Big Bear Motel — Hotel in Cody

Let me first state that we ended up not staying at this motel due to a travel delay. However, what this review is about is the customer service provided by the motel which was apathetic to say the least. Let me explain what happened so that this doesn’t happen to anyone else in the future. I found this motel on Trip Advisor and based on the looks and price, it looked like it would be an OK place to stay the night on our way back home from Yellowstone. Unfortunately, we ended up having a travel delay in the NP and we were not going to make it to the motel that night. We ended up having to stay somewhere else in Cooke City, MT and since this town was out in the middle of nowhere, we had no cell phone service, spotty wifi and no number to call the motel because of the lack of connections. Therefore, we could not call to cancel and we thought that we could settle the issue on our way back home by making a quick stop at the motel. The motel ended up charging us for the room that night, even though we did not check-in and when I arrived at the motel the next day, I was greeted by, I assume, the GM. Turns out this gentleman is the son-in-law of the owner of the motel. I explained the situation we found ourselves in the night before and it did not seem to click with him that we had no way of contacting the motel. I pleaded with him to provide a refund as we were on our last dollar getting home and he did not show any empathy towards us; instead he asked why didn’t we use a phone book and questioned if we had stayed in Cody that night, but someplace else. To which I asserted we did not stay in Cody and who uses a phone book? Besides, even if I could have used a phone book, which I could not because I was in a different state, it just came across as callous and apathetic. I even explained that I too was in the hospitality industry and said what if we could get half or something back and he said he would contact the owner and asked but he didn’t think he would approve. I said, that’s fine, I just want to try and get as much of my money back as I can since we did not stay at the motel and we were unable to contact them immediately. About 10 mins after I made the effort and stopped in at the motel, the gentleman called me back and said the owner decided against the refund and that I would be charged for the full night, a night that we did not use and I fully believe did not cause the motel to lose money on room that they could not sell. Like I said, we did not stay at this motel, but based on my short experience with the GM/ownership, I would not recommend this motel to anyone. I would recommend that you put your money towards a better hotel and get a better experience. I gave the motel the chance to make this right, but they chose to make this difficult. This is why I am writing this review, not so much for the refund I was denied, but for the principle of the matter. Your motel is in the hospitality business and as a quick reminder here’s what that means: It means providing three core pillars (i) excellent customer service first and foremost (ii) excellent guest satisfaction and...

Perfect location if your traveling with kids who like to swim, romp around outside and explore the ‘original town’ of Cody and attend the Cody rodeo. Honestly, I grew up in Powell, WY (about 35 minutes outside Cody), and I can’t wait to take my grandkids (still waiting for them to be born) to Cody! Love the town, vibe, and fun activities to do with family! This hotel is not ‘posh’-and doesn’t advertise as such), it is not the ‘duvet on the bed’ type of place…but it is a super comfortable and clean place to stay. Swimming pool is heated and clean! Perfect for kids and visible to most rooms. The rodeo is nearby and didn’t impact (negatively) our night sleep even though we went to bed around 9:30pm. Awesome that a little pony was as ‘touring the grounds’ on a golf cart when we arrived-perfect for our family members that love animals. Customer service desk workers were friendly and so were all the guests we encountered (obviously won’t impact your visit-hahaha). Bonus is ‘OUR PLACE’ restaurant is across the street for breakfast (see my review). Do not let other reviews discourage you. If you’re looking for a safe, clean, relaxed and down to earth room…this is it! Coffee…a bit better than cowboy coffee ;). View of Heart...

Wow. We booked this motel 5 minutes before we showed up on the price alone. But we're probably going to change our vacation plans around a bit just to stay another night. The rooms are very clean, and the service is exceptional.

If you have kids, you MUST stay here!

There's a small grassy park in view from the room and dummy roping and a jumping horse. There was live country music playing outside when we arrived which was nice. They also have an outdoor pool, but it was just getting filled for the season. The icing on the cake though was the free "pony" rides. I use the word pony loosly, because Hank is a huge Belgian gelding and you need a stepping block to get on him. (They provided helmets for the kids and took Covid precautions.)

Now this alone, would have been more than enough, but they took it a step further. My kids were enjoying the horse rides and asked about their other horses, which are back behind the motel. They went and got out a mini pony named Cookie and gave my kids rides on their golf cart with the pony. They also showed us the view of the river behind the motel.

The staff here have literally trumped everything in our week long vacation. Our kids are going to be talking about this motel...