AAA Dow Villa Motel and Historic Dow Hotel — Hotel in Bishop

I highly recommend staying at the Dow Villa. My group and I (a.k.a. “the fatties”) originally planned to camp—but after facing 100 MPH winds in a tent with zero protection and five people crammed inside, we desperately needed a hotel. Dow Villa came to the rescue.

We managed to squeeze six exhausted, desperate, and stinky hikers into one room with a single bed, and somehow it still felt like a luxury. I truly believe Dow Villa played a key role in our successful summit of Mount Whitney.

Only minor complaint: the room phone didn’t work—but no biggie! I called (a couple times) from my cell and the staff kindly answered all my stupid questions.

Also, they have a POOL. Which feels like the most elite move for anyone coming off the PCT or Mount Whitney hike and needing to cool off from the blistering Lone Pine heat.

I was particularly impressed by the bathroom setup. As mentioned above, PCTers and Mount Whitney hikers—understandably are probably in dire need of reliable facilities—would truly benefit from what Dow Villa offers. There are multiple bathrooms on every floor, which is a huge plus. After all, when you're sharing a room with six people, having additional options down the hall is a game changer—for obvious reasons! If ya know what I mean ha ha.

This hotel is also in a great central location—just steps away from town. Within about 35 steps, you can find yourself at Jakes Saloon. Even better, you can swing by Vibras for a bagel or açaí bowl, a charming spot that seems to be run entirely by a local teenage girl.

Dow Villa also came through for me with an excellent corporate workspace—something I didn’t plan for in advance, assuming I’d be fine working remotely after a 23-mile, 18-hour hike. The space felt like my grandma’s cozy cabin in Ohio, which helped lift my spirits and redeem my rocky start to the workday. And as mentioned earlier, being just steps from Vibras gave me the perfect boost to power through the day.

We stopped by Mount Whitney's burgers for dinner last night, and I think they should HIGHLY consider changing their logo and brand name to "best burgers in the WORLD."

After a few of us returned a bit earlier than planned (confession: not all of us made it to the summit), we wandered into a local gem store. There, we unexpectedly got a mini gem tour and impromptu lesson from the committed member, Wolf, who enthusiastically shared his knowledge. He also tried to sell us some of his locally sourced gems from Mexico—didn't work but effort was THERE.

I love Lone Pine, I love Dow Villa, and I love the people and energy here. 10/10 would emergency-book...

The Dow Villa is two properties in one: the Motel, which is your typical AAA-rated drive-up lodging, and the historic Hotel next door, which is where I always choose to stay.

I've been returning here ever since a friend & I discovered it in 1979, while on a road trip along US-395's Eastern Sierra scenic corridor. The hotel is steeped in Hollywood history, since it's located just a few miles from the Alabama Hills: a favorite filming location for adventure & Western-themed movies, television & commercials. The Dow Villa Hotel is where the "golden age" celebrities would stay while on location, and the owners have done a fine job in preserving/recreating the feel of that era. A room with bath down the hall can be had for a very economical rate, especially off-season. The rooms are quite comfortable, include a washbasin & mirror in-room, satellite TV, and are heated by steam radiator. Rooms are available with bathroom for a slightly higher rate. The interior hallways are lined with movie stills and memorabilia, but the real charm is the downstairs parlor, where with just a little effort one can imagine sitting in a luxury hotel in a frontier town of the Old West!

The Hotel's rustic charm won't necessarily appeal to everyone, and for them, there's the Motel. If you're looking for an economical stay and a wonderfully unusual "period-piece" experience as well, I highly recommend the Hotel. Note that both lodgings share a common front-desk for check-in. There is an onsite restaurant...

We were there March 13. 2024. This is the 3rd historic hotel we've stayed in on our 11, 500 cross country trip. If we could find more motels like this, we wouldn't be staying in a chain hotel. I found this hotel when looking for town closest to Manzanar National Monument and on the way to Death Valley. Boy, did we get lucky. Staying in the motel rooms, it was an east to move our things into the room. Yes, we had a hard key, no digital door lock. The room was decorated nicely. The bed was very comfortable, and the room was very clean. Cleaner than some of Hilton hotels we've stayed in. The entire motel grounds were well maintained. The hotel lobby has memorabilia from the movie actors that had been in the town for movies shot in the area. You may not be interested, but it is part of history. We arrived earlier than the check-in time, but hotel staff was able to accommodate us. There are several restaurants within walking distance. The pool was down for maintenance, but it was top cold to go in anyway. The view from our front door in the morning was absolutely gorgeous. If you are looking for a sleek hotel and all the amenities those hotels offer, go for it. However, if you are a baby boomer like us, we'd rather stay here where you treated like an honored guest. Quaint town and home town feel. If you are headed towards Death Valley or need a quiet break, stop here. By the way, Lone Pine is the only town where we've seen an outside telephone still in operation for...