Yosemite Lodging ?

[disny_luvr]

We will be traveling from San Francisco to Anaheim by way of Yosemite next summer. After checking daily multiple times a day, I was finally able to book two nights at Yosemite Valley Lodge. Earlier today I was reading reviews and they are awful. If anyone has ever stayed at Yosemite Valley Lodge is it as bad as people are reporting? We stayed at the Old Faithful Inn last summer and I had read pretty bad reviews about that place, too, and we actually liked it a lot. I'm trying to not read too much into other people's reviews, but sometimes it can be hard, plus for the amount of money we are paying, I just don't want it to be awful.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I’ve stayed at Yosemite Valley Lodge and it was perfectly fine. You’re in the valley, and there are few options. When I stayed there I asked for the eco room. Google best rooms at Yosemite Lodge. They have a buffeteria there that is okay (you can also eat at Curry Village pizza - so good, and Yosemite Village. You’ll be walking distance from the foot of Yosemite Falls.

Figure on about a 7.5 hour drive from the valley to Los Angeles (driven it many times, lol).

 

[sjmac42]

I’ve stayed at YVL although not for a while. It was a good property, basic but well maintained and the location just cannot be beat.
People can resent paying so much for such a basic property and that’s where you can find negative reviews. Not often to do with the property, just people’s expectations.

 

[wabbott]

Most National Park Lodges are old, don't have modern conveniences, the wifi is lacking, and are difficult to reserve. But the history and atmosphere makes up for everything in spades. Who very often gets to sleep in the same building that Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Queens once stayed?

 

[disny_luvr]

Most National Park Lodges are old, don't have modern conveniences, the wifi is lacking, and are difficult to reserve. But the history and atmosphere makes up for everything in spades. Who very often gets to sleep in the same building that Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Queens once stayed?

I agree! We didn't have any A/C, wifi, TV, or fridge when we stayed at Old Faithful Inn last summer and we all survived. In fact, it was actually freeing to not have wifi or TV. I loved being disconnected. Now my 16-year-old sons at the time might disagree, but they did just fine without all the modern conveniences.

 

[disny_luvr]

I’ve stayed at Yosemite Valley Lodge and it was perfectly fine. You’re in the valley, and there are few options. When I stayed there I asked for the eco room. Google best rooms at Yosemite Lodge. They have a buffeteria there that is okay (you can also eat at Curry Village pizza - so good, and Yosemite Village. You’ll be walking distance from the foot of Yosemite Falls.

Figure on about a 7.5 hour drive from the valley to Los Angeles (driven it many times, lol).

I'll definitely have to check out the pizza place in Curry Village. I've seen it mentioned by others on some FB pages so it must be good!

Thanks for the heads up on the driving time. When I put it into Google maps I think it said either 6 or 6.5 hours and I knew it would be a little longer than that. We plan to leave early so we can make it to Anaheim by dinnertime. Can you recommend a good stopping place that we can get out to stretch our legs and get a bite to eat?

 

[disny_luvr]

I’ve stayed at YVL although not for a while. It was a good property, basic but well maintained and the location just cannot be beat.
People can resent paying so much for such a basic property and that’s where you can find negative reviews. Not often to do with the property, just people’s expectations.

My DH always tells me that people are quick to complain and I need to remind myself of that sometimes. I think the location looks great on a map, so I'm glad to hear it is in a good location.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Can you recommend a good stopping place that we can get out to stretch our legs and get a bite to eat?

You'll hit Fresno in a couple of hours from the time you leave, then another hour to Visalia, and then another hour to Bakersfield. We usually stop to eat in Bakersfield. Los Angeles is 2 hours from Bakersfield. You may have a bit of traffic when you hit Los Angeles - after you pass Magic Mountain & the California Aqueduct.

 

[sndral]

The Yosemite Valley Lodge is fine, it’s dated & basic - but if you want to stay in the valley in a hotel room (v. some version of camping) you have two choices. Although I prefer the Awahnee, I’ve stayed at the Lodge when the Awahnee wasn’t in my budget or was unavailable & I’d do so again.

 

[AgentMama]

As someone else said, rooms in National Parks are all dated. But the location for Yosemite Valley Lodge is beautiful. And we love NP and staying in the parks, so often choose park lodging. There is very limited cell reception in Yosemite and no wifi for guests in the valley (at least the last time we were there) but we've had the best reception around Yosemite Valley Lodge.

 

[bcla]

The Yosemite Valley Lodge is fine, it’s dated & basic - but if you want to stay in the valley in a hotel room (v. some version of camping) you have two choices. Although I prefer the Awahnee, I’ve stayed at the Lodge when the Awahnee wasn’t in my budget or was unavailable & I’d do so again.

There are still a few hard sided cabins in Curry Village. Fewer than there used to be after several were removed from a rockfall zone. There’s also the Stoneman House, which has 18 rooms. I believe it was named for a previous building that predated Curry Village.

