Yosemite hotel / lodge recommendations?

[Dojan123]

I am taking the family from NC to California for their first time. I have 3 girls under 13 and my wife. I want to spend 2 or 3 days in Yosemite to visit where their great grandfather was a ranger. I have not been there since I was a kid.

Any recommended place for us to stay? They will want a real bed and not "ruff it". The closer to the half dome the better.

Thanks!


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[DeniseM]

I would look at the accommodations at The Redwoods, which is a small development of private homes and vacation rentals within the park. They have a wide range of accommodations from rustic cabins to large and luxurious vacation homes: http://www.redwoodsinyosemite.com/

 

[Kel]

Ahwahnee Hotel.

 

[klpca]

What would probably work best for you would be the Ahwahnee ($$$$) http://www.yosemitepark.com/the-ahwahnee.aspx or the Yosemite Lodge ($$) http://www.yosemitepark.com/yosemite-lodge.aspx . Both are located right in the valley and are measurably better than any of the accommodations in Curry Village. For a one time visit of only a few days, I would bite the bullet and stay in the valley. Be forewarned that the cost will not necessarily be in line with the quality of accommodation, and your dates may not be available.

If you can't secure your dates in the valley, I would second Denise's recommendation of lodging in the Yosemite West area, but keep in mind that it's a 20 - 30 minute drive into the valley from that location. (It may be further out than that - I'm not good at watching the clock when I'm on vacation - but it's a bit of a drive).

Here's some helpful information from tripadvisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g...rnia:Places.To.Stay.In.And.Near.Yosemite.html

 

[klpca]

This just popped up in my facebook feed. Like Yosemite Park on fb and save 10% on your reservations.

Thanks to you - our Facebook Friends - we have reached over 75,000 likes for our Yosemite page! To celebrate, we're offering a 10% discount code for lodging in Yosemite Valley for our Facebook Friends. Make a reservation for The Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite Lodge at the Falls or Curry Village and use code FBFRIENDS: http://ow.ly/uc74i

 

[Luanne]

Only one we've stayed at in fairly recent years was the Yosemite Lodge. Location good, but it's kind of a glorified Motel 6. No real amenities to speak of. This doesn't mean I'm not recommending it, just preparing you.

 

[riverdees05]

When are you going?

 

[Dojan123]

We plan to be there in mid-June. Thank you all for the recommendations! We plan to book over the next 7 days.


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[Luanne]

Good luck. Accomodations in Yosemite book up really early, especially for summer. Are you talking about June of this year?

 

[DeniseM]

We plan to be there in mid-June. Thank you all for the recommendations! We plan to book over the next 7 days.


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It may be too late to get a June reservation in moderate priced accommodations for June.

If money is no object, then the Ahwahnee is fabulous, but the same amount of money (or less) will get you an entire home in The Redwoods.

 

[stmartinfan]

Our family of four stayed for a couple of nights in one of the rental homes at The Redwoods. Ours was very nice, clean and comfortably furnished. It was a bit of a drive into the center of the action but we saw the things we were interested in and didn't feel it was a bad choice. We looked carefully at all the pictures and reviews because some of the houses looked pretty outdated.

 

[sgtdesi]

Try Yosemite West (yosemitewest.com). It is outside the park, but accessed from within the park. It is not as far as Wawona, about 30 minutes from the Valley and 30 minutes from Wawona. It's a nice location and nice condos/houses. I usually stay in the valley, at the Lodge or Ahwahnee. The Ahwahnee is great, but pricey. The Lodge is pretty spartan but great location. Both may be difficult for this summer.

Enjoy! It's a great park!

 

[Paumavista]

Tenaya Lodge

We've stayed here while visiting Yosemite - it was very nice and had an indoor pool the kids enjoyed after a day at the park!

 

[Dojan123]

Only available inside the park is Tenaya Lodge. Anyone stay there? How is it? Runs about $450 a night for what I need.


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[DeniseM]

Basic, no-frills accommodations with a rustic theme:

 

[klpca]

We haven't stayed at the Tenaya Lodge but it's quite a drive from the valley. I would still look at Yosemite West - google it - you'll find lots of listings for rentals.

Alternatively, book a refundable stay somewhere and keep checking for availability in the valley - every day, multiple times per day. There are usually some cancellations and it would be worth it to be in the valley if at all possible.

 

[somewhereoutthere]

Yosemite is one of my favorite places in the world! And unfortunately, everyone else wants to go there, too.

Ditto on checking back every day, multiple times a day. People often reserve a year in advance for summer trips, and then their plans change. With regular reservations, people can get a deposit refund if they cancel 7 days before check in. With "special event" reservations, people need to cancel 30 days before check in.

