Mammoth Reservation Bureau

We stayed in a complex called Val Disere (unit 137). MRB has a nice range of places that they book. We had picked a more budget friendly place so there was no wifi, but everything else was fine. Cozy, decent kitchen, plenty of blankets, a spare bed in the closet, etc. The staff was helpful and very kind, considering that we were kind of snowed in on our last morning. We needed chains (which we didn’t have) to get the 2 – 3 miles to the highway, so they let us hang out for a bit after checkout time until the roads were clearer. Obviously, they had the luxury of being so magnanimous because no one was booked for that night, but it was nice of them still.

This company advertises on VRBO and I thought I was renting from a owner direct. The condo was not where they said it was. I thought I was getting a condo in the Village and it was way down the street in a dumpy complex called Fireside. The pool was mildew infested and the condo was outdated and freezing cold. Beware of reservation companies on VRBO. Make sure you are getting what you rent.

Stayed at 16 château sans nom which was a pet friendly 4 bdrm condo. We only stay at Pet friendly places and found this place to be dirty with stained carpets. The barbeque did not work, big screen TV was broken, closet door was off the hinge, and trash can broken, and no extra trash bags. So dirty that when you walked barefoot on the tile your feet turned black. Thought we left a back pack in the condo and asked 3 times if they found it, still no answer??? I will never go thru this establishment again.

We’ve been reserving cabins and town homes with the Mammoth Reservation Bureau since 2000; back then there were very limited online reservation services. Now there are a handful of new online resources and homeowners renting themselves through generic property managers, but we always find our way back to the original Mammoth resource, MRB! The MRB reservation staff continue to remain professional, friendly and attentive to email responses. They are more personal and helpful when planning your trip. Their office is easy to spot even during snow storms. The key/​check out system could use some updating, but we don’t mind.
We’re patient people, but if you book the (older/​charming) Snowcreek SC314 unit, make sure to ask if all the plumbing is working correctly. We arrived when the maintenance crew was still fixing the main toilet. Then we found out the master bedroom’s toilet plug kept getting stuck and we had to lift the back tank and close the plug down after every flush. I reported this issue to the front desk after we checked out.
The kitchen was quaint and decent, although it did not have a lot of utensils (particularly forks/​spoons) or matching pot covers (we had to use our own foil at times. The appliances are dated, but they were all functioning properly, so that was good!
Cabin 101: Bring your own sponge and extra rolls of paper towels and toilet paper! We were a party of 12, we probably should have brought disposable plates and eating utensils.
Overall, we had a wonderful stay in this well-​kept, cozy, charming, comfortable town home. Good recommendation for large groups and families on an o.k. budget.

I’ve used this reservation company the past 3 times I’ve stayed in Mammoth and quite surpised with the bad reviews (although the reviews are a bit dated). I had my wedding in Mammoth this past weekend and I was able to get a discount since we were rented 6 condos through their company. No other reservation company was willing to do this!
There is a big difference between the 3 star and 4 star condos. We rented four 3 bedroom condos and unit 32 was so much nicer than the other three.

I wish I had checked Unilocal before using MRB. The organization sounded quite official. We have stayed all over the west at ski towns both in condos and hotels. What was suppose to be a 4 star property (on the brochure) ended up being a two star (admitted by staff at check out!) We made the reservation just a couple days before arrival and the person assisting us seemed very helpful by going through numerous properties that could meet our needs. Once we agreed on the property (a four star) our credit card was charged (non refundable). We arrived to a 2 star property with safety issues and damages from what we guessed were from the winter tenants (?) When we looked over our itemized invoice, after our cc was charged (non refundable mind you and for a 2 star not a 4 star property), we found a linen fee and booking fee. Neither was disclosed to us at the time of booking. Interestingly, at the time of booking we were told to bring our own towels for the hot tub or we would be charged extra. HMMMM. So buyer beware. Their flip response to the condition of the condo was that we could have requested to be moved… to where? We had already gone through many properties with the booking agent. We were there to ski, planning to get up early for a morning of summer skiing so moving would have been quite disruptive, if they even had a another condo available. The insult was the misrepresentation/​condition of the condo and the fees disclosed after our card was charged. It seemed the managers were well versed in putting off complaints. Looks like they have plenty!!! Shame on you!

I have used quite a few Mammoth reservations agencies over the years. They are all good, but Mammoth Reservations Bureau stands out with their quality of service. We rented condos through them twice this year and not only their staff is very courteous, but they also went an extra mile for us recently.
There was a fire on the 395, the road was shut down around Bishop and we could not get through. Normally, we’d end up losing the money we had already paid for the condo. Cole from MRB worked it out with the owner of the Fireside at the Village condo 111 and they let us move to another date. Check out this property. The location is fantastic and it is much more affordable than the village. It is right next to the 80|50 in the village, just steps from the gondola.