 

[TeamRiley]

We stay there and love it. YVL is old, there is no AC, no wifi etc. But it is great. By far the best part about it is that you are staying in the valley, and you get a free parking space (The benefit of this is enormous). Yes, comparitively they are beat up and kind of crappy. Maybe on the order of Old Faithful Inn, but a bit more austere. Waking up right in the park and avoiding a 35 to 90 minute drive (depending on traffic), then not searching endlessly for a parking spot is worth a lot. If you are looking for premium accomodations, you should pick a different vacation.

Best thing to do is rent bikes and ride all over.

 

[bcla]

We stay there and love it. YVL is old, there is no AC, no wifi etc. But it is great. By far the best part about it is that you are staying in the valley, and you get a free parking space (The benefit of this is enormous). Yes, comparitively they are beat up and kind of crappy. Maybe on the order of Old Faithful Inn, but a bit more austere. Waking up right in the park and avoiding a 35 to 90 minute drive (depending on traffic), then not searching endlessly for a parking spot is worth a lot. If you are looking for premium accomodations, you should pick a different vacation.

Best thing to do is rent bikes and ride all over.

All parking is free in Yosemite Valley, but there's a certain benefit to just being able to stay there and leave your car. Some of the parking is limited to lodge guests, but I don't believe that's enough guest-reserved spaces to provide parking for all lodge guests. I've parked at the lodge before in spaces open to the public and then left my car there.

I probably haven't stayed at the lodge since I was a kid. Those are Works Progress Administration building built inexpensively in the 1930s.

I remember some years ago I paid for Wi-Fi at the lodge just to be able to check email and do a few other things. This was when cellular access in the valley was relatively poor. Maybe phone calls worked. And it was really bizarre how it worked with a bunch of codes that were written down and where I was theoretically paying for up a to a week of access for maybe $5. But it was slow and we needed to hang around the lodge to use it. Each code was supposed to be good for the whole week, but some were already used (the employee forgot to cross it off the list) or it expired early, so they usually just gave a bunch more.

 

[TeamRiley]

All parking is free, but next to impossible to find on a busy weekend. Or even a busy week day. Visitors not staying at the lodge are discouraged from parking there. Basically, you can almost always find a parking spot close to your room when the park visitors leave in the evening. Then the next morning you don't have to worrry about it at all when all the other visitors that just drove in are frantically vying for too few spots - or hiking 2 miles to the nearest bus stop once they park. Once in the park, the busses are awesome.

 

[bcla]

All parking is free, but next to impossible to find on a busy weekend. Or even a busy week day. Visitors not staying at the lodge are discouraged from parking there. Basically, you can almost always find a parking spot close to your room when the park visitors leave in the evening. Then the next morning you don't have to worrry about it at all when all the other visitors that just drove in are frantically vying for too few spots - or hiking 2 miles to the nearest bus stop once they park. Once in the park, the busses are awesome.

I do remember there were some parking areas at the lodge that said they were for guests only, but not all. The lodge is government property, so it's a bit different than a hotel keeping out non-guests.

When I went backpacking years ago, I had a parking pass that allowed me to park overnight in the backpackers parking lot near the end of the road. That lot was also open for day parking between certain hours. But when I got there it had a sign up saying "lot full". When I picked up my backpacking permit, the ranger advised me that they generally put up that lot full sign even when there's space - to discourage day users from parking there when it's getting full.

They did previously have a pilot reserved parking program on summer weekends, but I think that was only a couple of years. It wasn't necessarily pay parking, but there was a $1.50 reservation fee.

https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/news...tions-still-available-for-yosemite-valley.htm​

Date: July 17, 2017​

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Guaranteed parking will enhance a visitor’s experience during Yosemite’s busiest month.​

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There are a limited number of day parking reservations still available for visitors planning a trip to Yosemite Valley on weekends this August. Securing a free day parking reservation in Yosemite Valley will greatly enhance a visitor’s experience during weekends in August, the park’s busiest month. These reservations are free (with a $1.50 service fee per reservation) and can be booked online (www.recreation.gov) or by phone at 1-877-444-6777. There are 150 parking spaces available by reservation daily and availability is limited. This is the second year Yosemite National Park is testing a pilot day parking reservation program.​

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These parking reservations are located in the newly designed Yosemite Falls Parking Area, located directly west of Yosemite Valley Lodge and south of Camp 4 in Yosemite Valley. This parking lot also provides visitors the ability to avoid afternoon traffic congestion when leaving Yosemite Valley.​

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Visitors who book a parking reservation will be guaranteed a parking space in Yosemite Valley from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm. A reservation is valid for one day only. Reservations are available for passenger vehicles up to 20 feet in length. At this time, reservations cannot be booked for RVs or trailers.​