Under Canvas West Yellowstone — Hotel in West Yellowstone

We spent 1 night during the Covid-19 time in the world, August 31, 2020. Upon checkin, we were so sad we only had one night booked but by the morning, we were glad we only had one night booked. LOL

The main check-in tent had very friendly staff where they gave us a rundown of everything. Everyone had masks and sanitizer was all over. Very nice common space that was very beautiful.

Our Stargazer tent #99 was amazing. It was on the outskirts with a wide-open view of the plain all the way to the mountain range. We felt like it was one of the BEST tents! The distance from the car parking to the tent is a little bit, but they loaded everything into a golf cart and even took our photo in front of the tent. Great service!

Dinner was incredible. Due to Covid, seating was limited but the experience was not diminished. The staff was super friendly and the food was outstanding!!! The bar had great cocktails too. We walked the camp after dinner to see the Painting Under Canvas activity and fires for Smores all around. It's a fun place for families for sure.

Back at the tent for the night, the wood stove was easy enough to use and fun! However, we had to keep adding wood all night and finally woke up seeing our breath (it was that cold!) with the fire totally out, at sunrise. It was 38 degrees. We are from Florida so this was a shock that the tent would not stay warm unless we kept working that fire every 2 hours, at least, all night. We fed the fire until about 2AM, so it died out after that. We did manage to warm up the space in the morning, wearing our jackets, getting a new fire going again. They have plenty of wood stacked on the porch for you to use.

We had been told no food in the tent due to bear activity and they had experienced a "visitor" the previous night. They also told us there would be "Bear Patrols" in the night and to not worry about flashlights shining about. While I was grateful that they had these "patrols," the footsteps on our boardwalk by our tent seemed pretty constant and did wake us several times. It even sounded like they were on our porch too.

It was, honestly, not a restful night of sleep between the kids noise from neighboring tents early in the night, the cold in the wee hours, feeding the fire so frequently, and the bear patrols. This was a surprise to us, as the bed is super comfy and the tent is AMAZING but we were not rested, at all.

We warmed up enough to make the trek to the restaurant for coffee and breakfast. Due to Covid, the breakfast was a "grab and go bag," that had processed snacks and a yogurt. They did offer a warm breakfast burrito, which we gladly took. We had no choice but to eat in the tent because they had all the seating areas closed. Thankfully the tent was warm by then and it's a very beautiful space.

I wish Under Canvas would offer and "Adult section" of the camp so that the quiet hours would be quieter. I also think some coffee stations closer to the tents would be really nice or even the golf cart rolling around with coffee and/or breakfasts. Since it's all bagged anyway, they could totally bring them to us. I also think they should give us more than 2 bath towels. We had no washcloths and no hand towels.

I think for the price point, they could do a little better. A few small improvements, like washcloths and easier to get coffee would...

This is our second time visiting Under Canvus. The first in Moab and much more recently West Yellowstone.

Here’s what I love:

West Yellowstone is a beautiful location! Our stargazer tent was on the outside ring of the camp so our tent faced a beautiful field! The staff was very friendly and helpful!

We booked four nights and ended up staying three. For us, two nights would have been perfect. For one, it was freezing cold at night. This is obviously not the fault of UC, however the wood stoves require constant tending to. The result is not being able to properly warm the tent for the longer stretches of the night and morning. UC does offer hot water bags for the tents which are helpful in keeping the bed warm. Additionally if the stoves are not lit with the wood positioned towards the back, you can easily smoke out the tent. They did give us instructions, but judging by the smoke alarms going off around us (including our tent) the wood stoves are not the easiest heating source to deal with. Perhaps there’s better tech?

Spiders and unsealed cracks. It’s important to remember at UC you are in a tent. When we arrived at our tent, we noticed lots of gaps and cracks that opened our tent to insects and anything else that could fit in the holes. I do feel like UC could do a better job sealing up the tents using spray foam. Our last night my daughter shinned a light on the tent around our bed, and unfortunately we had dozens of good size spiders over and around us. Spent an hour killing them, and hours trying to get our daughter to sleep after. Between that and the cold, we took off a night early. Again, I understand we are glamping, so I have no illusions of perfection. I can recommend UC walking through each tent with spray foam and fill the gaps.

Where I’d like to see improvement:

Besides sealing the tents, Upgrade some tents with solar and an inverter

Or

offer solar and inverter kits at extra cost.

I’m the common areas:

Food truck, trucks or bbq. The restaurant is fine, but it would be nice to eat outside in the common areas. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this would be with food trucks. Probably easier to charge the vendor rent for the night than trying to run the trucks yourself. It would also offer variety!

Offer ice in drinks-

plus us a better selection of wines and non alcoholic beverages. It is glamping so I feel this could be another premium opportunity. Most people are sophisticated enough to know a good wine. Your selection was substandard as I assume most people who can afford UC would expect at least a local Chardonnay. Why not feature Montana wines? Instead you offered cheap foreign wines. How about draft beer? Nothing better after a day of hiking than a good draft. Perhaps cheese and crackers? Nuts, or as I mentioned a food truck. To me, this is a missed revenue opportunity.

Anyway, I love the concept and will definitely try other locations. Being a bit critical because I know it will improve the...

If you are looking for a unique experience and aren't afraid of camping (you are out in the elements with bugs, animals and weather) this is the place for you! I would give this 10 stars if I could! We had an amazing experience here. From the extremely friendly staff to the luxury accommodations, hot showers and flush toilets, this place is a secluded oasis while still being convenient to West Yellowstone and the park entrance.

Kelsey checked us in and even gave us a golf cart ride in the "limo" to get our luggage to the tent. We are a family of 5 so we rented a Safari tent with adjacent tipi to fit all of us. She oriented us to the tent and double checked to make sure our batteries were charged and ready to go.

The Safari tent was equipped with a king size bed, dressers, a stove for warmth, a cot, and a table and chairs. All tents are equipped with lanterns and battery packs so you can charge phones or anything with a usb port. There is no electricity in the tents but if you need to charge something you can do it in the main check in tent. In the teepee there were 2 cots and a light. There is a tarp on the ground in both tents so you are not on dirt.

We dropped our stuff and walked down to the campfire where there were lawn games and s'mores a plenty. In the check in tent there is a seating area with a small fire pit (gas fire), coffee, tea, and hot chocolate and a help desk with someone available 24/7. They also have board games you can check out.

A few of us took showers and then we all hung out in our tent. We started a little fire with the fire starters and wood they provided. It burned out overnight but was warm while it was going.

My sons are photographers so they were excited for the dark skies and the milky way and stayed up until 2 to get the perfect shot.

In the morning we went to get coffee while the kids slept in. The bathrooms were a little busier so the tip is if you shower at night you don't have to wait as long for the use of the facilities. Breakfast at the Bar N ranch restaurant is included so we packed up for the day and drove over to the restaurant. It is on the way out of the ranch. There were many options on the breakfast bar from fruit, eggs, sausage, made to order waffles, yogurt and of course coffee, water and juice. A great way to start the day! We had dinner here as well and it was tasty.

Alas, we were only here for 2 nights so it was time to go. Jill was another one of the staff that helped us and there was another girl who studies photography at SCAD and I am sorry I can't remember her name she was lovely to talk with and was admiring our...