Yellowstone Park / Mountainside KOA Journey — Hotel in West Yellowstone

Ok, full disclosure... this was my VERY first KOA experience.. as a regular tent/car camper, it just wasn't my style of camping.. but this particular KOA's location/price was too good to pass up during my 2k mile roadtrip.. I was passing thru and doing a few days at Yellowstone, so i booked this.. I also made it clear that i was car camping and even asked for (kinda begged) for a certain spot that was ideal for car camping and had the electric box close by (a nesc for my trip).. I was told on arrival that the entire grounds were fully booked and they couldn't give me that spot.. ok.. fine.. but i was placed in the center of a roundabout with the electrical box 20 feet away from where my car should be, and the only site blocked by rocks to get super close..while he told me i could park on the grass, and i did, I took a plane to the area, but did travel with a 10' extension cord that just wasn't long enough.. instead of moving me to another spot (cuz again they said it was full) they told me to go buy another cord, back in town (10 miles) and brushed off my concerns.. This def rubbed me the wrong way... Needless to say, my spot SUCKED for car camping, made even worse by the spot i asked for remained unused during my entire 2 night stay.. Actually most of the tent spots (and those with electrical) stayed unused during my stay.. They DEFFFF could've moved me, but chose not to.. The grounds were clean and taken care of.. in fact we had to utilize the pavilion one night as inclement weather made it impossible for us to cook at our actual site.. and even that was clean.. The bathrooms were lifechanging as a frequent camper who never stayed at a KOA.. full private bathrooms?!?!? YESSSSSS!! however, they seemed to only be cleaned once a day.. so if you got an early in the day shower, you were golden.. Wait a little too late, and you kiiiindaaa got a gross one.. but i'll let that slide cuz camping and hello!!? a private non rushed bathroom/shower .. i feel spoiled now.. However, given the staff and how the tent/car campers and honestly, everyone, was just kind of sardined in there, idk that i'll ever rebook a KOA.. but i def wouldn't rebook at this particular site.. And i know they can't guarantee, or even give you requested spots.. but seeing that the ONE site they gave us just wouldn't work and SEVERAL went unused (even tho we asked again on our 2nd night) just really was avoidable and they could've made other arrangements for us.. So, this one is a pass for me even if i'm in...

We made the best of our situation, but I do not recommend this KOA. I had called about a month ago, checking availability, and asked for a good tent site.. the gentleman told me not to book by the creek because they were the worst for tents and told me to book and he would put me in a good site. So I booked the other selection, and was put literally 6 feet behind the dumpsters. Not a huge deal when I look at the bigger picture, but definitely not ideal when I specifically called and asked what the best would be. Check in was the worst.. the blonde lady who works for you? Yeah she was very unpleasant and not even remotely welcoming or friendly. I would be embarrassed to have someone like that work for me. Immediately left a sour taste in my mouth. We asked her where the best place to kayak was, as we had just traveled 9 hours with our kayaks strapped to our vehicle, and she rudely laughed and said "UHM we're surrounded by water" like okay? That isn't what we asked, and if you don't know thats really all you had to say. Was told the showers by us didn't have hot water and we would have to walk to the other end of the park for hot showers. No big deal we thought; until we realized they actually did have hot water and other campers said they were never told that. Seems like she was just being rude because we were young campers. We remained calm and kind though.. try and kill them with kindness right? The grate on our firepit was completely bent and pointless as well.. when we went back to try and change sites they told us no.. even after offering to pay more. We were told that they were completely booked... so we kept an eye out and they were definitely not completely booked. Anything would have been better at that point but they were totally uninterested in making us more comfortable.

We must be really spoiled in the black hills, because our KOA is phenomenal and really truly care about their paying guests un like this one. Spend your...

This park is a 3. I rated it a 4 because Anthony went above an beyond. We are in a cab over camper with very small holding tanks. When we made our reservations we told there were no full hookups available, only power and water. We specifically asked if they had a dump station and told yes. When we arrived, we were told it was out of order. I asked for my money back and was told no, not without a bunch of deductions. Anthony stepped in and made arrangements for us to dump. He helped on our departure with the same situation and made sure we had everything we needed. Really hope they get the dump station fixed soon.

Why a 3 and not a 4. The dog area is small. Too small. No water for dogs. The bathrooms on arrival were not clean, not bad, not great. We waited for the morning to take showers in hopes they would be clean. They were still dirty from the night before. We typically take shower in our camper when staying with full hookups but... (see above). We stayed 3 nights. Day two was better, still not great. The signs says bathrooms cleaned "as needed". I would say, more is needed. Firewood.. They were out the first night. The second night they had firwood. We bought two bundles which are a bit smaller than most KOA sites. EXTREMLY expensive. Bring your own firewood. Internet? What internet. Do not advertise internet if it's sketchy!

Would I stay here again? Yes. I would give them another try. The people are nice, they genuinely want to help and make sure the stay is good. The dump station being down may be beyond their control. Hopefully its fixed soon. Add a bucket for water in the dog area and clean the bathrooms more often. Find a different Firewood vendor. Stop advertising internet or get it working correctly. Simple...