Tenaya Lodge At Yosemite

There are some positives to this place. However, the people can make or break a business and this place lacks in customer service, organization and respect.
Problem #1 Upon check-​in at 4pm we were told our room was not ready. We had two young hungry, tired kids in the car, but we were nice about it. They told us 10 minutes. We watched other families check in and come out but we got no phone call. At 5pm my husband had to convince the front desk to switch us to a ready room.
Problem#2 My kids wanted to try to buy their own chips at the bar outside by the pool. We gave them $ 10 to get two bags of chips and watched them closely. They came back with 1 bag of chips and $ 5. They said that the guy was looking for another bag of chips and would come over with them. Guess what? An hour later and no change or bag of chips. We had to wait even longer to re explain the situation and for the guy to void out the sale. Petty maybe, but this just added to our frustration.
Problem#3 We decided to visit Joes/​Sierra Grill and quickly discovered they are the same but one (Sierra) has higher prices. We asked to be seated outside at Joes. A waitress took us to a table inside. I asked, «What is the wait for outside? It doesn’t look too crowded.» She said, «Hours.»
We looked and saw several empty spaces outside. We went back to the front desk and explained the situation. They apologized and told us she was a French intern who doesn’t understand. They took us to a seat in the more expensive side (Sierras). I said, «My kids don’t like this menu.» The waitress slapped down 2 menus from Joes.
The manager did come over and offer to comp our meal.
At the end of the night, we tried to sleep but you could hear loud conversations and door slamming throughout the night.
In conclusion, this place needs customer service,
better management and training of staff, and thicker walls.

Service was great as expected in a top notch resort. Breakfast buffet was first class and overall food service was the best in the valley area. The facility is clean and well organized.
We stayed in a decent cabin, but found it to be less private than expected. We had a family the last night slamming doors and speaking loudly. Lucky they were there for only one night.
My big complaint is the distance from the valley. While it is 2 miles from the south entrance, it is 1 ¼ hours from the valley… longer if stuck behind an RV. 35 mph on winding roads for 1 ¼ hours with signs warning of deer and bear crossings. Not my idea of a relaxing vacation.
The trade off is 5 star food, 3 star lodging, and 1 star driving. Pick your poison. Next time we stay at the Majestic…

Skip this place. If you’re coming to Yosemite for an outdoorsy retreat, camp or book a cabin in the park. If you’re coming for a glamping or lodge experience, I would also recommend finding another lodge.
1. The staff is extremely unprofessional. I stayed here with my parents, and my (older) mother asked the pool staff to clear the adults-​only pool of all the kids splashing around (there are 2 other pools for kids in the same area). The waiter then went and told the kids/​parents of the kids they had to leave because «that party over there asked me to ask you kick you out». The parents of the kids then angrily confronted us and the waiter just stood there laughing. All around just unnecessary.
2. All of the restaurants in this place are extremely overpriced for mediocre food ($ 5 small coffee, $ 8 beersm $ 20 lunch, $ 30 pizza).
3. Every piece of silverware I ate with had food stuck to it. I got a glass of water with food in it, and when I asked for another, the bartender rolled his eyes at me.
4. This place is far away from Yosemite Valley (maybe 40 miles). The lodge isn’t actually IN Yosemite, so you still have to drive in, wait in the line of cars, and find parking every day.
5. The room (stayed in the cottages) was fine, it had a little fridge, but no kitchen sink, so they do force you to eat their overpriced food.
6. There are a lot of kids, clueless tourists, 40– and 50-​somethings getting drunk on Chardonnary here. It’s a little too ‘Disney’ — people who stay here are doing guided tours and horseback riding, not much hiking. If you want a rustic atmosphere with other adventurous people to get tips from, this just isn’t the place. If you want the Disney in Yosemite experience, then you may have a different opinion.

My Son and I were at the Tenaya Lodge for 3 days and thought it was wonderful. We didn’t spend a lot of time at the hotel or in the room but it was great to come back to after a long day on the trails in Yosemite. The staff was so friendly, especially the gift shop employees. We will be back!

