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March 2024 by TJ Phillips
This hotel is a bit of nostalgia. It feels like a resort out of the 40s. It was quiet and clean. We had a room without a bathroom which was fine. There were bathrooms and showers not far from the room and there was rarely anyone in there. The room did have a sink. All the staff were lovely. So friendly and knowledgeable even at the beginning of the season. We will definitely return.
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March 2024 by Patricia Pouncey
Great value for Yosemite.
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January 2024 by Daniela Cumbee
Wawona is haunted and the staff will tell you everything that happens in that hotel. It’s very much family oriented they have a game room and a huge fire place when you walk in where all the quest sit around and hang out. The food is excellent, great chef.
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January 2024 by Ismelda
Lovely place , and minutes away from the tunnel and El Capitan as well as the falls. The restaurant has a beautiful atmosphere as well you feel like you're back in timeNearby activities: El Capatain , amd Tunnel View
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December 2023 by Donna Barnett
A beautiful hotel on the edge of Yosemite. Rooms were quaint but modernized and quiet. The claw foot tub in the bathroom was so nice! Grounds were immaculate, and the staff was friendly. Big fireplace and piano player at night in the lobby. The restaurant was upper scale but somewhat overpriced. The server, who has worked in Yosemite for 40 years, was first class!
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December 2023 by Sarai Hoffman
Location, location, location! This hotel is great if you want to visit the Mariposa Grove.The rooms are nice, no tv, super hot water, I know this place was build in the early 1900’s and sound proofing wasn’t available but you can hear EVERYTHING!The reason I give 4 stars, is because you don’t have many options for food. The restaurant is nice but the food? So, so, it takes forever to come out and it’s over priced.I know you can drive 55 min to the Valley or to next town. But overall is good place to stay for a few nights.
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December 2023 by Dabee Climber
We didn't stay here, but we stopped on the way to Yosemite Valley for lunch. Food was alright but nothing to special. And apparently, it's a recurring theme for places by Yosemite to have the best fries. Probably won't stay here next time we come though.Food & drinks: Big restaurant right by the lobby.
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November 2023 by Virginia L. Montgomery
It's quaint. If you have a room with your own private bathroom, lucky you. Otherwise, be prepared to go outside and walk a flight of creaky, dirty, old stairs every time you have to use the bathroom or shower. The shared shower situation reminds me of summer camp or staying at a camp site in a state park. The bathrooms themselves are very clean, which is good, and the water gets very hot, which is great!The Wi-fi is bad. Wi-fi is only "available" in the lobby. But it is so bad that it can only be used for sending text messages at most. So, just assume you'll have no wi-fi access and be completely off-line. I panicked when I first got to Wawona and realized there was no way for me to call my family and let them know I had arrived safely, so I actually had to ask the hotel to use their lobby's landline to make a phone call to the outside world. They politely let me use their phone!Other things... My hotel room did not have a phone even though the info book in the room lists hotel numbers to "call" for help. Call? Lol. How? In your room there is no landline phone, the hotel has no cell reception, and there is no Wo-fi service in the actual bedrooms.The bedrooms are tiny. Each contains a tiny sink, so you do have access to running water in your hotel room. But, given the small size of the hotel room and lack of in-room amenities, it's not a comfy set-up. I can't imagine more than 2 people existing in one of the rooms comfortably. The room is only room for sleeping in. It's otherwise pretty drab.All in all, staying at the Wawona was worth it for me to save money. It's significantly cheaper than the other Yosemite valley hotels. But, it's not a luxury hotel. It's very old and basic. The walls are thin and you'll hear your neighbors. And if you have a room by the road you'll hear passing traffic.What I did really enjoy was hanging out in the lobby to listen to the piano player. He would play songs in the evenings. That was lovely!The Wawona hotel is no frills and is very bare bones in terms of amenities. Just keep your expectation low and you'll have a good time!
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November 2023 by Ann G.
We were told by our Airbnb host that we could get a meal here. Possibly because it was off season, they only offered takeout if you weren't a guest. The food was okay.
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November 2023 by Vera Michalchik
Be sure you leave your work behind! Most people seemed to get WiFi on their phones, but I didn’t even get that. Also, may not have a bathroom in your room, in case that matters to you. Staff are just lovely!!!
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October 2023 by jokiwitraveller
Stayed 18 Oct for 2 nights in Washburn Cottage Rm 7 and had a pleasant and comfortable stay. I decided to book Wawona as we were driving in late at night from Fresno airport and didn’t want to drive into the Valley. It was great to wake up and explore Glacier Point (40 mins drive). We also took the opportunity to hike Sentinel Dome and Taft whilst in the area. So location wise it was perfect. I requested a ground floor room. We hardly heard any other people but we’re so pleased we opted for ground floor as if you’re on 1st floor, you have to lug your heavy suitcases up the outside stairs! No lift. Our room was lovely and spacious, very clean and the bed was fabulous, so wide and so comfortable. Yes the bed was high but I loved it. Easy to get into and I’m just 5ft 1”. We slept SO well and the whole cottage was silent. We opted to have an ensuite bathroom as it’s cold at night in October to walk to a communal one and am so glad we did! The bath tub was perfect to relax in after our day hiking. It’s amazing how often you’re in/out of your bathroom too. We missed having a fridge but we took a soft cooler bag and filled it with a bag of ice ( you help yourself to ice) so it wasn’t a big deal. We put our milk and wine in there. In the morning we ate our own cereals in our room (just take your own bowls and spoons). We wanted to hike early and not hang around waiting for breakfast. The first night we ate at the Wawona Hotel restaurant which was convenient. We both had the beef pot roast. It was nice and tender just needed bit more seasoning in my opinion. It’s gluten free which I appreciated. The hotel was busy. You can’t book dinner until you get there and they’ll add you to the list. There’s a gentleman playing the piano early evening but he’s surrounded by plastic shielding? Still? Spoils the atmosphere. There’s tea and coffee but not left out throughout the day. For me this was not good as you’re not provided with a kettle, tea/coffee in the room! Overall, I recommend staying here. Just know that you don’t get full hotel facilities (no phone, no tea/coffee in room, no mini fridge..) and you’ll be fine. But you will get a comfortable bed and hopefully a very pleasant stay like we did.
