First impressions are important to most people and our first impression of this place was poor. The lady at the front desk presented us with a credit card slip to sign, requiring payment up front for more than the price agreed via the internet booking. She had little interest in resolving the discrepancy, was less than welcoming and indeed came over as totally indifferent to her new guests. That said, I spoke to her the following day and was greeted with a smile (everyone can have a bad day)
Fortunately our room when we got to it was pretty nice. It was a King Cabin (609) and set back behind the row of rooms nearest the road, so away from any road noise. The front had a porch with a couple of chairs, whilst out the back we had nice views of the meadow. Inside was a decent AC unit (albeit a bit noisy) and that had been thoughtfully turned on so the room was already cool. There’s a fridge, microwave, TV, coffee maker (a bit stingy that they only left coffee for one cup each) and more sockets to charge devices than we’ve seen in any room we’ve stayed in on this trip so far. Its a spacious enough cabin and the King sized bed was comfortable, shower products are provided in the bathroom. The lighting in the room was great, bright central light & good bedside lights for reading. Complimentary WiFi was pretty speedy. Being a cabin there is no noise from the room next door or above (because there isn’t either).
Check in/out is in the Yosemite Westgate Lodge (presumably owned by the same people) as is the ice machine, so shame its a bit of a trek to get ice. Tip for anyone staying in the YWL, room 403 is right next to the ice machine, can’t imagine that being a quiet room.
There’s a restaurant/diner (different ownership) alongside the front row of rooms. Pleasant and efficient service, very tasty meals and although a little pricy, not outrageously so bearing in mind the remote location and lack of alternative options.
On a pure comparison of the accomdation verses the description and its facilities. it probably warrants a 4 star, but add in that it is outrageously expensive for what it provides and the indifference of the front desk and it drops down to a 3 star overall. Not great value for money, really priced because of its proximity to Yosemite, and if I was around here again I’d look for a better value option, even if it meant driving a few miles more.
