Yosemite Westgate Lodge

Loved this place! We came here for a weekend getaway, looking to visit Yosemite for a more reasonable price, and we definitely found it here!
Reasonably priced, friendly staff! Our fridge wasn’t running when we arrived, and they accommodated quickly and happily. Quiet, peaceful setting, considerably close to Yosemite valley (about 30 minutes), and not very far from food.
We will definitely be back! :)

Pros: The room was very clean. I have a pet peeve about bathrooms being clean, enough wash towels, hand towels and these guys had that covered. I was expecting dirty linens, but quite surprised to find them clean. The place looks shabby from the outside, but the rooms seem to have been newly renovated. No additional charges on our card like some of the other reviews, but we were there for one night only. But the staff we met was pretty friendly and gave us quite a few good recommendations.
Cons: No cell reception. No wi-​fi. We didn’t care about either that much since we were looking to unplug for the two days anyways. But apparently other lodgings in the are do provide wi-​fi. Since they have a late check-​in fee, we did rush to get there on time. Not sure why that fee is in place, especially since the owners live right above the office.
Overall a good experience. Will look to stay here in the Spring again.

The room was very cozy. Warm interior design. Fridge, microwave, huge mirror, and cute coffee maker! All I would suggest is if there were a snack vending machine or a mini fridge filled with food it would be better, cause the drive to the nearest food place is around 15mi +

Ok you’re right the place is clean and like most of the reviews on this page we choose it because it was a great price point. that said the are some issues we had that everyone should be aware of and I avoid this motel.
The place is not run like a standard motel … office closes down at 10pm and doesn’t open till 8am, there are systems in place if you want to interact with a human during those hours but be ready for a very unfriendly response and a $ 25 charge. Amazes me that someone in the «hospitality» industry can be so rude to customers. I can see asking for people to notify if they are coming in late but this place is 3 hours from the bay area where a traffic snarl could put you off by an hour.
There are also the rules … I’ve done a fair amount of traveling in my life but have never felt the need to read the registration agreement at place of lodging. that should be pretty standard fare right? Not here or maybe I just never encountered such zealous enforcement. Fees are attached for anything outside ‘agreement’, for example damage, lose or fail to turn in at the office a key card (magnetic strip on plastic card required for room entry) $ 75. It should be noted that the card is an advertisement for a pizza joint, I would assume that covers the cost of making them. There are also a very tersely worded page in their «welcome» binder that warns the linens and towels have been inventoried and you will be charged if any are missing. Excuse me but isn’t that pretty much given, why do they feel the need to rub my nose in this? all these rules and attached fees which are not evident in their online promotional material raised the red flags but we had registered and are neat, clean individuals. what could go wrong?
Oh it gets worse … we received an additional charge of $ 250 on our credit card statement. Stayed two nights, left early the third day and never had any interaction with the staff outside of the initial registration. So, we just figured this was a mistake and called. First call was taken by a man who curtly stated it’s standard practice to put an authorization charge on the card it would come off by the third day. Speaking as if to a tiresome child. It didn’t and on the next call, we assume with the same man, we were informed that was a cleaning charge for the dog we had in the room. We didn’t have a dog, came to Yosemite in a borrowed car and returned to our home (out of state) by plane. But there was no discussion, «we have photographs that have been sent to the main office.» period no conversation no interest in discussion. needless to say this soured an enjoyable trip to a beautiful park.
We have subsequently filed a dispute on the charge with our bank and learned that the hotel has a clause in their registration agreement that states something along the lines of pets or pet dander will result in additional charges. What? So they find a pet hair in the bed, take a picture and bill us 250 dollars? Their web page clearly says no pets … but doesn’t say no pet owners. Our bank with some pestering got the ‘cleaning’ tab reduced to 150 dollars. but really «pet dander» that is something everyone should know going to Buck Medows Lodge.
The folks running Yosemite Westgate lodge are rude and should not be trusted, they are not in the least interested in your well being or offering you a pleasant stay at their establishment … avoid at all costs … I’d mark this place as «better to sleep in your car»… zero stars.