I’m going to have to agree with the comments about the cranky biatch. I only called to see what I need to do to pick up my keys because I got no information from them after I made my reservation. She was incredibly rude and short; very unappreciative to customers. She kept trying to cut me off and answer my questions before I even finished talking in an incredulous effort to get me off the phone. In addition, I made my reservation within two weeks of the travel days and had to pay the entire amount for the condo upfront, with no cancellation option (even with a fee). After I made the reservation online, all I got for a confirmation email was a 1 page receipt showing what I was charged. There was no room number on the receipt and when I called to ask about this, they said it was because they reserved the right to change their guests into similar units in order to maximize their occupancy rates. I will never use this reservation service again.

Luckily, I knew nothing about this business before wandering in last Friday. My daughter and I planned to camp for 4 days in Mammoth and attend the Blue Sky Music Festival. One problem…30 fucking degrees at night and cold and windy all day. NOT fun.
We found this place by accident and were helped promptly. We were booked into a very nice clean and WARM unit at Crestview for around 90 bucks per night. I had no problem turning in the keys to the bureau. I found the whole experience awesome and will use them again. Thank you Cole and Rachel!

This place is awful. We reserved a cabin for the weekend and when we arrived friday night, no envelope with our key in the box. It sucks to drive 5+ hours to find out that you don’t have a place to stay at 12:30 am. They have an emergency number to call and we left 3 messages. Zero response. What dah heck is the the emergency number for? I should have read the previous reviews before reserving with them. Luckily the Holiday Inn down the street had vacancies. When we finally did contact them during the week, I think the same cranky b**ch from the previous reviewer picked up and said they couldn’t do anything. Didn’t even say freakin sorry.
Shop else where. I’ve reserved cabins on
(another cabin rental site) and never had a problem with them. Should have stayed with them and will do in the future.
It disgusts me that I have to leave a one star. Unilocal,can you please allow zero stars b/​c this place deserves it.

I don’t understand all the bad reviews. Have these people even rented condos at Mammoth before? This is how it’s been done for many many years and it’s the same at any of the other agencies. It’s not that hard to get up about 10 minutes earlier, go the 2 miles to town and drop off the keys and go back to the slopes. If no one’s there, just leave them in the box, they won’t charge you extra (they have never done that). This isn’t Aspen. Yet.
This agency is the best, easiest and cheapest way to rent a place in Mammoth for the last 20 years. My only gripe with this agency is that the prices have risen over the last few years while the number of cabins have decreased. If you want to try a different place, there’s
on main street, but it has the exact same key policy and is more expensive. Or you can use VRBO, but then you probably can’t use a credit card. Or you can go through 1 800 Mammoth though I guarantee you’ll be paying for the privilege of not having to drive into town.

Anyone have a alternative suggestion for bookings?

The beginning of our rental started out good. In booking the condo, I was allowed to use a 10% off coupon, even though it was the end of the holiday period. the price was good, the selection of condos was good.
When we arrived the condo was clean and pleasant, in a good location.
My big problem came at the end of our stay. Checking out was a pain. They were so insistent about getting keys back to the office, and so intransigent about trying to work something out. the snow plows were still out and the main highway was closed. There was no way anyone was showing up at that condo anytime soon.
I would suggest they need to work out a system for guests to be able to drop keys off with the on-​site manager, or leave them in the condo for the cleaning crew to pick-​up. At very least they could be friendly and helpful about adjusting the drop off time.
I’ll certainly think twice before booking through them again.

I wish I could give them no stars.
Avoid.
The problem? MRB makes you drive down to their offices in town to return the key on your check out day instead of just leaving the keys with the on site management office at the condos. Why is this a problem? There’s a whole mountain of fresh powder calling your name and you are stuck driving into town or taking the shuttle instead of spending time on the mountain. Isn’t that the point of being in Mammoth… spending time on the mountain?
These guys need to seriously rework their system to be more friendly to people who actually want to ride and not spend time dealing with key returns.

Q: You are ever so lucky as to be up in a gorgeous mountain town when a huge storm comes in and dumps about eight feet of snow. What is the last thing you want to do?
A: Go down into town and return a set of keys that could’ve easily been left in the lodge office itself if not for the cranky b***ch who basically insisted it was returned to her person or risk additional charges. Nothing about this reservation was made easy and you would think with the expensive pricing Mammoth now commands there would be better customer service. Alas, no.
So an hour or two lost on the mountain because some lazy, rude woman couldn’t be bothered to do her job… can we get a «B***ch» discount on the day’s lift ticket please???