Live on the Beach at Ocean Inn

The Ocean Inn at Manzanita lives, literally, on the corner of town and the beach.

Laneda Avenue cuts through the center of this happiest of little vacation villages living in the midst of the Oregon Coast’s “Banana Belt”, thusly named because any thick fog rolling in from the north is often deflected off of Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain and around Manzanita on it’s way south to Rockaway Beach. Pass by the local grocery store, the cafes, surfboard rental shop and boutiques that compromise “downtown Manzanita” and just before the road disappears into the sands of the shore, the Ocean Inn poses like a bride watching the ocean fall over the edge of the world, ever still and beautiful.

Comprised of ten rooms, many of which open directly onto the sand, a few carports and the perfect location, the inn is simply put the best hotel for your money in town. It’s lavish, and the price tag isn’t exactly small, but compared to what you end up paying for a dumpy Motel 6 along a highway in Kansas City these days, the value is all there.

A few steps away from coffee and donuts from the Coffee Shop in the morning, a yawn and a stretch away from drinking that cup of caffeine with the salt licking up out of the waves and into your lungs, expect to feel like you’ve “finally made it”. We happened upon a series of circumstances which landed us a free night at the place and, after a few cold beverages and some live music at the Sand Dune two blocks up Laneda, disappeared into our bed and a sea of pillows. Grandma and the kids watched a little television, rare in our typical lifestyle and therefore a treat to them, while we enjoyed a front porch made of the beach.

Be sure to plan ahead, particularly on any given weekend year round when no amount of Oregon rain or shine keeps the place from filling up quickly. If your wallet is feeling healthy enough and your back just aching for a little lavish, this is precisely the place you’ll want to look into while spinning your days away in the Little Apple.