Guest reviews Yosemite View Lodge

by Glorialec5

Awful customer service

I never leave reviews, but the staff were incredibly rude and not helpful at all. They said if I were to call back that day I could get a free cancellation. I called back 10 minutes later to adjust my booking and they kept lying saying they didn’t promise that and kept blaming me. Not impressed and will not stay here again.

by MG431 Oakland, California

Best Location for the price

This is the best location you will find for the price. We had a loft room with a king sized bed on the main level & a queen in the upper loft. The spiral stairs up to the loft are very steep so that is the only drawback with that layout. There is a small kitchenette, which is essential with all of the restaurant restrictions these days. We brought our own food & used the microwave to heat up dinner. There is a small refrigerator, microwave & cook top along with a coffee maker & sink. The condition of the property & the room are fine. I was happy with my stay & will go there again the next time I visit Yosemite.

by Jim C SoCal

Great place to stay

Just outside the gates of Yosemite this is the place to stay. Units are basic but clean and accommodating. Staff made us feel welcome and in light of circumstances we could not be happier (actually we could not be happier in normal times) highly recommend!!

by reannatong

Good option for location and dogs

I booked this hotel and came here knowing what I was getting myself into. First by fully acknowledging that Yosemite View Lodge is not a five-star resort, I was able to appreciate it and enjoy it for what it was! This is a clean hotel, beautifully located next to the Merced River (most rooms have an awesome river view), just a few minutes from the west entrance to Yosemite, allows dogs, and a pretty decent restaurant and bar. Though not in tiptop shape, this place had everything that I needed in place to enjoy Yosemite for the day. I love that the rooms are equipped with a kitchenette (and stove!), dual showerheads, and hot tub/bath. The service at the pizza restaurant and lounge were also great but I'll leave a separate review for those. We split our time between this place and another a bit farther out from the park, each with its advantages! Yosemite View Lodge takes the cake for most convenient, which I think is worth it at least for one of your nights best Yosemite.

by whatlevelisthis Boston, Massachusetts

You're paying for the location and nothing else

I came here with low expectations, and they were definitely met. Bottom line-- you stay here because of *the location*. It's safe and clean enough and the staff were polite, but don't expect much more. Yosemite is a beautiful place but it's annoying that there are few lodging choices close to the park, unless you stay inside the park. This place is basically the closest outside-of-the-gates hotel (20 mins to Yosemite Valley attractions). (Also, if your dog is traveling with you, you basically have no choice in hotels. Tenaya Lodge is an hour to the south but costs 2-3x more, and there are some hotels in Oakhurst even further south like the new Holiday Inn Express that allow dogs.) If you stay here, don't expect anything to work properly. We had a river view two queen room on the 1st floor, and in our room, the fireplace was broken. One of the ceiling lights was burned out. The 2 burner electric stove--- well, it turned on, but it barely got hot, so it took 2-3x longer to make anything. It took 30 minutes to boil some water. I had to boil water in the microwave as a last resort (oh, and the microwave is weak and takes a long time too). The stove does get hot enough to cook eggs, but expect it to take 20 minutes. If you search on Tripadvisor, several people have complained about the slow stoves. Apparently it's due to low voltage in the rooms. I'm shocked the management thinks this is ok and doesn't bother fixing it. The WiFi was slow but fine; as noted by others, you have to pay $9.99 for two devices. We were worried about noise from adjoining rooms, but we never heard any sounds from the room next door even though there were 4 people staying there. Maybe they were just super quiet. There are some pools and tubs scattered around the property, but they all looked like they hadn't been cleaned or maintained in some time (lots of leaves in the water and grime and and it looked like no one was using the pools). Now, I paid only $149 for my room during midweek low season. I'm not one of those people on Tripadvisor who complain about motels in good locations charging $200-$300, because it's basic supply and demand and the motel will charge whatever price people are wiling to pay. *That said*, I'd be miffed if I paid $200-$300 to stay here and everything in my room was broken. I think there's a basic standard of decency for a hotelier to at least maintain their rooms in good working order if they're going to rake in $200-$300 a night. It feels like the owner/management here are just coasting. Also, I noticed some of the cleaning staff were not wearing masks. That said, the woman who checked me in at the front desk was masked and was perfectly polite and helpful.