Name: Wawona Hotel
Address: 8308 Wawona Road, Yosemite National Park, Yosemite National Park, Yosemite National Park, 95389, United States of America
Rating: 8

Shopping on site

24-hour reception

Smoke-free property

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Terrace

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

No elevators

General

Indoor Fireplace

Rooms

Accessibility features

Accessibility

Luggage storage

Safe-deposit box

Services and amenities

Restaurant

Meals

Wi-Fi

Internet access

Internet

Shuttle

Transfer

Free parking

Parking nearby

Parking

Swimming pool

Seasonal outdoor swimming pool

Pool and beach

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Extra decontamination measures

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the hotel

Yosemite Cemetery

Wawona Hotel

Yosemite National Park

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.

A comfortable stay in lovely surroundings

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.

Aramark HORRIBLE Customer Service

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. 

Don't let the charm fool you

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:) 

Charming! 

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.

Historic charm-Plan ahead

After staying for 2 days in Yosemite valley, I spent two nights in this historic old hotel close to the southern entrance of Yosemite park (Less than 6 miles from park entrance and Mariposa Grove). My room was in Clark Cottage building which was built in 1877. The room as in many national parks was very basic with bed, dresser, and desk. No micro-fridge nor coffee machine or TV. It was on the small side, but was clean with comfortable bed and adequate bath. Heating is water based system hence with no noise of blowing air. No AC.
The restaurant menu is limited but food OK. Lunch menu is mainly cold sandwiches. The have internet only in lobby/porch, restaurant, and Sun-Room. The staff was friendly and professional.
I enjoyed sitting on the porch after busy hiking day evenings and surfing the internet.
There is a National Parks Visitor Center on same ground, and nearby gas station and shop. Prices of all are high as expected in isolate parks.
If you plan to stay in south of Yosemite it is a good basic hotel.

Historic, nice but basic.

This place is dirty, poorly maintained and frankly not worth the money. It lives off the claim of Heritage Listed Hotel but, in fact, that's just an excuse not to do some well overdue renovations.  No fridge in your room which is less than desirable.  I do not recommend this hotel.

Old and run down

Place is a rundown dump. The staff drops the "f bomb" repeatedly in earshot of families staying in their rooms. The maintenance staff is rough and somewhat scary to look at. 

Walls in our room were paper thin - could hear next door neighbor coughing and laughing, etc. No GFCI outlet in the bathroom. Poor housekeeping. Paint peeling outside buildings, food in hotel is stale/old, overpriced, smarmy front desk staff, they charge hidden "donations" (aka fees) without full consent, yard is dusty and weed filled, and you are paying a premium price to stay here! It's also not close to the valley. Definitely would NOT stay again. 

P.S.: This is truly a testament to the incompetence of government procurement process. If this were run like a normal business on non-federal land, it would be lovely, but a government contractor got cemented there and gets to profit off your government's incompetence in overseeing contractors. Cheers to that, musty old flophouse!

Skip it!

The hotel is fine, with good experience, tasty food and nice piano playing in the lobby. However, the pricing is for the captive audience that you are. It was expensive. One of the rooms we had was not vacuumed before we got it. Also, the hotel could not give us an itemized bill at checkout and we were subsequently overcharged for our stay. An email to Aramark did resolve the issue. 

Could be better. 

We spent Thanksgiving week in November 2022 in Yosemite and, since we had not been to the park at all in 10 years and wanted to experience different parts, we decided to split the time.  We stayed for a couple days first at the Wawona Hotel in the southern end of the park before heading up to Yosemite Valley and staying at the Ahwahnee.  

The Wawona is the oldest hotel in the park, the main part built in the 1870s, and it was built before Yosemite was a national park.  Later buildings on the grounds were added in the later 19th and early 20th centuries, all in a similar style.

It retains much of its original character and Victorian elements, including the old doorknobs, old fixtures, antique furniture, and the lovely painted dining-room fixtures.   It has wrap-around covered porches with seating and it has a nice setting with an open meadow and grounds set among forest.

The retained character also means that it lacks some modern conveniences which some may expect.  There are no televisions and most of the rooms are not en suite, instead having shared toilet and shower facilities outside and down a hall.  In the main building, the toilets and sinks are separate from the showers and in the rooms labelled Water Closet.  In other buildings, the shared toilet and shower facilities are together.  

This, combined with the lovely porches for sitting, make the hotel probably better in warm weather, but the rustic old charm, especially the dining room and the big fire in the lobby fireplace, made a cozy experience even though it was freezing cold when we were there in late November. 

The dining room is lovely and charming, with nice fixtures and big windows.  Food is good.  We ate both breakfast and dinner here.  The bar is fairly limited but the bartender made excellent cocktails, the best we've so far had at any US National Park hotel.

It is conveniently located next to the less busy southern entrance to the park (with roads from Madera and Fresno area), as well as the Mariposa Grove of Redwoods.  The Pioneer History Park, Swinging Bridge trail, and general store are also there.  

Wawona Hotel

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