Was looking forward to staying here after reading all of the reviews. We were in the Hemlock cottage — there are 3 «rooms» in this cottage. It is actually located at the next exit from the main lodge. We were «upgraded» to the upper room. We had originally booked a cottage room with 2 queen beds as we were traveling with our 2 teenage boys. I was not told about the upgrade until we got to the cottage and saw that it was only a one bedroom with one bed. I immediately called to the front desk to inquire about it. It was more of a hassle than to wait for them to call back with another room as we were only staying for one night. We had to walk down a path and across a back parking lot to get to the main lodge. Also, to get ice, we needed to walk to the pool area for the cottages to to get it.
If I were to do it again, I probably would. It stay here… especially for just one night. It was way too much money for what we got.

We spent 4 nights here last week. Great accommodations just outside of Yosemite ! Everyone was very courteous, Jake in the Sierra Restaurant was exceptional !
Room Service is pricey, food was average and not consistent.
We rode the YART each day to the park, very handy as bellman would drop us at the stop on property and pick us up each night. This was a highlight considering the traffic going into the park.

Like others, there were parts I liked and I really wanted to like this more. But the high price just does not compare to the experience. This was our first visit, and from their website, I got the impression this is a sort of mountain retreat. The website has lots of references to wellness and relaxation, which is part of what we hoped for.
Instead we felt like we were staying at a water park or family campground on a holiday weekend. The pool is SO LOUD. Our room on the corner of the building is supposed to be one of the quieter ones, but we could hear kids yelling about 10 hours a day. There were also very loud outdoor movies twice a week that you can hear in many rooms. Nothing wrong with these if you are looking for a festive family resort vacation, but we felt pretty misled by their marketing as a relaxing mountain retreat.
The «adult pool» is a small wading pool and the «adult hot tub» is nice but about 10 feet from the kids pool. That said, the loudest people in the adult area were obnoxious old men who drank way too much and could not stop talking about themselves. Had to deal with that 3 of 5 nights. :(Not my idea of pleasant, but might work for some people.
The front desk staff, housekeeping, and staff at the Deli and restaurant were all very nice, thought they did make several changes or errors on our reservation, which were thankfully caught on time. The rooms are nice and comfortable, but not quite as elegant as the website photos show. They have great showers, large bath areas and vanities, with Kuerig coffee makers and mini fridges, which are great. And for being so loud during the day, by 10pm, the resort was really quiet and we were always able to sleep well.
Last, please be warned that despite the wording on their website, the resort is OUTSIDE THE PARK GATE and about an hour, with no traffic, from Yosemite Valley or Glacier Point, and almost 2 hours from Tioga Road. The Park staff at Yosemite seemed completely unable to figure out how to expedite a line at the gate or even figure out how to shuttle people, and we waited in traffic for hours on several mornings (not the fault of Tenaya!). Just know, even though you are near the Park border, you are not near the attractions.

This is a tough one, several things made it 4 stars instead of 5. The staff overall made it 4 stars instead of 3. We made our reservations in December & stayed Memorial Day week at The Cottages. When we checked in they did not have our room, instead put us in another room with two queen beds & told us we’d have to move the next night. They were very sorry but it was unavoidable they gave us a discount on the one night & some drink coupons in addition to a fruit & cheese plate. Nice recovery. The next morning I called over because they had left me a message, we could change rooms later that afternoon but would have to change again. Unacceptable. I went over to speak to them directly and they obviously sensed my frustration that this was not going to work for me to change rooms every night for a week long stay booking 6 months in advance because when I showed up, they figured something out and told me only this change would be needed. Yay! Our stay included the breakfast buffet which was typical hotel buffet fare. Nothing too exciting but gets the job done. The salsa was outstanding though. All hosts (esses) and wait staff were amazingly friendly and well trained. Definitely one of the highlights of the stay. Ate dinner at Jackalopes one night, spendy but decent food, hubby had the Sasquatch burger and said it was delish. Here is where we encountered our only employee that seemed to hate her job (server) & us tourists. But the busser was fantastic and cheerful. Olga in the gift shop was super cool & fun to purchase our souvenir trinkets from. We booked the ½ day bicycle ride and with their directions found the waterfall off Jackson Rd. & made it out to the Sandy Campground — not sure what is exactly called. Very pretty ride, slight uphill all the way, but what a fast fun ride back. Easy access to the park, although it is about a 40 – 60 minute drive to Yosemite Valley itself. An easy 20 minute drive into town for food & supplies makes it an ideal location. Final night our key wouldn’t work and after a couple trips back & forth they sent over a maintenance engineer and the manager on duty. The maintenance engineer got us fixed up in no time, was again, very kind, professional and seemed genuinely concerned we had this trouble. Overall I would recommend the Cottages at Tenaya, it is way better than a standard hotel room. More like a little cabin getaway. The staff is really where they shine. Keep selecting employees that care about the customer experience and you will overcome all the annoyances and inconveniences that happen. We would love to return & stay again.

