NPR Reviews Provided by
Wawona Hotel
TripAdvisor Traveler Rating: 2402 reviews
Service on serious downward spiral.
User: RDelle A from:
Published Date: Apr, 19, 2024
Travel Date: Apr, 1, 2024
Rating: 2
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
Subratings:

Historic charm but not luxurious
User: igneousone from:
Published Date: Apr, 16, 2024
Travel Date: Apr, 1, 2024
Rating: 4
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.
Subratings:

Look for a better option.
User: IlluminataPhoto from: Fitchburg, Wisconsin
Trip Type: Family
Published Date: Mar, 25, 2024
Travel Date: Mar, 1, 2024
Rating: 2
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.

Like stepping back in time
User: Catherine C from: East Lansing, Michigan
Published Date: Jan, 12, 2024
Travel Date: May, 1, 2023
Rating: 5
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.
Subratings:

Such potential, but hindered by poor management
User: vilsack4potus from: iowa
Published Date: Jan, 6, 2024
Travel Date: Dec, 1, 2023
Rating: 2
Beware. My partner and I had a great time at the Wawona Hotel over a several day visit over New Year’s Eve last year (2022/2023). We were excited for a repeat visit this year and extended our stay to 4 nights, thinking that this may turn into an annual event. However there were several issues this time that soured our experience. The first set of issues was around the hotel restaurant. Limited dinner menu (3 items) on first night which was repeated for NYE during which they ran out of one entree by 7pm. Meanwhile the items that were not available on our first round of meals were not replenished over the next few days. As a result we stopped eating at the hotel restaurant and ate outside the park. The staff was apologetic, but it seemed clear that these issues were intentionally not solved due to Yosemite Hospitality’s decision to limit spending at the end of the year. A second issue was in difficulty communicating with the hotel. Two phone numbers are provided – to the front desk and to the restaurant – but over multiple attempts to make dinner reservation for NYE in advance, neither phone was answered, and the voice mail box for the front desk was full. How is this being responsive to your guests? A third issue was around the lack of NYE festivities. Last year the hotel lobby was vibrant and active, with live music, balloons, and a crowd ordering drinks from the bar. This year none of that was present. The Wawona has a captive crowd of potential spenders, and this year we felt chased away. Fourth, the Wawona Hotel seems to be decaying faster than it’s being repaired. A year after our first visit there is still caution tape around two different outside staircases keeping guests away from rotting wood steps. I watched elderly guests having a hard time navigating around water puddles and mud patches to travel between the hotel lobby and the surrounding room buildings. Good management works to prevent problems, not wait until an injury happens to take a corrective step. All of these issues are preventable. All of these issues are solvable. And all of these issues are the result of management decisions that prioritize cost savings above guest experience.

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