Elk Country Inn — Hotel in Jackson

Update: We STILL love this place and we now go every year! This was our 4th stay. The walk to the town Square is a favorite, especially at night. Breakfast is really good (bagels, muffins, waffles, eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, juice, hot cocoa, yogurt, applesauce, fresh fruit, cereal, etc) and the room itself is very charming. The pool, staff and cabins continue to impress us and we will keep going back!

Original review:

AMAZING POOL! Great location, clean rooms, helpful staff, good breakfast, free fresh cookies in the evening, beautiful buildings, and fun view of the mountains--one of which was covered in deer that were fun to watch.

I literally have never taken the time to write a review before, but felt it was necessary for this place!

We took our kids on a mini vacation to Jackson Hole on the 23rd of December and stayed the night in this hotel. We could not have been happier with our stay! I searched through tons and tons of reviews of different hotels...before my husband decided this was the one. The pictures of the pool had him sold within minutes and it did not disappoint.

The Pool: We were specifically looking for a great place to take our kids swimming since the rec center pool is basically closed for public swimming due to COVID. This pool is awesome. It has the "garage door" (as my kids called it) that lets you swim underneath to be outside. Two hot tubs...TWO! One outside and one inside. The whole facility was clean and charming. They even have a fireplace by the pool which was perfect for sitting when trying to warm up after swimming. My kids are 6, 4, and 2 and they had BLAST. We spent 2 hours in the pool on the 23rd, and another hour in the morning before we checked out. While we were there we only saw a handful of other people and quite often had the pool to ourselves. (Probably just got lucky, but it was so fun.)

Rooms: We stayed in one of the cabins that was directly behind the main building. Ours had 2 queen beds and a sofa pull out bed. Once again, perfect for us. If you have kids, this is the way to do a hotel! You don't have to worry about your kids being loud--OR others being noisy. We couldn't hear anyone--no shared walls is a HUGE bonus in my book. The cabin had a small kitchenette that even included dishes and a dishwasher. The beds were comfy--except for the pull out sofa bed...I could feel every spring....but my 6 year old LOVED it. :)

Location: Definitely could have walked to the town square, but our family did not because of our small children and the freezing temps. Definitely still nice to be so close though!

The precautions being taken due to COVID were amazing. They are trying very hard to make people feel safe, and it is obvious. Breakfast was a grab-n-go style, but they still had many options. Breakfast burritos, sausage rolls, yogurt, fresh fruit, AMAZING muffins, fruit cups, waffles, juice, hot cocoa, coffee, etc.....all prepackaged or covered in plastic wrap.

Overall: 5/5 We would absolutely stay here again and...

I’ll start with the good. Location is pretty great. Most of the staff was incredible. We stayed in the Cloudveil Suite and that shower!!! That shower might have saved them from a 2 star! The room is comfortably large with ample seating area. The linens were soft, but so was the bed (we like a little firmer). Love the setup of the bathroom, including a stool to sit on to dry your hair and a makeup mirror (lighted) to do your makeup. The hot tub and pool downstairs was a nice way to unwind after a day of hiking (or shopping)! The prices in their gift shop are better than prices in town. Buy a T-shirt there. |Now, for the not so good. We arrived and the front desk was super welcoming, even helping get our bags to the room. (No bellhops.). That first evening we discovered the jetted tub was not so jetted. (Thats why we know about the hot tubs.). While the lamps in the room are 3 way, none worked that way, all were one setting. The overhead lights are bright, and the floor lamps by the,selves are not enough…. The fireplace didn’t work, even after maintenance came and put in new batteries. They came again and had to go into the gas closet to turn it on. The TV worked, but we did have to have maintenance come up (again) and explain how to work it (the remote is generic, no streaming, just cable). While he explained it enough, it wasn’t 100% accurate, but we eventually got it. Don’t look for the remote for the blinds the “instructions” in the room tell you to look for, they are manual (no remote). And the full size fridge in the room tell- great - even has a scoop for the ice maker, which doesn’t work. |Yes, we told the front desk. Every day, in fact, when we realized that nothing had been fixed. We lived with the improperly working lamps and tub. But frustrating. |I’ve seen other reviews talk about the thinness of the walls/floor. They are correct. We were above the lobby/ dining area and if there were any loud talkers on the 1st floor, we could hear them. Breakfast is sub-par. Okay for a LaQuinta hotel, but not what I expected here. The microwaved bacon is gone by 8:45 am, so if that’s what you’re craving, go early. (Bagels were delish.). There is some weird smell in the 2nd floor hallway, but did not carryover to the room. The elevator is SLOW. |I finally connected with the manager on our check out day. (Yes, I talked with 2 asst managers, asking for the GM to call me, and she never did. Even though a note said she called and got no answer. I had no missed calls and no Voicemails. And yall know if you don’t have service it goes right to voicemail.). While she did adjust our rate, I don’t feel it was quite enough. I may have to move that up the ladder a bit…. |Would I stay here again? Probably not. Would I like to replicate the 6 shower head shower in my own home? You betcha! Would I hire any of the maintenance staff or two of the front desk folks for my own business? You betcha. Otherwise, I’m one and done...

Nightmare Stay!||I booked two nights at this hotel, trusting the reviews—but it turned out to be a terrible experience. I arrived late, did the check-in, and went to my "cabin," which in the photos looked like a western-style room. In reality, it was located right on a busy road, noisy at all hours.|The outside of the structure was already neglected and covered in dust. As soon as we opened the door, we were hit by a nauseating smell of mold. The carpet was visibly filthy and soaked with an unbearable stench. The beds were pressed up against the wall, and the bathroom was so tiny and uncomfortable that there wasn’t even space for our luggage.|To make matters worse, I found towels stained with what looked like blood. When I opened the sofa bed, the sheets were clearly used by previous guests—dirty and smelly. The mattress and pillow were filthy and reeked of sweat. There were also cobwebs on the ceiling, a clear sign of poor cleaning and maintenance.|I immediately called the front desk to request a room change and listed all the issues. They told me the hotel was fully booked and that all they could do was bring us clean towels. When the staff member arrived, even she was shocked by the smell in the room.|As if that weren’t enough, at 5 a.m. an alarm clock—left on and not reset by the previous guest or the staff—started ringing and continued to go off every 10 minutes, making it impossible to sleep.|We ended up sleeping fully clothed, without using the covers. I sat all night on the closed sofa bed. The next morning, I asked to speak with the manager and requested to cancel the second night and receive a refund, as I couldn’t bear to spend another night in those conditions. She refused and only offered a room change—but the room she showed me was in the same awful state.|Meanwhile, as my family was getting ready to leave, the power went out in the room. It was eventually fixed, but during my shower the hot water stopped running. A technician came and told us the boiler couldn’t keep up and was failing to heat the water.|And let’s not even talk about breakfast. It was supposed to be available until 9:30 a.m., but by 9:00 everything was gone. I asked the waitress for just a yogurt, but she refused—only to secretly give one to a guest who arrived after us. Totally absurd. I’ve been traveling for 40 years and have never experienced anything like this.|I’ve filed an official complaint with the booking provider and am currently waiting for a response.|I hope this review helps other travelers make an informed decision—and most of all, I hope the owners of this place realize that you can’t treat paying guests like animals while charging rates that rival a 5-star hotel. Truly...