(Wall Street Suites | Photo Courtesy of Wall Street Suites)
Wall Street Suites — once the home of a dilapidated old motel in need of major repair — has been given new life by its owners and is now a thriving destination hotel, rated the #1 Motel/Hotel in Bend by Trip Advisor. Wall Street Suites has been in the Top 10 Fan Favorite Destinations in Oregon for four years straight, according to owner Wendy Kelley, and more than 50 percent of the hotel’s business is return customers.
“Our model is based on real, pure, customer service,” says Kelley. “Our customers are mostly Oregonians who already love Bend or have heard about it and are here to experience it. They are families who enjoy cooking a meal or two, like outdoor activities and appreciate the extra amenities that we offer.” She adds, “We are dog friendly, and have our own dog park, so that appeals to doggie folks. Our guests appreciate that their car is parked right outside their door, keeping cargo safe and convenient.”
At the Wall Street Suites, located at 1430 NW Wall Street, each space is insulated for sound control and comes with its own combination of carefully selected woods and unique stone and tile such as Ming, sandstone, marble, slate and travertine, as well as variations of unique slab granite. Free parking and high-speed internet are offered, and the facility is a non-smoking property. Located two blocks from historic downtown Bend, Wall Street Suites is across the street from Pioneer Park.
The original motel was built during the 1950s on what was then Hill Street, and in its prime, it accommodated out-of-towners who enjoyed coming back to the motel after a long day of recreating. The Bend Bulletin moved in across the street during the 1960s, and the local county buildings were on the other side of the street. According to the Wall Street Suites website, “As times began to change and Bend went through a period of unprecedented growth, the Plaza Motel did not keep up. In the early 2000s, The Bend Bulletin moved to a larger property, leaving the property across the street barren, and The Plaza Motel began to change ownership multiple times. By 2007, it had become low-income housing, and by 2010, was in need of major repair.
“The Plaza Motel was built to compete with the landmark Pilot Butte Inn,” says Kelley. “My husband, Pat Kelley, remembers around the summer of 1967 they were filming the movie The Way West in Bend. He and his buddies would spy on the motel, and he claims Sally Field stayed there. They would go to Pioneer Park in hopes of seeing her, but her film crew ran them off,” she recalls with a laugh. “We purchased the property in 2011 from the bank, and it was extremely run down, but we felt that the bones were good.”
When the Kelleys started the project, they had partners, Vern and Gretchen Palmer. “We have since bought their interest in the motel and we now own it solely. We stripped the interior to the studs, completely rewired the electrical, added double insulation and doubled up on sheetrock as a sound barrier,” she says. “Originally, it was 35 units that were configured like a typical motel room with a bed and bathroom. We decided to double the rooms and make them complete boutique suites with private bedrooms, complete gourmet kitchens and top-of-the-line amenities; so we were left with 17 rentable rooms.” The original Plaza Motel had a steam heating system, she says, so they saved the gas boiler system, and it now provides an endless supply of hot water.
Pat Kelley is a collector of exotic woods, so the rooms are finished with walnut, beach, pecan, figured maple, Russian pine and a few unknown species that Kelley says her husband found in his stash. “It took two years to complete the remodel, and we opened in December of 2013. Pat and I own another property on the Oregon Coast, the Agate Beach Motel, and have operated it since 1990. It is a small motel with only ten units, and that property has an interesting story as well.”
Wall Street Suites offers a variety of amenities, including evening fires around a fire pit; complimentary bike and snowshoe rentals and High Desert Museum passes; an assortment of beverages for purchase at the front desk including local craft beers, wine, bottled and flavored water, juice, sodas and cold-brewed coffee; the use of local favorite product DANI Naturals in the bathrooms, a guest lounge with a public computer and printer available; and a Movie Night Snack Pack available for purchase, with HDMI cords available at the front desk to stream movies on the large in-room screens from personal devices.
Wall Street Suites partners with the Haven Coworking space, and offers corporate discounts, making it an appropriate spot for business meetings and groups as well as families and solo travelers. “Guests can rent out the conference room or office space at the Haven,” says Kelley. “We had teachers do classrooms on Zoom there, and we had a group that was staying here while others from their group were staying in Sunriver. They rented conference space at the Haven as a central meeting ground. This works well for us because we don’t have a designated conference room.” Kelley says another group rented three rooms, utilizing two for personal use, and the third as an office space.
Despite the COVID restrictions of the past year, Kelley says Wall Street Suites has done well. “During this pandemic, we have seen growth, mostly because of our exterior entrances to each unit, the ability to cook in-house and the fact that each unit has its own air circulation.” She adds, “And, because we top it off with our incredible attention to details.”
wallstreetsuitesbend.com • 541-706-9006
