Glacier Vista Motel — Hotel in West Glacier

Let’s set the stage. This hotel is old and poorly maintained but in a killer location for visiting Glacier NP. We paid $140. the week after Labor Day when all the other properties in the area are in the $300-$400 range. Value is probably equivalent to a $70-80 hotel in a non resort area so don’t pay cheap and expect a resort. ||It appeared reasonably clean, but I learned how dirty the carpet was when I stepped into the shower and saw the dirt running off my feet. Yuck. The bed was decently comfortable and clean. The mini fridge worked. The room was pleasantly roomy and temperature was good but only because the outside temp was moderate. ||Here is the scary part. There were two plugs in our room that are so old they are only 2 prong, with no third ground. Into one of these was plugged an adapter so a three prong power strip could be plugged. Plugged into the power strip was the fridge, a fan and the window AC Unit!! Yikes. There was a newer surface mounted 3 prong plug by the AC but it didn’t work!! Makes me wonder why? No plug in the poorly lit bathroom. Other concerns is the door locks - just a household grade knob with a thumb turn that you need to remember to lock. Not even a deadbolt. ||This hotel is managed and owned by Glacier Highland a mile up the road where the front desk is located. Chris who worked there was awesome both when he checked us in and took our phone reservation. They do try to sell you into the nicer property there. A lot of this property is used for seasonal worker housing. ||Your choice. It...

8/3/19 update* The place is under new management. Complimentary bear spray and earplugs are no longer offered; however, ac window unit drowns out traffic noise. This room was not as nice as my last stay. Maid service will offer fresh towels and make the bed. Bed was comfortable. Wifi can be spotty depending on your room. I did miss the hospitality of the previous owners. The hotel is now foreign owned. Nusret was very helpful however when we needed something printed. We experienced an hour power outage at one point. Shampoo and soap provided, no conditioner. Small refrigerator in the room, no microwave or coffee maker. You can walk to the coffee place next door, opens at 6 - bagels, oatmeal and sweets available there. It's still an ok place to stay just right outside the park providing you are simply using the place to shower and sleep as we did. F you're looking for amenities try someplace else. You're a half hour from the avalanche lake trailhead. My previous review from 2 years ago is below.

Staff was accommodating, professional and friendly. Room was as advertised. You do not need anything more. I was alone in a queen room and it was perfect. The view of Glacier was beautiful. Most importantly the place was clean. It's a stone's throw from the park entrance. There is an early morning train and highway traffic, but that dies down late in the day. There are complimentary ear plugs and ac floor units that drown out noise and keep you cool. I will be...

While some have discussed the train sounds I would say they are a welcome part of the stay in West Glacier! The trains are a very important part of this part of the country so come here knowing you will hear and see trains often but peace more often! I have an app on my phone called White Noise and use the heavy rain setting nightly no matter where I am and this allows me to sleep through most anything even on low setting including the sounds here and I am a crazy light sleeper. Now, the room is very comfortable, very pretty knotty pine walls, carpeting and the beds/linens, towels are all very nice! The bathroom is very compact as is the shower but the decorations and cleanliness of this entire place make me really enjoy everything and overlook some things. There is a small building that houses nice tables and chairs along w 2 microwaves, toaster and a wood fire place. I find this place very comfortable and it suited our needs just great! We arrived by Amtrak from St. Paul with only our backpacks and bikes and so this was just super for us. I travel a great deal all over the world and while I love a very nice 5 star I am not looking for that here! And, just so you know, the wifi is not great but worked okay in the community room and in our room because we were close enough to the router. It is 0.8 miles to the depot FYI and an easy and very pretty ride into the park! I think 3 miles to...