Room was nice though.

Older but clean… was in the hub of shopping !
Hubbie and I did happy hour at next door Red Robin, very convenient!
Nice Location, but there was a rash of break-​ins into vehicles, we got lucky.

This is strictly for the hotel lounge, known as Cavanaugh’s Landing. And I’ve made it there on the weekends for one thing: karaōke.
I’ve been there for support. I’ve been there to sing. I’ve been there to soak it in.
I’ve actually been surprised by the crowd here — for a couple of reasons:
(1) Crowded & (Surprisingly) Happening
On a Sunday night, this seems like THE place to be. On a recent Sunday, President’s Day Eve, this place was totally standing room only! The bar was hammered, and we barely managed to squeeze into a tiny pair of booths. On Martin Luther King Jr’s Eve (also the weekend of our «snowpacalypse»), I thought it would be dead due to the snowy & icy roads — it was dead quiet everywhere else. But NOoooooOOOo, it was totally hopping.
(2) Rough and Tumble (& Hipster-​y) Crowd
I’m new to the karaōke thing, but I like it when the crowd is in to it and also supportive of people who go up there and put their life on the line. Here the crowd seemed pretty indifferent to the singers (unlike the crowd at Lee’s Tahitian:
). I mean, it seemed like they didn’t even know people were up there sweating their butts off and belting out songs for them. I think they were too worried about their tattoos, female/​male skinny jeans, dark-​rimmed glasses, & derbies. This place is intimidating. Whoa is me.
But anyways, if you sing a decent enough song, have enough energy, or just think you’re good in your own mind (I’m the latter after a drink or two), then sometimes the crowd can be in to you and even come up and dance/​freak to your song — a good thing. I’ve been here about 5 times so far, and the last two times I’ve sung Justin Timberlake’s «Rock Your Body». Maybe I’m doomed to singing that here. (I’ll keep you posted.)
The servers here are nice. The bar has a few microbrews on tap. The seating area is decent. I like how the booths in the back are elevated for better viewing. Overall, a solid 3.5 Stars.

When I checked in, the clerk was weirdly snotty about the features the hotel had… very standoffish. The younger guy who checked me out was pleasant enough though.
Room was fine, there was a mini-​fridge and microwave which is great for a business traveler such as myself. Mattress was pillow-​top, I loved it and slept well. The shower head was kinda weird… the water either fell like it was coming out of a faucet or sprayed out but was barely there. Nice feature of the room was a «bar» type thing with a mirror in front of it, convenient for putting on makeup while someone else uses the shower, or for making your coffee. Heater worked fine but was a bit rattle-​y.
Breakfast buffet is $ 4.95…go across the street to the Target and buy some frozen Jimmy Dean’s D-​lites to save some money and calories. The gym was kinda crappy-​just a treadmill, kinda broken recumbent bike, elliptical, and stair machine… no free weights at all. There was a water cooler and TV though.
The hotel is definitely dated, it reminds me of the Denny’s where my dad worked in 1985. Why does it only receive 3 stars? Access to electrical outlets. There was NO WAY to plug my phone in and have it be next to the bed. This is a HUGE issue!!! I hate having to climb out of bed to get to my phone/​alarm. I think the reason is this hotel is actually old enough that rooms originally had 2 twin beds in them. Now that there’s a king, the outlet in the middle of the wall is directly behind the head board. F minus. Bring an extension cord!

The Red Lion Hotel Columbia Center — Kennewick is a better hotel than I expected. It’s exactly as dated as I expected, but dated in a way I find really quite… enjoyable. I dig the late-70’s/early-80’s diagonal-​siding, classic lodge style of hotel. No it’s not fancy or mod or old enough to be classy in a charming or historical kind of way, but it’s more interesting and fun than the sterile, spartan hotels of today’s design (at least the blasé Comfort Inn or Holiday Inn Express style of hotel).
The rooms are big enough to move around in, the rambling hallways and split-​level design make it an interesting property to traverse, and the layout allows for interesting group dynamics. Plus they have a lounge that rocks DJ’s and karaōke (depending on the night). Our room was dated but clean, and the bed was, while not Heavenly, plenty comfortable. The view from our window was of a parking lot, but we’re in Kennewick, so it’s not like there’s much to look at anyway.
The only real downer was the terrible breakfast buffet. And I mean terrible. Really the only thing dragging this Red Lion down from 4 stars is the meager buffet I was sort of tricked in to for $ 4.95 (by tricked, I mean to say that from the tag in the room advertising the «buffet», I was expecting something more involved). I’m not sure what «Roaring Start» is supposed to imply, but I was under the impression that I’d be rocking something more exciting than a automated pancake machine that poops out odd-​shaped pancakes at the push of a button, a few trays (that always seemed to be empty) of eggs, bacon and sausage, some cardboard-​like potatoes, and a few continental items. I’d expect to see a buffet like this (minus the eggs, bacon, and sausage) as a comp thing at, say, a Holiday Inn Express or something.
Other than the gross breakfast, the staff is plenty ok, the rooms did us right, and the entertainment in the lounge was… entertaining. I’d stay here again (if I had to be in the Tri Cities for some reason).