Everything was booked solid in Yosemite but the Westgate Lodge was pretty awesome. Laundry, pool, computer/​internet access in the lobby, clean rooms, mini-​fridge, and microwave. Clean inside and out. Helpful staff. Restaurant within walking distance of the Westgate, the food and beer are awesome. A general store and gas station within a thousand feet of the Lodge.
20 minutes from the national park gate entrance (30 minutes to the Yosemite valley floor)
WiFi: After traveling extensively across the west I can say if your looking for WiFi you’re just not going to find it in the remote portions of the US (CA, AZ, UT, NV) but most of the National Parks have strong cell service and occasionally free WiFi should you need it. Don’t get bent out of shape about lack of WiFi parts of our country are still not equipped with high speed broad band. It is what it is.

We were looking for a nice, overnight stay in a hotel near Yosemite. Yosemite Westgate Lodge delivered. Our room was very spacious and clean, which is one of our top priorities. Beds were pretty comfortable, and that’s all we really needed for a good night’s rest. There is no Wi-​Fi, but they say that’s because of their limited access (geographically) to the internet. They do have a business office with Internet access, if needed. Personally, I was trying to unplug a bit while I was out this way anyways. There is a restaurant just next door with a decent breakfast to start your day off right before heading into Yosemite. If you’re looking for a reasonably priced, clean hotel that’s close to the park, I would recommend Yosemite Westgate Lodge.

Hôtel moyen, les chambres sont tristes vieillotes et mal éclairées, l’isolation phonique plus que moyenne, c’est à peu près propre. La piscine était fermée le premier jour, sans vraiment de raison dommage quand on choisit l’hôtel pour sa piscine. Seul avantage c’est qu’il est proche de l’entrée du parc. Par contre aucun commerce autour.
Pas de Wi-​Fi

Overpriced! No WiFi, if you want to make a long distance call you have to buy
a calling card from the office. Flat screen TV was so small… they seem to cut
corners on a lot of stuff. Rough cheap toilet paper and Kleenex.
They ran out of water the day before we arrived and when we checked in they said
they fixed the problem but we were told numerous times to take short showers and
they even closed the pool… very disappointed in the lodge.

I’ve stayed here twice, this last April and in 2012.
It’s a nice lodge near the 120 Yosemite entrance; the front office staff are friendly, and professional; they updated my reservations to accommodate my request for a handicapped accessible room for my Mom. The rooms are clean and nicely appointed.
It is not a new lodge, so if you have some kid jumping above you, or if people are thundering up the side stair wells, you’ll hear them. With tax, in April, each room was $ 149.85.

This hotel was very clean and the service was excellent! The location was perfect for getting to the park entrance.

Our second floor room was newly decorated, clean and safe. DirecTV was OK (no ESPN :-)) Coffee was good enough, towels were soft, bed was good. I have only two gripes: the wall between the shower and the bedroom wasn’t insulated for sound and they couldn’t accommodate my first floor request because I had three bicycles so I had to shlep them upstairs. The door’s lock was a state-​of-​the-​art proximity reader.
The pool and spa were open. The spa is small and was crowded. The pool was heated (sort of.)
The location is good. Breakfast at the restaurant next door was good. Dinner at the Mexican restaurant in Groveland (14 minutes) was very good. Vista point (2 minutes) was panoramic during the day and a great place to stargaze at night.
I’d stay again. Enjoy.

I loved it here. I got a groupon deal for a 2-​night stay $ 119 (plus they charge $ 13 for tax when you arrive), and used it in January 2015. Knowing that Yosemite is a popular destination in the summer, I’m glad I used it in the winter. There weren’t alot of people there at the time. Which made for a VERY quiet stay. I’ve noticed alot of complaints about the Wifi. Most of Yosemite doesn’t get cell service anyway, so I didn’t miss it. Plus, the hotel has Direct-​TV so if you really NEED technology that bad you have it. The hotel was clean, the shower was HUGE, and if you put the «do not disturb» sign on the door, they don’t barge in. I was a little disappointed that the attached restaurant was closed (so was the pool) but it’s nothing to cry about. The nearest town is Groveland, which was worth the 11 mile drive for food. We extended our stay for another night, and the couple that ran the hotel gave us a good deal. I would definitely stay here again!

