Highland House Bed & Breakfast

One of the highlights of our San Francisco trip was our road trip to Yosemite National Park, and having the opportunity to stay at the Highland House Inn in Mariposa made the entire experience even more memorable.
The warmth of this place surpasses what any five star accommodation has to offer. The amenities, the customer service and the staff are really impeccable.
The Game Room is a perfect place to hang after a long day in the park. All the items in the pantry are available for guests’ use.
This is truly a beautiful place to stay and it already saddens me that I will have to leave this place soon

I’m also debating on whether to give this place 4 or 5 stars. And funny story — I really wanted to see a bear too. I chilled outside on the hammock and saw lots of little squirrels, butterflies, hummingbirds — but no bears.
Our stay was relaxing, romantic, and comfortable. We stayed in the big room, with the oversized tub, king four-​poster bed, huge fireplace. Highly recommended, and we’ll do this the next time. We didn’t know that there were so many amenities available to us, and would have cooked dinner there instead of getting take out. I felt like I was staying in a good friend’s home — it was clean, updated, and had so many cute loving details that you would only see in a place where the owners truly love the home. Oh, we also played chess by the fireplace on their fancy wooden chess set. Fantastic.
Breakfast was easy, delicious, and the other guests were friendly. The person who checked us in was friendly, non-​obtrusive, and was always available if we needed him, but otherwise no where to be seen. That’s magic :) He gave us a great tour of the home, pointing out all things relevant, and had some pretty cool stories.
It’s a bit of a drive to Yosemite, and also in the middle of nowhere. I felt like I was luxury camping in the wilderness. I would definitely like to come back.

Right off the bat, this would be a 5-​star review but it’s only 4 because I didn’t see a bear and was told that there were many in the area. I wanted to see a bear.
Reservations are super easy to make, it’s all done online and you don’t even need to provide a credit card. There’s 3 rooms, pick the one you want on the days it’s available. Send an email and you’re set.
Don’t even think about trying to find this place without a gps navigation unit. Seriously, it’s in the middle of nowhere. To me, that’s pretty awesome cause you’re in the middle of the woods, without the worries or bothers of civilization. When we pulled up, the house was empty but there was an envelope in the mailbox with my name on it. Inside it was a welcome note and the key to both the front door and our room. It’s kinda fun to have a big house all to yourselves, you get to explore and poke around at your own pace. The 3 rental rooms are upstairs, each with their own bathroom. Downstairs, there’s large sitting/​living areas, a big kitchen, dining room, an apartment that the proprietor stays at when he’s in town, an exercise room/​office, and a huge den. The den has a big tv with a great collection of movies and a pool table. All the rooms have direct tv which is nice to unwind. Breakfast is at 9am.
Most of the guests are staying here while they visit Yosemite Park. The entrance to the park that is closest to the Valley is around a 30 minute drive, without traffic. The historic gold-​rush town of Mariposa is about 30 minutes away in the other direction. There’s a supermarket, liquor store, and a couple good diners.
Had I seen a bear, Highland House would be 5-​stars. I’m willing to give them another try.