Cannon Beach Conference Center

If I was rating the speaker I heard at a marriage conference here, I would have to give it –1,000 stars (for real, there was a speaker who referred to female private parts as «the baby door» the whole weekend in addition to stating that women get satisfaction from «arranging fruit in bowls» compared to men doing well at work. Yeah, I am not making this crap up, and these people are apparently routine speakers here). As for the venue itself– a solid meh.
Good things– I never felt like I was going to get mugged. It was quiet. The common areas were very spacious. The place is withing reasonable walking distance to the beach.
Bad things– The food was NOT good except for 1 night with a buffet. Apparently there is some culinary school that is connected with this place, but I don’t think the students are getting their money’s worth out of their tuition. Some of the food was so bad a that everyone at our table left most of it on the plate.
The accommodations aren’t cheap or very nice, but then, get this, THEY ASK YOU FOR MONEY! They call it «estate planning» and asked many, many times during the conference for people to donate to their «ministry.» Seriously, in a regular, non-​conference market, you couldn’t charge what they charged for these rooms during non-​peak season. Seriously, you charge that much AND expect people to donate more money? Um, no. Additionally, they have a lot of volunteer labor for cleaning so I am not sure why we were repeatedly asked to subsidize the cost of this establishment. Maybe if the rooms were coming at a cheap rate, sure, but they’re clearly not charging under a regular rate, so why do they need more money? The sink in our room dripped so much we had to turn off the water, and it was very much like staying at a summer camp or dorm. The bed was super uncomfortable.
There is also no alcohol allowed, which is really dumb, especially because you can walk right across the street to get a beer or wine, so I am not sure what they are trying to accomplish with this.
If you’re looking for a church retreat, I’d look elsewhere. You can do better for less and not have your people solicited for money.

We just spent a week here at this wonderful place. There are 5 in my family and there was something to do for all of us!
First, the LOCATION is downtown Cannon Beach and everything is within walking distance. Perfect for shopping, dining and the beach.
Second, the conference CENTER itself, is nice and clean. Not 5 star but definitely well kept and yes, dorm-​like. Next time we come, we will bring a fan (air circulation), some blankets (cozy factor) and a drying rack (beach wear). There is coin-​operated laundry in several of the buildings, which we did use during our stay. The rec center was my kids’ favorite place! Mini golf, huge gym, ping pong, pool tables, carpet ball, exercise gym, board games, running track etc. there are many places to sit and visit on the campus. The Coach house is where you can buy coffee, food, Tillamook ice cream etc. The Book Nook has a quaint library of Christian books for sale.
Third, the SPEAKERS that came in for the week were incredible. Every week, during the summer, they are different. This week Luis Palal spoke along with Rick McKinley. Two men who love God and have a passion to teach His word.
Fourth, the FOOD is great. There are MANY options at every meal and truly ways to eat healthy or splurge if you choose. The food is included in your price. Bonus! Personally, it was a blessing for me to not have to cook or find places to eat on our vacation. The service was wonderful and the staff is so kind.
Fifth, the PROGRAM was top notch. Twice a day, the kids (all ages welcome and divided up into age levels) went to their program and we went and listened to the speakers. This is optional but the highlight of our kids’ week and all the friends they made during our week-​long stay here. Throughout the week their were several optional free activities for families: sand castle competition, laser tag, bingo, carnival with bouncy houses and too many games to list, hikes, tours, tournaments for all ages. These are all optional and so fun. Family pictures on the beach are also available for a small fee. (love this!)
Sixth, the STAFF, was incredibly hospitable and did a wonderful job serving our family. The youth staff were fun and truly were great with our kids. Anything we needed, we were quickly and joyfully helped.
Lastly, I would add that we met so many wonderful people. Families that have been coming for decades and now have much of their extended family that come the same week they do so that they can enjoy the week together. Most everyone re-​books for the following year and reunite with friends from years past. There are cancellations, so you should be able to book a room for next year.

was here for a church retreat. great location.
yes, the rooms are kind of like college dormitories. but you don’t go here for nice accomodations. the beds are not the most comfortable. but a great place for a large group retreat or conference.
they have a gym for the kids, mini golf area, game area, cafeteria. the food was just ok.
once again, great location. pretty much in downtown cannon beach.

Here’s the scoop.
This place is a venue for which I came for a marriage conference. I will try to limit my thoughts to the venue only.
First, the food. It was okay enough. Out of 5 meals I had over the weekend, only about one was noteworthy. A huge buffet with salmon, meat, salads, and bacon-​wrapped dates, yum! Otherwise, for a place that states they have a Christian Culinary School (whatever the heck that means), the food quality was about that of the average Double Tree Inm hotel catering.
Next, during the conference, the site staff kept making plugs for us to have estate planning to give money to them and even took time out of our conference to ask for more money to build a new dining complex, which would have made sense if we hadn’t paid $ 450 for two nights – clearly not subsidized by them to bring the prices down.
They have this goofie Coach House café, which is the only place in town that stays open till 11pm but only really serves pre-​fab food items and ice cream. Thumbs down.
The accomadations were much like an old dormatory, so whatever.
Final negative, no booze allowed on their campus.
Positives: location to the beach and downtown Cannon Beach and average food.