Buck Meadows Lodge — Hotel in Sonora

First impressions are important to most people and our first impression of this place was poor. The lady at the front desk presented us with a credit card slip to sign, requiring payment up front for more than the price agreed via the internet booking. She had little interest in resolving the discrepancy, was less than welcoming and indeed came over as totally indifferent to her new guests. That said, I spoke to her the following day and was greeted with a smile (everyone can have a bad day) Fortunately our room when we got to it was pretty nice. It was a King Cabin (609) and set back behind the row of rooms nearest the road, so away from any road noise. The front had a porch with a couple of chairs, whilst out the back we had nice views of the meadow. Inside was a decent AC unit (albeit a bit noisy) and that had been thoughtfully turned on so the room was already cool. There’s a fridge, microwave, TV, coffee maker (a bit stingy that they only left coffee for one cup each) and more sockets to charge devices than we’ve seen in any room we’ve stayed in on this trip so far. Its a spacious enough cabin and the King sized bed was comfortable, shower products are provided in the bathroom. The lighting in the room was great, bright central light & good bedside lights for reading. Complimentary WiFi was pretty speedy. Being a cabin there is no noise from the room next door or above (because there isn’t either). Check in/out is in the Yosemite Westgate Lodge (presumably owned by the same people) as is the ice machine, so shame its a bit of a trek to get ice. Tip for anyone staying in the YWL, room 403 is right next to the ice machine, can’t imagine that being a quiet room. There’s a restaurant/diner (different ownership) alongside the front row of rooms. Pleasant and efficient service, very tasty meals and although a little pricy, not outrageously so bearing in mind the remote location and lack of alternative options. On a pure comparison of the accomdation verses the description and its facilities. it probably warrants a 4 star, but add in that it is outrageously expensive for what it provides and the indifference of the front desk and it drops down to a 3 star overall. Not great value for money, really priced because of its proximity to Yosemite, and if I was around here again I’d look for a better value option, even if it meant driving a...

1.5 stars. Was greeted nicely, and seemed like an ok place to stay. We’re put in the room we reserved, behind the restaurant. The room seemed clean, but had a awful smell that wouldn’t go away. Switched to the room next to it. Told to go into the first room and remake the bed in order for them to give to someone else. Went back over and made up the bed. Key card didn’t work for the 2nd room. Back to the office. Given new key. The 2nd room still had an awful, musty, smoky smell. Back to the office. Asked for a refund, but told to wait for an hour for the manager to show up. Seemed like you should have more than one employee on the premises to help in situations like this. Waited for 30 minutes and no refund. Gave us a king cabin instead, but with no other good options, had to accept. It was fine, still had a smell, but not too bad like the others. The bed and foundation were slanted, spiders everywhere, and the shower did not drain. Also heard someone from the restaurant puking in the dumpsters out back, so didn’t eat at the restaurant. Overall, a totally disgusting and negative experience. With less people staying here due to the Yosemite entrance being closed on this route, you’d think the rooms would be cleaner and things like this taken care of better. 1.5 stars is being nice. Stay...

The accommodation was very clean & comfortable & in a good location for visiting Yosemite National Park. There is also the Lucky Buck Café next door, staff were very friendly & the food was really good. However a word of warning if booking direct with hotel, as they will try to secure your reservation against the credit/debit card used for the booking, so please ensure you authorise the payment prior to your arrival. Unfortunately our credit card company thought the transaction was suspicious & blocked our card, which nearly resulted in us losing our reserved accommodation, I am just thankful we were not late arriving. Unfortunately the gentleman on reception at the time was not very understanding of the situation & was a little rude saying they had sent us an email, ( which we had never received & we did check our spam filter) & he said it was our problem to sort! Not the thing you want to hear whilst trying to sort other means of payment to secure our pre booked room & then try & contact credit card company to unblock our card. Accommodation in this area is at a premium, if you don't mind travelling a little further maybe consider Groveland as there is more choice of accommodation & a little more on offer...