A Gorgeous Inn: Washington's Cave B Inn at Sagecliffe

Photo: Zhifeng Wang

The barrel-top rooflines of the new Cave B Inn at Sagecliffe, built 900 feet above the Columbia River gorge, in central Washington, seem to roll right into the distant basalt hills. A scenic three-hour drive due east from Seattle, the inn is situated on 550 acres that were purchased twenty-seven years ago by visionary neurosurgeon Vince Bryan. There he planted a vineyard and named it Cave B (for the first letter of his last name).

Bryan invented an artificial disk (now used by back surgeons worldwide) in the late 1990s, and he used the profits to add the inn to his property last June. There are three guest rooms in the main lodge, a dozen Cavern rooms built partially into cliffs above the gorge, and fifteen freestanding "Cliffehouses" with interiors decorated in shades of red or white wines. The latter accommodations are the grandest, with sitting areas, granite baths and terraces offering spectacular views of the gorge. After trying a grape-leaf wrap at the spa, guests can blend their own signature wines and then dine on cuisine inspired by Native American recipes. Doubles in the main lodge and Cavern rooms from $125 per night; Cliffehouses from $145 per night. 509-785-2283; cavebinn.com