If that doesn’t work, there’s also risky alternate. Arrive at Yosemite early (I would say by 9 or 10 AM), and get on the same-day waitlist. They take names, and if there are any openings from people checking out early, or no-shows from the night before, etc. they go down the waitlist. I have lucked into a couple of nights in a Curry Village hard sided cabin with bath, and a couple of nights at White Wolf that way (though White Wolf is not in the Valley—it’s near Tuolumne Meadows). We've only done this when we have been driving past Yosemite, as it were, wanted to take a quick peak in, and were prepared to have only a day trip before continuing on our journey.

By the way, Tenaya Lodge is technically a few miles outside of Yosemite National Park. It’s maybe 15 minutes from Wawona and the Mariposa Grove, and over an hour to the Valley.

 

[Dunk]

Another vote for Yosemite West. We have stayed in two different properties there and both were great. Book as soon as possible. Lodging in the park during the summer books up early.

 

[Passepartout]

No suggestions, but just a note, Worldmark Bass Lake is a helluva long way to drive more than once or twice to get into Yosemite. I wouldn't recommend it for that reason. Nice resort otherwise.

Jim

 

[isisdave]

Tenaya Lodge is just outside the south entrance and a 45 minute drive to the valley. Proceeding north, Wawona Hotel is about 10 minutes closer, but only one food option and nothing to interest kids except Bambi wandering around at dusk. Plus, they'll fall asleep on the ride back from the valley and you'll have to wake them up.

Next, about another 10 minutes north, is the entrance to Yosemite West. I think this is your best bet for family. It's about a 20 minute drive to the valley, but you could pop back there for a nap mid-day if anyone needs it. We stayed there on a winter trip, and it was much nicer than Yosemite Lodge for about the same price. This is strictly a residential community; no stores or restaurants.

If you're coming from the south, buy groceries in Oakhurst. From the west, maybe Mariposa. There's only the one food store in the valley and as you can imagine, you'll spend less outside the park.

 

[Blues]

At this late date, you're unlikely to get any accommodations in the valley, or even a camp site to pitch a tent. I've stayed at Tenaya Lodge, and while very nice, as noted it's 45 minutes or more from the valley. Bass Lake is even further. The recommendations for Yosemite West are spot on.

Another place to try is the town of El Portal, just outside the east entrance to the park. It has two or three motels, and is only about 20 minutes from the valley. A place we've stayed several times is Yosemite View Lodge. It's quite lovely, and reasonably convenient. It's always my second choice if I can't stay in the valley.

HTH,
Bob

 

[sue1947]

Thinking outside the box:
How about staying on the east side of the park? Bridgeport/Lee Vining in a motel or Tioga lodge right at Tioga Pass or any of the gazillion condos in Mammoth Lakes (about a hour to Toulumne Meadows). Check vrbo.com for condo rentals in Mammoth. I think you have a much better chance of getting something comfortable and reasonable on the east side vs west.

With only a couple of days, you won't be able to see it all anyway. Maybe focus on Tuoloumne Meadows instead of the valley? You can easily do a day trip from Mammoth to the Valley if needed, but there is so much more to the park. The only negative is if Tioga Pass doesn't open by the time you will be there. It usually opens around Memorial Day to early June or whenever the snow allows them to plow it out. The snowpack is low this year (or was when we were down there in Jan) so that might imply an earlier opening.
T Meadows has some nice domes to climb on, easy trails to wander and there are views of Half Dome from near Tenaya Lake.

Sue

 

[billwright1]

Check out hotels in Oakhurst. It is just outside the gates on the Half Dome side.

 

[sue1947]

Check out hotels in Oakhurst. It is just outside the gates on the Half Dome side.

Are you thinking of El Portal? That is the town near the main west side entrance. Oakhurst is 17 miles from the south entrance and further than Tenaya Lodge or Bass Lake. Count on about 2 hours to the Valley floor from Oakhurst.

 

[sue1947]

The best views of Half Dome are in order:
North Dome: a fairly easy 9 mile hike from the Tioga Pass road near Pocupine Flats campground. The view is directly across to Half Dome. There is a sweeping view of the whole valley.
Glacier Point: from the road to the south entrance. You can drive to the end where there is a spectacular view of everything including Half Dome in front of you. There are a couple of easy hikes to Sentinel Dome (where the classic Ansel Adams photo was taken of the pine tree which has since died) or Taft Point with views across/down on El Capitan and the rest of the Valley. If you are staying at Yosemite West/Wawona/Tenaya, this is a must do.
Tunnel View just on the SW entrance to the Valley. This is the iconic view that has been photographed millions of times.
The Valley. Summer in the Valley is very crowded. Midweek is better than weekends, but it can be a traffic nightmare, not to mention parking. Take full advantage of the shuttle buses. They will allow you to get off and on where/whenever you want without worrying about finding a parking space. There are buses that run from Wawona, Glacier Point, the Valley and out to the east entrance. Check out the park website for more info.

I love Yosemite. With only 2 days, focus on what is most important and then plan for return trips to see the rest.

Sue