Sawtelle Mountain Resort — Hotel in Island Park

We stayed a week on the campgrounds and have good and bad things to share. The good: shady camp sites that are large- we had a trailer and a tent. Paid for tent space and trailer space and never used the tent space. The Camp Hosts for July 2017 were FANTASTIC. They were the best we have ever had. Extremely helpful and caring toward all of those who were in the campgrounds. We lost our keys to our camper somewhere in Yellowstone and they helped us troubleshoot to get into the camper where the dogs were at as well as directed us to the best camper parts place (about an hour drive away) to replace the locks/door handles. Bathrooms were kept clean even with a full campground and the campground was clean as well. There was a laundry facility that was fairly inexpensive and also had soap to purchase which was great since we did a load of laundry. 20 mins from West entrance of Yellowstone. We even had a young moose run right through our camp which was just amazing. The bad: was told internet was available which was a necessity as I was taking online summer courses and had to get on during our stay in order to do work. Could not access internet very well at the campsite (which was not a huge deal as they have a nice lobby area I went to work at)- couldn't sign onto the internet and the older lady at the front desk was NOT helpful at all. Was told I needed to pay for internet even though it was free and again the lady was not helpful in helping me troubleshoot. Would be a great idea to offer a computer or two in the lobby area for customers to use. Some of the trees in the campground area need to be cleared out to make room for big rigs. There is a policy that the office staff is supposed to radio down to the camp hosts when you arrive so they can assist you in getting your rig in- they did not do this and my in-laws ended up backing their VERY expensive RV into a tree because of the narrow paths- this ended up shortening their stay because there are no repair places close by. The office staff, to say it bluntly, need more training and to actually follow the policies of the Owner. Obviously, getting rigs into the campsite is an issue they are aware of because of the trees, and yet the office staff did not follow their own guidelines. The pool is supposed to be heated, and while indoor with a heated room, the pool was ice cold. My 2 year old who loves to swim could not get into the water because it was so cold. We were close to the Hotel/Cabins where there were people having what sounded like a party in their hot tub and being very loud during quiet hours. Would stay again ONLY because of the amazing camp hosts, but the office staff needs more training and to actually follow their policies. They need to be trained in problem solving and customer service a little more as well. My in-laws RV could have avoided the $3k damage the rear end sustained if the office had done as they were supposed to in the first place. If I could have rated just the camp hosts, they would have...

This was a last minute reservation after a trip to the Oregon coast had to be canceled due to several fires. We really liked the location, the RV Park is a serene mountain location, and it is only 20+ miles to West Yellowstone. I have a large 5th Wheel RV (43') and the tow vehicle is another 21', so it's not always easy to find places we fit in. Other reviewers had negative things to say about how tight it is. You do have to be VERY careful getting in and out, but it's doable. I definitely would not attempt it in the dark with a large rig like mine, sometimes only clearing the sides of my trailer with only inches to spare. I usually have my significant other help guide me using a 2-way radio in these types of situations.

Now the negatives.

1. When we arrived we were escorted to our site by an employee. Once parked and I exited my vehicle the employee had no problem trying to make me feel bad that he had to go through extra work to prepare a few sites to accommodate our reservation. Specifically, a local Air Force base had several of their travel trailers in these spaces, unoccupied, which they weren't supposed to pick up until the day we were supposed to leave. He made it a point to tell us how he had to winterize and move these trailers so we could stay there for 4 nights, when these sites were supposed to be blocked out from being rented. I'm sorry he had to do extra work, but really unprofessional in my opinion to say things like that to a customer. It really put me in a bad mood, but I got over it after getting setup and partaking in the consumption of a couple alcoholic beverages.

2. I use a 50 amp circuit analyzer / protector to make sure I don't damage any expensive electronics. I plugged it in to the pedestal and at first everything was fine. After starting to cook dinner it shut off and indicated unsafe voltage, doing what it's designed for. I plugged into the 30 amp and got similar results. That same employee was escorting another RV to a nearby site when I informed him of the issue. He told me he would get the electrician to check it in the morning, but he has found that when anyone uses a protector in the circuit, this happens frequently. (I'm thinking if that's the case, then maybe the issue should be corrected, not blame the protector for doing what it's designed to do.) I was able to remove the protector from the circuit and use the 30 amp, expecting an electrician would be there to check it in the morning. Well, that never happened. It's a good thing it was mild weather because I wouldn't have been able to run my second A/C unit.

Had it not been for the above listed negatives I would definitely have rated them 5-star. I felt if I gave them a 3-star it would be unfair to the park as a whole when the issue was with one particular employee. I didn't use any of the parks other amenities, i.e. pool, laundry, showers, or restrooms, so I can't say what they were like. All-in-all it was a great trip and location, and we will likely...

We have been camping here for several years. We have always loved our stay. The old hosts and workers were so sweet and accommodating. They smiled and were happy. This year was the worst by far. The management has changed and I felt like I was 5 yrs old being chewed out by my grandma. The camp hosts drive around regularly in their truck and get out and yell. We drove up in May and the water was off for a whole day. We didn't get enough warning to fill up our tank and they told us it would be a couple hours. It was off all day until evening. We also got put on a corner where they were drilling into the road and the whole campsite was nearly empty. We could have been put further out of the way. We listened to construction trucks, saws, drills, tractors etc.for hours. I realize they were putting their new hotel together but what about the rest of us that aren't staying there? We too would like to be treated with respect instead of trailer trash. The sites were much cleaner with the old hosts. There was a super nice older man who was always working on raking up pine needles and he would stop and talk to us. The hosts were super nice and didn't treat us like slugs. We get harassed if we ride our peddle bikes around camp. We get harassed if we have a motorcycle that leaves the camp at 6 mph instead of 5. They threatened that they were calling the sheriff. Not even sure it was our bikes she was talking about as other campers had bikes as well. She just assumed it was us. Our family looks forward to coming here every year and may have to look elsewhere if we are going to be treated like this. If you hate your job and don't like being a camp host, move on! I am sure Arizona could use you and your gritchy attitudes. We want the old hosts and workers back! Also, we have used the internet there many years and for some reason in May, it was down the whole time, this trip in July it was up, but unsecure and while my husband was doing homework for school, his computer started beeping and shut down due to a virus. Don't use their internet unless you want your computer hacked! Not a...