I want to like this place. Really, I do! They just do everything in their power to make this impossible.
The most obvious problem is the service. In my experience, nobody who works at the hotel actually knows anything about the hotel. The front desk doesn’t know what the hours to the restaurants are, the assistant manager doesn’t know the layout of the hotel. And what’s worse is that when people didn’t know something, they actually gave us false or misleading information (like the time they told us the hours of all their restaurants before we made a reservation, and failed to tell us that some were closed for the season). They even filled the jacuzzi with COLD water. These are rookie mistakes that have no place in a hotel like this.
The second problem is design. The hotel looks really nice but is cheaply put together. One particularly egregious example is the bathroom door. It’s a sliding barn door style door that slides in front of the door frame. The door is just the right size that no matter where you slide it to, there is always a large crack where anyone outside the bathroom can see in.
These are just a few examples of the many totally inexcusable screw ups that occur regularly at this hotel.
You may be wondering «how can a luxury hotel be so horrible?» The answer is simple: it’s run by DNC Parks and Resorts, aka the people that Yosemite just fired because they were incapable of running the concessions in the park.

I recently stayed here and I LOVED it. Yes, this place is undergoing a massive renovation and facelift so all I can do is comment on my experience of staying in an updated room. My husband and I have pretty high standards when we stay in hotels so we dreaded a worn out ratty room but this is the only place around that accepts pets so we did it. Well, they put us in one of the updated wings and it was lovely. All in all, our experience was pretty extraordinary in terms of accommodation and experience.
The newer rooms have a simple but natural and modern take. You can’t really compare it to the St. Regis, etc, but it’s equally as comfortable in a different kind of way. The rooms were also clean and the sheets were soft. Also, for some reason this hotel really reminded me of Japanese ryokan-​style hotel I used to stay at in Japan. It just had that peaceful beautiful feel to it.
We arrived super late at night and were greeted by courteous men who helped us check-​in. Upon walking in the entrance, both my husband and I marveled at the beautiful atrium. It’s pretty stunning.
Because it was a late night, I wanted to buy a bottle of local wine and my husband had some food he wanted to heat up, but the rooms didn’t have microwaves. Seriously, the staff there late at night were so kind. One man re-​opened the gift shop for us to use their microwave and we purchased a nice bottle of locally made wine. Later that night, I couldn’t locate the wine opener in the room so I called the front desk and the same nice guy came to help me find it. With that said, the only thing I can recommend is that they need to restock the rooms with different wine openers. WOW, those are nearly impossible to uncork a bottle with unless you’re superman.
Anyway, we experienced nothing short of extraordinary customer service this trip. We rented a car as well and needed chains for our tires to drive to Yosemite Valley. We didn’t know what to do since our rental car didn’t provide chains and we fretted having to take the bus to the valley. But it turns out that the gift shop carries chains and if you don’t use them then you can return them for just a small restocking fee. This pretty much solved all our problems.
We booked the room rate with the breakfast buffet included. Honestly, it’s not 5 star dining I don’t know what people expect though. But the dining room is cozy and the food is decent if you want basics like eggs and bacon before a days hike. The cornbeef hash was the best dish, I wish they offered it more than one day we were there!
We also dined at Jackalopes a couple of nights. The food isn’t bad, the burger was actually pretty satisfying. I thought the salmon was pretty good too. I personally didn’t find it too overpriced, but everyone’s different.
My only complaint is that the walls seemed a little thin and I could hear children running around at certain hours of the day. The pool also was nice at night alone, but most of the time it’s crowded with kids, bleh. Also, the ladies locker room is a bit outdated and small so I didn’t use it.
But, overall, the service was 10 stars and we loved the property and our room. Be sure to bring stuff to roast some smores too. They sell smores packages there, but it’s probably cheaper to bring your own. They sell sticks.
The drive to Tunnel View from here we clocked is 50 minutes. Yes, it’s a long drive, but it’s beautiful and it doesn’t really feel that long. Relativity I guess.
Also, we brought our 8 pound dog. They set up our room too and even gave him a little bed. He was really comfortable the entire trip. Overall, yes, we really enjoyed our stay here and would totally stay here again.