They will rip you off without a second thought.
Beware they will charge a «$ 25 late fee» if you check in after 10pm, they only have Wi-​Fi for themselves not the costumers and they are willing to get hostile with you even if you’re trying your best to be responsible with them. I’ve met some rude people but these people made us want to take them straight to court. They will scam you via credit card on reservations so my best advice if you absolutely need to stay here is to pay in cash and don’t consider saving money as an option.

I have seriously never been to such a crappy hotel. The manager is the rudest person I have ever met.
We made a reservation for 2 nights at this hotel. On the drive up to Yosemite, we had an emergency that required us to leave 1 day early. When we tried to explain this to the front office but they said you had to cancel 72 hours prior for our money back. I completely understand that that is their policy but they should have been willing to compromise. Plenty of other hotels that we have been to have made exceptions. I would have been fine wasting money on an extra night if they had at least been nice about it but when we tried to talk to the manager, she was a total bitch. She cut me off every time I tried to talk and was spitting in my face from talking so loud.
In addition to that, there is ZERO cell signal and no wifi: absolutely no way to go on the internet or make calls, even for emergencies. Nowhere on their website do they say this. They also only have 1 restaurant within 10 miles. Find somewhere else to go.

What a crappy place to stay at.
This place is usually packed on the weekends, when folks come in to visit yosemite. The place is Terrible with a capital T
–there is no Wifi (they said the bear destroyed it, and they need to fix it. What???)
–there is no phone reception (0 bars)
–the key card for the room door never worked (we had to go to the main counter every night to get it fixed, after being tired after long days of hiking)
–the key card is literally a Pizza Factory business card (way to squeeze money out of your customers)
–they kept calling literally every day, to ask us to pay for an extra $ 10 for having 3 people instead of 2 (we were 3 people in a room with 2 queen beds)
–the main check-​in area closes at 10pm sharp (What the ???). You can’t check in after 10pm
It’s pretty clear they really only care about squeezing money out of tourists. I don’t see them calling us every day to offer to refund us money when their wifi didn’t work, even though they advertised that they had free wifi on the booking website. I couldn’t even get data on my phone, since there is NO phone reception.
Definitely avoid this place if possible. There are much better places to stay in the area.

We planned our Yosemite family vacation too late to get any accommodation within Yosemite Valley, so the Westgate seemed like the closest (acceptable) hotel to Yosemite.
I stayed here for 4 days in June with my husband and our 12 month old baby.
Proximity to Yosemite: I’m not sure how some people were getting to the valley floor in 30 min. Even on our earliest day (leaving at 7 am and speeding), it took 15 min to get to the entrance of Yosemite and another 45 to get to the Valley floor (an hour total). There were some days when it took a little longer. That being said, the commute was acceptable.
Rooms: They were more spacious and modern than I expected. I loved having the refrigerator, microwave, and coffee maker. (the freezer section actually worked to re-​freeze our icepacks each day). They set up a little crib for our baby which was handy to not have to travel with his portable crib. I know it’s the wilderness, but we did have an ant problem getting all over the fruit and bottles we brought with us for the baby. We solved this by keeping everything in the refrigerator.
WIFI: The Wifi was out. The free wifi was one of the reasons I had chosen this hotel in the first place and I booked through Expedia (which is still listing on its site that this place has free Wifi – which it doesn’t. Much the opposite – there is hardly any cell signal at all. To me that was the major downside because I needed to keep in touch with the office.
Convenience: There is a restaurant right next door– Buck Meadows Lodge. The food there was pretty average, however after a long day of hiking when we couldn’t be bothered to search out food — it was convenient. Once we wised up to the area, we drove further west into Groveland (about a 12 min drive) where you can find many restaurants with various options– pizza, Mexican, pub food etc.
Property — loved having the little slide and jungle gym for our baby. The pool was an amazing way to wind down after a long day. Love how it stays light out so late here in the summer, so we could come home from hiking at 5pm and still enjoy a couple of hours near the pool. The baby also loved the pool.
I would stay here again if we couldn’t find something within Yosemite Village, however, next time we go to Yosemite, I would like to book far enough ahead to actually stay within the Valley. Having those extra 2 hours per day would be awesome.

