People are often surprised (and scared, too) by the isolation one senses in southeastern Oregon. Gas and accommodations are scarce, befitting the small population living there. Frenchglen has around eleven residents, for example. If you're seeking a variety of amenities (shopping, touristy attractions, et cetera) this is NOT your area.

But, should you seek solitude, wonderful landscapes, and lodging sans TV/radio/cell phones, I heartily recommend the Frenchglen Hotel. My wife and I have lodged there off-and-on for nearly 20 years, and except for a few pieces of furniture and seasonal staff little else has changed. THIS IS A GOOD THING.

Meals are served family-style, and good conversation often accompanies the entrees. You never know who you'll meet here, or what stories you'll hear. With luck, John's Mom's Potatoes will be on the evening menu.

Rooms are "basic" and comfortable; the Drovers units behind the Hotel have private baths, those in the Hotel share them, and cleanliness is excellent. You should be outside, anyway, walking, touring the Steens Mt. area, or simply sitting on the screened porch with a warm drink.

One reviewer suggested that a "second place" would provide useful competition in Frenchglen. That's been tried (and failed: remember, there are 11 people here. This isn't Seattle). In the wide-open scheme that is SE Oregon, the nearest competition is in Diamond, 30 miles away. Out here, that's close.

Include Frenchglen, and the Hotel, on your next venture into Oregon's high desert country, and you won't be disappointed.

Oasis in the middle of nowhere. Good rooms, shared bathrooms, serviceable family-style meals. Proprietor could be a little warmer. A second place in town would be useful to provide some competition.

I've passed by the Frenchglen Hotel many times but decided this time to stay a night as part of a multi-day tour of Oregon on motorcycle. I could have stayed at a chain hotel in Burns, but I was craving something different.

This hotel has so much history and is located in a part of Oregon that very few people take the time to experience. The desert sage, the cool breeze and the small town feel take me back to a simpler time when I wasn't spending most of my life behind a desk.

I stayed in room #5 which is in the main hotel. The bathroom is across the hall and is shared with a few other rooms. Once you arrive, you'll notice how the place to be is in the front porch/main area of the "hotel". (It really doesn't feel like a traditional hotel, more like a farmhouse that a relative has lived in for many years) Dinner is served at 630pm and you get a very traditional feast for $20 which is pretty reasonable. After dinner, guests linger over beer or wine, talking and trading stories.

There is no AC in the main part of the hotel, but a fan in the window of #5 worked fine to pull in cool night air into the room. I slept better this one night than the 2 previous nights in chain motels.

In the morning, you have the option to order breakfast or just wander out to go hiking or exploring as you want. Kitchen staff in the morning take care of everyone efficiently as if they have been doing this for a while.

I really had a good time and hope to return for another stay soon.

Wow what a trip to Frenchglen. Arrived at the "hotel" and were booked into room "A" which are the rooms behind the hotel. Unpacked, showered, walked the streets, had a "family style dinner". Bed time . . . woke up the next morning-ew my legs itched, were red and swollen. BED BUGS! My husband also experienced the same thing. I would not stay here! Would think state of Oregon could do better with their accommodations!