Sometimes location is everything. Paradise Inn is, of course, is the best location for hiking and views of the mountain. And has some great history as well. Our room was comfy, although small. Staff was courteous. Food in the restaurant was good. We had one buffet breakfast and two dinners in the main restaurant. While dinner was good, we were disappointed that the menu was the exact same both nights. It would've been nice to just have a different seasoning on the fish or maybe a student pasta variation. We felt the breakfast buffet was overpriced for what we ate, so we opted for the cafe the following morning. We attended a ranger talk one night and thought it was interesting. It was nice to have something to do in the lounge area after a long day of hiking.

The inn's view from a distance, with Mt. Rainier sparkling on the left, is so charming that it brought to mind the ancient wooden buildings in Germany. Once I was near the inn, my attention was on the wonderful century-old architecture using only locally procured raw timber and granite. More excitement awaited me inside. The structure of the roof using logs caught my attention. The table and chairs in the dining room bore a close resemblance to those that appeared in the 'flintstone cartoons''. But very cozy. The wood-fired stone fireplace and the heavy tables designed by Hans Frahnke are another attraction. Sipping a cup of hot coffee close to the fireplace on that cold day was a memorable event, and I forgot to walk into the cafeteria for my breakfast!

Whenever I can stay in a National Park, I try to do so, and this hotel is one of those epic historic masterpieces. OK, your room will be tiny with no modern amenities. So what. You are here to see one of the most amazing mountains in the country and this hotel will give you amazing access to do so. A stay here will make it almost your private mountain at many hours of the day. Additionally, what the hotel lacks in room space it makes up in public areas. The great lobby area is awesome and can be enjoyed by a large fire on the ground floor and it cozy private nocks upstairs. Our group enjoyed both. Additionally, there is a great gift shop and cafe to enjoy in the lobby. Finally, one place we loved was the outside deck where we enjoyed a drink and the view. Also, while the room is small, it is adequate with all you need. We got a great sleep with the window cracked and we were awoken to the most amazing sunrise, followed by a near private hike on Skyline Loop. Things you can only get when you stay in a national park. Again, I cannot say enough good things about a stay here.

We stayed in a room that had two rooms connected by a bathroom. Both rooms were very small, but they were clean and just beautiful. The lodge is absolutely breathtaking, and being right at the mountain was just incredible. The surroundings are so beautiful that you just can’t believe what you are seeing. We stay in park lodges whenever we can, and this is one of our favorites, and it was completely worth it.

What luck we had to get a room at Paradise Inn! It was the only completely rainy day on our 16 day road trip of Washington and Oregon and we gave up trying to see Mount St Helens so drove on early to Mount Rainier National Park. We were expecting to have to drive back out to find somewhere to stay but an hour or so before we got there I saw online that a room had become available at Paradise Inn. We could not believe our luck - it was a standard historic room in the lodge for $216.14. When we got there we were in thick cloud and couldn't see the mountain, or any scenery, but the young man on reception could not have been more helpful. He was that that the room wasn't available (check in is officially 4pm) but he'd call or text my cell phone when it was. When I pointed out my UK cell didn't work in the US except for data he said to check back at the desk in a while. Minutes later, I was walking past and he called my name as he'd got a room for us. The room was small but as expected in such an historic hotel. It had a basin in it which was good. We were slightly anxious about there only being 2 showers and 2/3 toilets for 25 rooms in our wing but actually it was fine and there were more toilets downstairs if we'd needed. The staff were very relaxed about people using the central lounge to just relax and also to eat their own food/drink in. There was a pianist and our very rainy and cloudy day turned into a very pleasant, relaxing dry day as we enjoyed the lounge area. The inn also provided coffee, tea and cookies at about 5pm for residents. There was a cafe which with a good choice of sandwiches, wrops, salad, cakes, etc. Also a microwave which i used to heat up some food I wanted for dinner. We had a thoroughly enjoyable evening and played a board game with fellow guests who we really enjoyed talking to. The next morning we got to the cafe at 6am when it opened for coffee. We walked outside and were absolutely stunned by the view as the skies were now clear and bright. The hotel is right at the foot of Mount Rainier! I will never forget that view - it was the highlight of our trip and then having breakfast on the inn's terrace looking at the mountain. We will definitely try and stay here again if we ever make it back to Washington State. We talked to lots of local people who'd never been before or not been for decades. If we lived in Washington or Oregon we'd be there several times a year! A big thank you to all the staff who were very friendly and helpful from the man who checked us in to the lady who gave us ice (twice) and for the man who helped with trail advice and gave us a paper map and guide.