Sooooo bumbed! What a let down! So many places to choose from and I chose Tenaya! Sorry, but for the $ 500, the walls are crazy-​thin! The poor guy next door sat through an hour and half (till 11pm) of family game time loudness… He was so polite when I ran in to him in the hall. He said he had heard the whole game (glad it was appropriate!) The family above us is «super active»! I can hear every vocal family that walks by our room.
While I’m on a roll… The bathroom seats are plastic and slide off the seat, the shower is hard to get the temp you want (cheap!), and no microwave in the room! You have to buy meals onsite or drive a mile or so… No kitchens and no grocery store.
On the flip side: super cozy king beds! Nice desk staff, updated décor, pretty good food!
I would not come back here… I would find a air bnb or a more quality Hotel. Sorry Tenaya!

If you’re headed to Yosemite National Park from the Los Angeles area and don’t want to camp out in the wilderness, I highly recommend Tenaya Lodge for at least a 1-​night stay! Located in the mountains of Fish Camp and just after a small town of Oakhurst, the lodge is just 2 miles away from the South Entrance near the Wawona Visitor Center.
Valet service was wonderful. The service was free and the staff was very friendly and made us feel at home in the short time we encountered them. They offered assistance with our luggage after we checked in and brought them directly to our room. Along the way he explained what the resort had to offer, especially the dining options since we arrived late.
I booked a Bed and Breakfast Package in a Deluxe Room with 2 Queen Beds for a rate of $ 220/​night (plus $ 15 resort fee rate). To my surprise, the room, which was located on the 3^rd floor, was recently remodeled and GORGEOUS. It overlooked the front of the resort. The bedding was luxurious; pillows were fluffy, sheets were white, crisp, & soft, and the comforter (my favorite) was made with heavy duty elegant fabric. The boys even raved about it. Amenities were a Keurig coffee machine, small refrigerator, hair dryer, wifi, flat screen tv, his & hers robes, huge comfy reading chair, and many outlets to charge those cell phones and notebooks.
The Breakfast buffet was served at Sierra Restaurant, which includes the seating area from Jackalopes Restaurant. The buffet included fresh fruit, pastries, scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits & gravy, pancakes, French toast, and an oatmeal bar.
The resort offers onsite activities like Ice Skating, Snow Shoeing, Arcade, Movie Night, and Spa Service — ahhhhh! I wish we had more time to experience them all, but they looked really fun, especially if you have small children. Oh! There was an outdoor bonfire where guests would gather around to make Smores! Yum!
My family of three really enjoyed our stay here. 5 Stars ALL THE WAY!

Let me just say I LOOOVED this place! (Side note: I purchased an awesome travel zoo deal with free breakfast & activity for 2 per night) Let me just say if the regular rate was a little more reasonable (not $ 400+ a night) I’d definitely give 5 stars. However I don’t think the hotel is worth their regular rate and wouldn’t stay there again without a good deal! So now the deets:
We stayed in the recently renovated wing.
The beds were clean and comfortable (no bed bugs)!!! The room was also very clean but the bathroom door didn’t provide much privacy!
The service was 6+ stars! I couldn’t believe how wonderful the service was and would come back just because how nice everyone was! I got sick from eating dinner outside the resort and the manager opened the gift shop after hours so I could purchase some stomach meds
Breakfast Buffett: was good and had a lot of variety not exceptional but definitely not bad! Sausage, eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, cereal — you know — the basics.
The restaurant and bar — over priced but that’s expected at a hotel, but the food was good and service was great

