Wawona Hotel

Stay here only if you want to experience what it was like to stay in a hotel 100 years ago. We stayed 2 nights in a room with a bathroom, but there was a locked door in the bathroom leading to another room. You could see and hear through the cracks, meaning no privacy. In addition, the walls are paper thin. The lights outside the room illuminating the walkways are very bright and it felt like sleeping during the daylight. There is wifi available only in the lobby and the "sun room," but the sun room had not been cleaned in a long while nor was it cleaned during our stay. And, anyway, the wifi was horrible. Sort of like when we all had AOL dial up. The room and bathroom were not well-cleaned. covered in dust. The room was tiny, and had only one chair for sitting. The bed stood too high to use it for sitting. There is outdoor seating, but it was below freezing outside at night and in the morning. I understand that accommodations in national parks may be a bit rustic, but we stayed the next night in the John Muir Lodge in Kings Canyon and it was lovely and comfortable.

45-50min drive away from The Valley. Yet they are seriously understaffed which led to the situation that the communal toilets and bathrooms were NOT cleaned in the 4 days we stayed there. And I repeat they were not cleaned even once. And they are aware of the issue but simply say they are understaffed. And avoid the breakfast, not worth the money. The buffet is a joke. Dinner was ok.

We booked private room with shared bathroom. We were put in a cottage away from the main hotel but I was not expecting the bathroom to be outside access only. When checking in we were told to call if we found droppings outside our door and they would come clean it up. This did not make me feel comfortable about going out in the middle of the night to get to the bathroom. The walls are also very thin and you can clearly hear the conversation in the next room.

The good: The desk staff at the hotel were amazing as well as the dining room staff. The ambience/history of this hotel is very interesting. We very much enjoyed sitting in the lobby near the fire to use the Internet. We had a lovely dinner and delicious wine and an excellent, friendly waitress. The room was very clean and our bed, although small, was comfortable. I thought the original clawfoot bathtub and tiny corner sink were cool. The not-so-good: although I knew there was no Internet or TV, my husband was not very happy about that. So just be aware that you really just go back to your room to sleep or read a book. It is nice to sit in the lobby where the Internet connection was fairly decent. You pay for all meals, nothing complementary, and it is expensive. But delicious. The place is experiencing a makeover but they have a long road ahead of them. We were glad to have a bathroom in attached to a room but just be aware that it’s a clawfoot tub that you have to climb into -it was a little tricky. Others have said this, but I will repeat that it’s one of those places that’s a throwback, one of a kind and I’m really glad we stayed there. It’s 45+ minutes from Yosemite activities, so if you really want to be in the park, you should stay further up the mountain .

I made a 7 day reservation for this hotel over 6 months ago to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We are avid hikers and Yosemite was number one on our bucket list. Today, 32 days before we are due to be there, they send me an automated message saying my reservation has been canceled by them. After many calls to both Aramark and the hotel we are told that the hotel has structural damage and they had to cancel 8 or 9 reservations and ours was one of them. But they are both very “sorry”. No suggestions about my non-refundable plane tickets to Fresno or the fact that it’s impossible to find a new anniversary location because we are now only 32 days away from the dates. To say I’m angry would be an understatement. They don’t care at all. I wish there was more I could do besides leaving bad reviews but I have to do something so this will be the first of many.

We’ve been to Yosemite several times over the years, and we’ve stayed at the Wawona many times. The service seems to be on a serious downward trend. It is so incredibly disappointing. The park is one of the most extraordinary places on the planet. Might be one of

We had a comfortable, pleasant two-night stay at the Wawona Hotel during a partly warm and partly snowy April weekend. Our ensuite room was clean and comfortable, though minimal. We had to use a chair as a second bedside table. The heating system, modernized some time ago, worked well. Make sure to ask the front desk for amenities such as a blow dryer if you find the spartan accommodations lacking. The wifi did not reach our room on the far corner of the second floor, but the cellular service was strong enough at about 3 bars which was better than expected. Also, being at the far corner meant waiting a while for the warm water to pipe to our room. The two chairs and table outside the door on the veranda were a nice to have, particularly given the small size of the room. The dining was good. Dinner was better than breakfast. I really liked the trout dish. My only complaint about the food: the breakfast potatoes were either mushy or burnt. Service at the front desk and in the dining room was great. Watch your step. The footing can be uneven, un-level, and sometimes slippery.

Sorry, but can’t recommend. I’m sitting in the lobby, after 5:00 pm. Staff are telling incoming guests that their rooms aren’t ready. When we arrived a couple of days ago, the thermostat in our room didn’t work and the heat was unbearable. Asked for a different room. At supper in the dining room, there’s a broken window, so it’s cool/cold. Limited menu. At breakfast, we waited and waited for service. The hostess came to us, apologized and took our order. Didn’t receive all of my order (no toast). A guest obviously had diarrhea in the communal toilet last night - it wasn’t cleaned today. Aramark isn’t doing a good job at all here. NPS should find a better contractor.

Wawona is nice but not near the valley even though it's in the park. We had fun lounging on the big front porch, where they also serve drinks in the evening. We stayed in a room with ensuite bath. The room and the grounds were charming. It's old, so there are some rough edges and minor inconveniences.