UX Research ◦ UI Design ◦ Website Design ◦ Front-End Development ◦ Brand Deliverables
Transforming a historic hotel into a destination spot in the heart of the Columbia River Gorge
A beautiful hotel in need of a refresh
While it is loved by locals, newlyweds, and loyal patrons, the Columbia Gorge Hotel & Spa wanted to be known as a destination spot to capture the interest of new patrons. But due to the historic age of the building, some of the facilities were outdated, and COVID continued to pose a threat. The hotel struggled to appeal to newcomers, and thus were in need of a complete refresh and rebrand.
Simply put, they needed a way to get heads in beds.
How can the hotel appeal to new patrons as a tourist destination, while maintaining its historic charm?
Fresh Start
In 2022, the Columbia Gorge Hotel & Spa underwent a complete interior renovation and redecoration.
Suites received new carpeting, new furniture, and updated amenities. The dining room on the ground floor, event space, and lounge area were additionally updated.
As the renovations were taking place, I worked with the hotel on redesigning their website and key brand deliverables.
Evaluation of Current Site
When assessing the old site, I found these issues:
Inconsistent brand colors.
Low quality or placeholder photos.
Lack of text hierarchy on the homepage.
Text too small on homepage and not WCAG compliant.
Outdated information pertaining to dates and hours of operations.
Competitor Analysis
When analyzing the websites of competing hotels, some key features stood out:
Cohesive branding across all pages.
Full scale, high quality photos of rooms and amenities.
Highlighting attractions in surrounding area.
Simplistic and easy to use booking page.
While the Woodlark hotel is not a direct competitor because they are not located in the Columbia Gorge, I studied their website because they've achieved what the CG hotel is striving for: to appeal to younger patrons as destination location.
User Stories
“As a new guest, I want the rooms to look updated and clean, so that I will feel comfortable spending a night.”
— Lorraine, 24
“As a long-time guest, I want the original charm of the 1920’s to be kept intact after the renovations, so that I can feel at ease.”
— Carl, 58
“As a travel foodie, I want to be able to easily find the restaurant menu and hours of operation, so that I don’t get frustrated by browsing the site.”
— Jo, 30
Rough sketches and wireframes
Website Redesign Goals
Refresh the hotel’s brand identity.
Increase responsiveness.
Showcase the updated interiors.
Create a seamless booking process.
Improve hierarchy of content.
Showcase historic charm of the property and grounds.
In order to:
Increase hotel patrons.
Establish the hotel as a destination spot.
Feedback & User Testing
After the first initial round of wireframes and mockups, I met with stakeholders for a presentation and critique.
After a stage of A/B user test survey and stakeholder feedback, these design changes were made:
Incorporate full bleed photos.
Create a “wow” factor - change header from static photo to video.
Center and enlarge logo.
Blue background preferred over pink.
Create a more noticeable “Book” button.
Round 01: High-Fidelity Mockups
Wireframes
Final Round of Design
Round 03: High-Fidelity Mockups
Mobile User Journey Animation
Live Production Site
I created three iterations of mockups, with a design presentation and stakeholder critique after each round. After design approval, I incorporated the new design into the live site through iHotelier. I also wrote and implemented custom front-end code, edited video content for the header, and worked with the support team at travelclick to troubleshoot the hotel booking page design.
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Wedding Page
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Dining Page
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Homepage Rooms Feature
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Homepage Links Section
Branding Deliverables
Brand content was created by following a provided brand book.
Outcome & Final Thoughts
Before working with the CGH team, I was actually a guest at the hotel for a close friend’s wedding and my brother’s engagement. It was a privilege to have the opportunity of bringing their vision to life by creating a new and responsive website with updated branding and photos, showcasing their hotel as an ideal travel destination that has charm, history, and nature.