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October 2023 by O8211AYdebbiew
The Hotel is run by Aramark who is not customer focused, and only cares about the dollar. I live in CA and have been to Yosemite many times. I’ve hiked all the hikes on the valley floor that interest me. The purpose of this trip was to go to Mariposa Grove and see the sequoia trees. We know the shuttle service to the grove was cancelled for a while due to road repairs. The hotel had a 7 day cancellation policy. We checked the road repairs right before the window to cancel closed and the road was still scheduled to be open before our trip. As the trip got closer we went online to check if the room had a room frig and saw that the road work was extended and the shuttle service is still cancelled. At this point in time I could no longer cancel my reservation. In order to now get to the grove you must hike in 2 miles (one way, 4 miles round trip) and that only gets you to the shuttle drop off. I have an ankle injury and while I can walk short distances a 4 mile hike just to get to and from the drop off point is no do-able. I called the hotel and explained my situation. Most people will agree that the point of going to Mariposa Grove is to see the trees. Not much else in that part of the park. If you can’t hike to the tress the trip to me is pointless. First I was told if I cancelled I would lose my deposit ($263). In spoke with a supervisor who was very nice and said I could transfer to the Lodge on the valley floor but that was an additional $100+, but I had no interest in that part of the park, been their done that. I asked if I could just move my reservation out a few weeks when the shuttle would be back up and running and was told no. I was so excited to finally be seeing the giant sequoia trees. That is now not going to happen. I have such a sour taste in my mouth I will probably never go back to Yosemite. If I do I will NEVER stay at an Aramark property. It’s just sad that companies are so large they no longer care about the people. I am very disappointed in Aramark, and the national Park service.
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October 2023 by pelaminnesota
Don't let the exterior charm fool you. We had very poor customer service. Arrived at 2:30- was told check in wasn't until 5. Seems so late for check in. We had already done plenty of hiking so we were very tired. There was nothing to do in the area due to the late season. Even the nearby store was out of half its items. We sat on the nice front porch for over two hours waiting to check in. At 5:00 they told us the room still wasn't ready- check back later. So we had dinner in the restaurant. Food and service were good. The room was finally ready after dinner. The female afternoon clerk was so crabby and unhelpful. But the evening clerk was very helpful and cheerful (the male with dreadlocks.) The room was very old fashioned with few updates made. No outlets in bathroom. Claw foot tub was too hard to get into. Tiny corner sink with no storage. Beds were literally 4’ high. Had to use a chair to climb onto the bed. There was no table or chairs to relax or play games. I know it was a park hotel, and they usually have little amenities. This hotel probably works fine for hikers that want little out of a hotel except a bed. But this hotel was so limiting. We had a much better experience at the Wuksachi, a few hours south in Sequoia National Park.
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October 2023 by marykind
Charming! Gorgeous grounds, historic lovely place! We had a room with a bathroom, it was comfortable, warm and cozy and we loved it:) The front porch of the main building is the best place to hang and check emails or sit on the lawn and watch the sunset behind the trees. Close to the Mariposa Grove. Wonderful place to stay if you want to explore Yosemite beyond the Valley:)
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October 2023 by jend0717
We stayed here for 3 nights in mid-October. It is an OLD hotel. Our room was in the main hotel, upstairs. No bath, no closet, no night stands-just a bed, dresser, and bench to sit on. The room is SMALL. We had to go outside to access our room and also walk down an outdoor path to the shared bath/shower houses. Pros: Bathrooms were clean. Water was hot. Bed was comfortable. Property is very quiet at night. Dining room food was good. We had dinner there all 3 nights, and breakfast there twice. Lobby is inviting, with a fireplace, comfortable seating, and a piano player/singer that came every evening from 5:30-9:30. He played mostly show tunes and old-time songs. Cons: There is only one person at the front desk, always. Expect to wait, always! Service in the restaurant is friendly but slow. Expect to wait for your food longer than usual. NO Wi-Fi in the rooms. You have to go to the lobby and speed is slow. No tvs on the property. This is located at the very south part of the park. Expect a 40-45 minute drive every day to get to the Central Valley. Road are very curvy, narrow, with NO guard rails. Expect a chilly walk to the bath house in the middle of the night. It was in the low 30’s at night when we were there. Bring flip flops to wear to the bath house. Probably will not stay there again if we return to Yosemite.