Quite decent. There is a microwave jacuzzi fridge and direct Tv
I ended up paying $ 90.00 over their own web rates at the time because there were only 2 spots left. I found vacancy and cheaper prices on their site –Which werent available until the last day before i headed to Yosemite
Room is clean bathroom and tub were also clean
And no mildew (even the Wynn hotel in vegas had mildew).
There is some Verizon 3g coverage A bit spotty still… you or your tweeting offspring will survive
King bed is quite accommodating
Most of places to stay if not all are around 2.5÷4 stars when compared to a decent Vegas hotel. This one gets a solid 3 though its still about an hour away from Yosemite Valley

On a last minute Yosemite trip, I stayed here during the third week of May. It costed us $ 160 (tax included) for a room — very reasonable, in comparison. It is the closest place to stay outside the park (30min drive) on the 120 West in a town of 50 people. It is very quiet. For a busier environment, stay in the town of Groveland, but know this: its further away from the park, and after hiking, the last thing one wants is a longer-​then-​neccesary drive.
Owner is usually on premise. The staff at reception are friendly and accommodating. We arrived at noon but the room wasn’t clean and ready till the 3pm check-​in time. However, they allowed us to leave our bags in the room and go explore. They didn’t have King-​bed rooms, only two Queen-​beds. Room was very clean, (and I’m uptight about this!) TV is a small flatscreen on the wall, which sucked when watching the latest, ever-​epic Game of Thrones episode. Fridge was large enough to keep our food and beverages cold overnight. Wifi was free but connecting was a hit-​and-​miss (mainly, miss), which is for the deduction of one star. Wifi in hotels/​motels are as standard as towels. An option for wifi should always be available.
For what they are, a 3* lodge, they meet expectations.
(I left the door open for less than a few minutes at nightfall and a mosquito flew in. My handsome Knight-​in-​shinning-​armor came to my rescue. So, TIP: keep the doors shut.)

Convenient area for rest if you plan on making day trips to Yosemite park. We stayed two nights here and the place met my expectations.
If there is no snow, the drive should only take about 40 minutes to Yosemite. Along the way, there is a gas station a few miles down where you can fill up your car and buy some snacks and water. Water is kind of pricey in the park so its good to stock up at a grocery store before coming here. The park doesn’t like bottled water (but they have water refill stations for free)
As of 3÷9÷2014, the route to Yosemite from 120 isn’t as nice due to the recent fires. Most of the drive seems a bit depressing but don’t worry it gets better.
If coming from Oakland or San Francisco, I recommend coming in through the south entrance so your drive is more scenic, faster, and you get to see a lot of smaller waterfalls along the way. Then on your way out you can take 120 towards the hotel and see the remaining scenes.
The lobby does not stay open 24 hours so service is not always available. There is a restaurant next door but it wasn’t open during our two day stay there (probably because it doesn’t open during winter or early spring). They do have a place that delivers Pizza to the hotel though.
Rates were pretty good. For two queen size bed, we got it for about $ 110 per night. I forgot the exact rate but it’s way cheaper than lodging within the park.

What a wonderful place!
First of all all, the price — i would suggest booking on Westgate’s website. With the deal they had we ended up paying $ 66 per night.
Rooms — place has been recently redone and i mean the carpet’s still soft and smells like new. Bed was super comfortable and the towels were soft and new.
We got the room on the 1^st floor and were a little worried about the noise, but we haven’t heard anything from neither upstairs nor the next door room. Our room was spacious, clean and very comfortable.
We are planning another trip to Yosemite and will definitely stay at Westgate.

Based on my research, this is your best bet for Yosemite. Your choices are otherwise pretty restrictive — either you’re (1) in the park and either paying outrageous prices for a run down hotel or for a fancier lodge that isn’t really that fancy; (2) you’re staying quite far away and paying too much; (3) you’re staying somewhat closer and again, way too much.
Hating to pay way too much for nothing more than a decent motel, I was so glad to find this place — a decent motel that was not going to cost me way too much! The rate was reasonable and the location great — about a 15 minute drive from the West Gate entrance.
The managers were really friendly and I liked that there is a gas station and restaurant in the same lot — making it rather convenient. The room wasn’t new or fancy when I was there, but it wa spacious and had a mini-​fridge and coffee maker.