Our first time and we were a little disappointed with our «cottage» and the customer service. Apparently for the area, it’s amongst the best hotel (besides the Yosemite majestic hotel aka the old awhwahnee hotel). We stayed in the cottages off the main hotel grounds and was disappointed. It was really dated and oddly shaped. It’s a 3 room unit, and luckily we got the upstairs cottage but felt a little cramped with the staircase taking up most of our room. We shared the space with another couple thinking it would Give us extra room, not so much.
They gave us a room with a fireplace not functioning and a TV remote that didn’t work. When we inquired about it they mention the fireplace didn’t work and was able to give us $ 50 deduction per night or put us in a similar cottage. But knowing this ahead of time, why even put us in that cottage to begin with?! The lobby staff did not go out of their way to greet us or help us. For a hotel of this caliber we expected more.
The main pool area was ok. A bit stuffy and muggy but came with 2 jacuzzis. There was a smaller pool by the cottages but the jacuzzi was located in a dif room so didn’t really work for us. Their was an ice rink that we didn’t get to utilize. The proximity to Yosemite is about an hour away so not too close.
For the price and convenience, I think the next time we stay in the area we would prob rent a cabin in Yosemite or stay at the Yosemite majestic hotel.

Grades: Facility — A with 2 footnotes of annoyances. Location –D. Operations, B with 2 footnotes of irritants.
Facility is great in a nice setting, lovely lobby, good health club, nice bar, attractive architecture, very resorty look. 2 annoyances they could fix: lighting in the room is dim and inadequate, and the fancy shower head supplies only a drip.
Ops is generally good. The concierge (ours was Cindy) was very nice and helpful, waitstaff at the bar pleasant and courteous, live music in the lobby Fri and Sat nights we were there. Overall, good. But (you knew there was a «but» coming didn’t you) 2 ½ things really bugged me. Mandatory resort feet with slow interect, and water conservation hypocrisy.
Location, yes it is indeed two miles from the Park but if you’re a novitiate as we were

Stayed at Tenaya for 3 days and 2 nights. My family is starting to come here for Christmas weekend. I am in love with this new tradition. Tenaya has friendly service, family oriented, gorgeous atmosphere, and ultra — clean rooms. All the activities they offer are so much fun!
Unfortunately…the food here is very, very bad. The quality of the food is terrible. Buffet food is cold. Menu food tastes gross. It’s really disappointing because I remember the food being much better. A member of our family ordered a breakfast burrito, and it came out 45 minutes later! Seriously? Tenaya, our family loves you, but please fix your food!

Rented their most expensive suite — overlooking the main driveway (!) with no reliable wifi (!!!) — and was terribly disappointed. If the room had cost me ¹⁄₃ (or even ½) of the overall price ($ 900 a night all in), I would have been somewhat satisfied. No view due to trees planted right in front of the windows. Decks were swaying and in need of repair. Outdoor furniture cramped due to unattractive external fireplace vent. Maintenance had to come start the fireplace as it wasn’t working and we ended up turning it off as the room filled with noxious gas smell. Pretty high cheese factor with regard to lodge décor. Valet guys were nice.
They tell you you don’t need a reservation for dinner at any of the two more casual restaurants and then you arrive and stand in line and/​or wait with a buzzer with 40 other people — classy. There is one reservation stand to serve 3 restaurants so it’s chaotic to say the least. The fine dining restaurant was okay; limited wine list.
When I went to the front desk on the Saturday morning of our stay to mention the wifi issue, they asked me «did you call the help line»? It’s not my job to find out what’s wrong with their wifi — my devices are working fine (we ended using our own wifi). I was then told that nothing could be done because it’s the weekend. I suspect they simply need a signal booster because the suite is the very last room out from the front desk. The manager told me that he’d take off our «resort fee». He did, but only for 1 of the 3 nights — so cheap, but I ended up not even saying anything upon check out because I just wanted to get out of there.
Also, if you’re planning on being in the park after dark and driving back here — I wouldn’t. The next time we visit we’ll stay at the Ahwahnee. Much more and better character (although the food in their bar is poor) and their dining room has amazing architecture and service and pretty good food.

I just got married here and I can not gush enough about this hotel, the grounds, the wedding coordinator and everything but for the sake of this review I will concentrate on the stay.
The hotel is beautiful. It is pretty pricy for the stay and we only stayed in the spa suite two nights so I will just review that.
The spa suite rooms are spacious, with a beautiful bathroom that has a full spa tub (a cool wood window that opens to the bedroom, a shower and a toilet closed off by another door (I appreciate that!).
The room had a king bed, super comfortable and a living room with a pullout couch. The balcony in our room overlooked trees, the road and the archery course. Pretty nice.
It was beautiful and relaxing. I love the hotel grounds.
The staff (valet, concierge, bell hops) were great. Reservations people were a bit challenging. I think they need a new system or something.
They also have great activities for kids and they have pet sitting and kennel services, which were great for when we went into the park.
Stay here for at least one night if going to Yosemite Valley!

