Historic Columbia Gorge Hotel to reopen

The historic Columbia Gorge Hotel in Hood River, Ore., is expected to reopen in September, according to The Oregonian newspaper.

Nobody bid for the property during a foreclosure auction in July, leaving it in the hands of its mortgage holder, Shorebank Pacific.

ShoreBank, which set $4 million as the minimum bid, has retained North Pacific Management to run the hotel built by timber tycoon Simon Benson in 1921 as the "Waldorf of the West." The bank still hopes to find a buyer.

Icelandair adds flight

Icelandair will add a fifth weekly nonstop flight between Seattle and Reykjavik, Iceland, next spring.

The airline started service from Seattle on July 23, with four weekly flights operating from Seattle at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The new flight will depart Seattle on Wednesdays, starting May 6.

Flights currently return to Seattle on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays, and starting in May, on Tuesdays, arriving at Sea-Tac at 5:45 p.m. Flight time is about 7-½ hours

In Reykjavik, Icelandair flights connect with flights to Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London and Paris and other European cities. For information, see www.icelandair.com.

Tour Lake Quinault

Lake Quinault Lodge on Washington's Olympic Peninsula will host new interpretive lake tours through Sept. 14.

Guests will learn about the rain forest, wildlife, fisheries and tribal life and catch a glimpse of osprey birds on the two-hour Day Break Lake Tour. Cost is $25 for adults and $15 for children under 12.

A Picnic Lake Tour will include a boat ride and lunch. Cost is $40 for adults and $22 for children.

An Evening Lake Tour will take guests around the Quinault Rain Forest to orient them to the hiking trails and giant trees. Cost is $25 for adults and $15 for children under 12. Details at www.visitlakequinault.com.