White Buffalo Hotel — Hotel in West Yellowstone

Not sure how any of the hate for this hotel is justified? We had a wonderful stay. Some key points.

Rooms: The rooms are simple yet kept well and clean. They are a bit out of date but completely functional, which to me is a benefit. It adds a nice charm to the hotel, especially with the vintage posters on the walls. I never at all felt grossed out by the condition of the hotel. I had a nice conversation in Spanish every morning with the lady who was (ALWAYS) cleaning something and she told me she "want's people to feel comfortable and at home when they walk in." I think she did a great job at that, plus she was very sweet and had great stories to tell. I have stayed in penthouse suites, and Super 8 Motels all across America and around the world. Some of which were world class, and others felt like a prison. I felt comfortable here.

Staff: The staff are what really make this place. The breakfast staff was seriously the highlight of my mornings. I had great conversations with the staff, they were extremely kind, all smiles, and genuinely took care of their guests. They worked like a well oiled machine.

Breakfast: They served real, hot, and above average breakfast made by real people with plenty of options. Plenty of tables to sit at, all cleaned the instant someone left the room. There was never a shortage of seating, and generally there wasn't a lot of people there at any given time. Again, the staff were just a jewel of the service. I wish some expensive restaurant's I've been too would take some notes from the men and women who work here. Quality service by people who actually care to do a good job pay off both for the customer and the business. As a happy customer, I am proof of that.

Location: The location in my opinion is perfect. Extremely close to the West Entrance of Yellow Stone NP. Not directly on main street but an easy 2 minute drive from any restaurant. We really enjoyed the Slippery Otter Pub, which is just down the street.

Amenities: The amenities are sparse but are made up for in service quality. I had everything I would normally need at any hotel, but without the fluff. There was ice, 2 vending machines (reasonably priced), hot coffee/tea/chocolate on tap, and 2 washer/dryers, although I didn't see any laundry supplies for sale, however I could be wrong.

Overall we are so glad we didn't listen to the reviews and just stuck with staying here. We didn't regret it at all, and I would 100% stay again, and recommend this hotel to family and friends. The great out weighed the very minor "inconveniences", if you can even call them that.

My questions to those who are upset by their stay here, I ask you:

1. Why are you in your hotel room enough to care about a piece of furniture or fixture being from the 2000s and not 2025? If you have a reason, why does it matter when its clean, functional, and short term?
2. If the nice, fancy hotel has better amenities, décor, WIFI, and service, it really begs the question why you aren't staying "there" instead. I'll refrain my opinion of why that may be.
3. I'm not sure where y'all are getting hotel breakfast from, but please point me in that direction cause I'll probably take my family there for a nice outing. The places I've stayed with serious Michelin Star food generally costed a monthly mortgage for a week stay... odd.

All this said, I would consider actually leaving the hotel room and ENJOYING THE AREA. We literally left before sun up, and got back in time to go to bed. If you aren't staying for pleasure/Yellow Stone, and its that important, I suppose you could spend more to stay at a cookie cutter hotel chain that all look like the inside of a Starbucks.

I'll keep my nostalgia stay in a room that probably at one point in it's life had a "Smoking Section" sign on it and shag carpet...and I like that.

Thanks again, White...

Check-in was quick. Cool white Buffalo in the lobby. Rooms all open up to the outside courtyard which has a fun bubble art piece with beautiful flowers. Guys were smoking in the courtyard upon arrival. Doors did not have a high lock like other hotels to keep our two year old from opening the door from the inside and getting out. That was an added stress the two days we were there. First impression of the room was that it had extra space compared to other hotel rooms...and surprised about no fridge (I had called a few days earlier to see if there was a microwave and/or fridge in our room for meal planning purposes and they said there would be). My kids also laughed when they saw the iron burn on the floor next to the bed. The toilet clogged within 5 minutes of arriving after one child used it, so we called down to see if they had a plunger. We were told they would bring us one, so we waited for about 20 minutes and decided to go to the front desk and get it ourself. Front desk was friendly. Beds are not very comfortable, very firm. Air conditioning is a wall unit in each room. TV has Dish channels but not internet access to Netflix, Disney plus, etc. Channel selections were good! We appreciated the cheaper price compared to other places and were willing to accept the limit of two free breakfast buffets a day. Breakfast for additional people is 5.00 each if over 5 years old, so we had to pay 15.00 each morning for our family to get breakfast there. There is a guest laundry room and an ice machine. I liked the sink/vanity outside the toilet/shower room. If you get the double queen and sofa room, the sofa is two cushions so will not fit an adult sleeper. It will fit our 5 yr old great, though! Seems clean and although very old, I think the owners try to keep things up to date. Room had a iron/board and a hair dryer. Breakfast was a buffet served by staff which was great compared to other hotels where you have to take the time to make waffles for everyone in the company. When we showered, the water was cold for my husband poor guy, and cold for me for the first 2 minutes. Started warming up after the water had been on for 6 minutes. I can see why others have complained about no hot water, maybe it just takes a while to get to the room? Husband had connection problems to the hotel internet. Overall not bad, and excellent location right across from the town playground/park, but didn’t think it was worth the price. Kids have asked to go there again which I wouldn’t mind but we will probably try...

Local hotels are always a chance on what you get for room and service quality. To start, the hotel looks tired on the inside. This does not mean it is run down, but it is in need of some updates and refreshes. As this is a seasonal hotel in a seasonal town, I get why it is tired.

The hotel experience saddly was not stellar. The one positive was the room was spacious and had actual counter space. Great for organizing hiking and kid stuff before a day in the park.

Now, the not so great. The hotel offers internet but it does not work. The one time i was able to get any internet, the speed was 33k. If I had an old dial-up 56k modem, it would have been faster. This should be one area the owners need to address in the modern day of anything on this list. The hotel has no microwave in the room. This might not be a big deal to some, but it can be an issue when needing it for making hot water or heating leftovers for picky eater kids. Not having hot water with the coffee in the lobby. They offer tea and coco but no hot water to make it. Breakfast at the hotel had two issues. First being they open at 7am. This means you can't get an early jump into Yellowstone to see the animals when they are active. 6am or 630 would be nice, so you can get an early start. Second is their ticket system for breakfast. Each room gets 2 tickets regardless of how many people are in a room. This means a family of 4 would have to pay for 2 meals at $11 each, including tax. I would rather have cereal, waffel maker, and such over staffed hot breakfast. The beds we had were rock hard. I dont mind a stiff bed but this was a matress you use when you dont want guests to stay long. This one is nit picky but there was no clock or phone in the room. Always having to grab your phone to tell time in the room was annoying as you just want to glance and see what was the time.

The hotel is walking distance to everything was a plus as it meant easy parking.

As there are limited options to stay in West Yellowstone, this hotel could be great if it just had some...