Tenaya Lodge is right outside the park entrance which makes it perfect to see the beauty that is Yosemite (however, it is about an hour away from Yosemite Valley which is where you have the bus shuttle system and the Ahwahnee hotel). We were in a king room and it was nice and clean with decent wifi. Our room included the breakfast buffet each morning and I was surprised to read someone’s review that stated it was «the worst breakfast buffet» as I found it quite nice — oatmeal, cereal, french toast, pancakes, eggs, fruit, etc. We enjoyed the buffet each morning before heading off to hike. Also, although we didn’t use the spa it looked quite nice with modern locker rooms (with saunas and steam baths) and a nice fitness room.
Two things keep this resort from five stars. First, our bathroom had a sliding door that had two BIG gaps that allowed you to peek into it. I’ll post a photo or two as it was a bit unnerving if you were trying to use the bathroom knowing someone in the room could see/​hear you! Also, their lunch/​dinner options are terrible — both of the restaurants we tried (Sierra and Jackalope’s) are extremely overpriced for what they offer. Unfortunately, it’s a 25min drive into town for other eating options so they know that they can charge $ 17 for a cheeseburger as there are no other local options. Sierra is the more formal of the two (Embers is the most formal but we avoided it) and the food was worth nowhere near what they charged. So, either you grin and bear the food and the prices or you drive 25min each night on twisty/​turny roads to find cheaper food. Come on Tenaya, up your game here.
Would I stay again? Sure, unless I could get into the Ahwahnee hotel (which is no cheaper for food) as the Ahwahnee is right in the middle of Yosemite Valley. However, Tenaya appears to be the best option outside of the park due to its proximity and aside from my two complaints we had an enjoyable stay here.

Marty & I were here in Mariposa/​Yosemite in March 2013 visiting my Mom & other family members, among 1 of our many stops, was this lodge nestled into the mountain side of the ever beautiful eastern side at the base of Yosemite National Park.
A quick stop for coffee, tea & a nosh before we headed back home to Mom’s place.
Also, this lodge is not only iconic, but is where my parents celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary back in 2005, which will forever hold memories that keep my deceased Father’s joy alive, Dad loved this place, and loved Yosemite & Mariposa so much.
The lodge itself is quite expansive, the rooms are diverse, providing everything from the money conscious smaller rooms, somewhere in between, to massive suites, and the prices are variable, but you get exactly what you pay for her, with amenities galore, great staff on all levels, from check in, to housekeeping, this lodge has it nailed.
An icon true to form and then some!
From the snows of Winter that blanket this beautiful place, to the Spring, with the blooming wildflowers & fruit trees et al, to summer, with its seasonal thunderstorms refreshing the earth, arousing smells of pines & Sequoia trees, to the majestic colors of fall, with pumpkins wild, practically immersing the lodge in colors of orange & green-​Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite has it for you.
People come from all over the world and stay here, you will see many cultures, hear many languages, and see adorned peoples inter mingling with others, in this cosmopolitan & semi Bohemian atmosphere.
I saw my Mom’s face as she appeared to be in euphoric recall, reflecting on the many great times she & Dad, along with friends & family enjoyed what this unique lodge has to offer.
Dad has been gone now over 4 years, (then it had only been over 2 years), but I could feel Pop here, this was his place, his sanctuary, he & Mom’s corner of the sky.
Enough said, the best way to experience this place is to stop in, stay, eat at one of the many food offering dining establishments that fit any budget, and too, offer up delish fare and even staff that will take you on a historical tour.
You see many animals, form many species of birds, to deer, wild turkeys, and even some bears, yet the animals appear to be okay with intermingling with the guests & visitors, and offer up no threats-​a photographer’s paradise for sure to capture a still unspoiled part of Yosemite, at Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite.
I will say this, hold on to your picnic baskets in the spring & summer months if dining at the many areas available, and even in winter out by the open bonfires & heaters on the café decks, this Bear is a stinker, and he has a partner in crime too!