The Westman Hotel is set to open in mid-December in the newly remodeled historic post office in downtown Bend. Reservations are being accepted starting Friday, Dec. 19. The high-end hotel has 23 rooms and suites on three floors ranging in price from $399 to $749 per night. At the top end are two-story lofts which have a spiral staircase to the bedroom. Mid-range rooms include outdoor patio space.
The building is owned by Gil Burgess, who purchased it about four years ago.
“The owner grew up in very modest means about an hour and a half from here towards Eugene, and his family would save their pennies and come up here [to Bend] every three months or so and get a sandwich. That was like going to Disneyland and he fell in love with Bend as a kid,” says Mark Keller with Embarcadero Hospitality Group, which manages the hotel. Keller says Burgess bought the property as a love letter to Bend.
The old U.S. Post Office at the corner of NW Wall Street and Franklin Avenue was built in 1932 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. When the Postal Service outgrew the space, the building housed various business offices.
“The exterior is intact, as are the original windows, the historic lobby floors, the entry vestibule, grand staircase and architectural details such as the columns and the Art Deco — inspired decorative moulding,” Sondra Storm with Embarcadero Hospitality Group told the Source. “We were also able to preserve several pieces that make for great storytelling — including original blueprints and the building’s post office vault door.”
Visitors will enter the luxury hotel through the original post office vestibule, open the door using the original brass door pulls and walk on the original flooring. Throughout the hallways and rooms are historic blueprints, photos and post cards with stamps originating from the old post office. The original vault door will hang on the wall of one room.
Some of the rooms are named in honor of the building’s origins, including the Postmaster’s Loft, the Mail Room Loft and the Postal Inspector’s Signature Suite.
Keller says piecing together the layout of the rooms was tricky, working within the footprint of a post office and following rules that guide renovations of historic buildings. The staircase was moved to ensure all rooms would feel spacious.
The dog-friendly Westman was named after the first female mail carrier west of the Mississippi. Minnie Westman trekked through Oregon’s coastal mountains in the late 1880s, making her way by horse through rugged terrain and treacherous weather to deliver letters and packages at the age of 20. Her father and uncle established a 60-mile stage line from Eugene to Mapleton and held the region’s mail contract — which is how Minnie was able to obtain her position at a time when women were not eligible to be mail carriers.
At one end of the lobby is a bar, named Minnie’s, which will be open to the general public starting Dec. 19. Keller says it’ll serve small plates and cocktails.
“It’s really an honor to be in this building and an honor to just have people share their stories,” Keller says. People have wandered in to talk about their memories, some dating back to childhood when their parents worked in the building. Keller says they’ve had roughly 600 applicants apply to work there. “It’s an opportunity to work in a place where you have so few guests, you can give them incredible personal service… Our whole goal is for everybody on the staff to be an ambassador to Central Oregon.”
The Westman Hotel
Reservations Start Dec. 19
777 NW Wall St., Bend
westmanhotelbend.com/
This article appears in the Source December 4, 2025.
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