Yosemite View Lodge, El Portal

We have stayed at the Yosemite View Lodge at least 5 years in a row and it's always as great as the last time. The river view rooms are obviously the best (worth the few extra dollars) and the spa-sized tub is the second reason we stay here. During the summer months, the most recommended place to visit at the Lodge is the pizza place. Their pizza is to die for. Keep in mind that there is a section of the hotel that is newer than the other. I highly recommend this wonderful place.

It was really dirty. The carpet was very very old and black in some places we didn't take off our shoes. Hot pink tub that I would touch with a ten foot pole. I am not a clean freak either. We paid $199 for one night and it was like a dirty run down motel 6. Worse on the inside than the outside. Only two redeem features. Location & a beautiful river view for some of the units. You will be grossed out and will find it hard to enjoy.

Ok, so my husband & I have travel quite extensively stayed in anywhere from 5 star to 2 star, so we know luxury. The View Lodge was exactly what we were expecting for the price, not luxurious but perfect for the trip. We were very happy, it was clean, the bathrooms were fully stocked with towels & it had AC. That was invaluable! My brother’s family was there too & they stayed in the park thinking of convenience but had no AC. They much rather have stayed here and dealt with the 20 min drive it takes to get in the main "town" in the park. Had a great time, perfect for what we needed, would stay there again. Now if you have a 5 person family or bigger I think your going to have difficulty where ever you stay, Burners & fridge in hotel are not meant for a Thanksgiving Dinner but are great for snacks :-)

This place is close to the entrance of Yosemite. We booked a year in advance for our rooms. Rooms were assigned far apart even though I requested rooms to be close together. My family was separated. The kitchen was not what the web site displayed.The one sink could not even fit the one frying pan/one dutch pot to be washed.It had ants and was too small for a family of 6. Service was poor. We requested a wake up call and it did not happen. We requested to have the aircondition looked at in the morning since it was not working the first night before. Had to make a call in the early morning before leaving for the day and again in the early evening when we returned since it was not looked at.Requested to have the kitchen sprayed, it did not happened so I brought insect spray and spayed myself. One room was old..and could use a make over. Flies/mosquitos entered the bathroom through the bathroom broken screen as well as through the bent screen door. As you entered the room, the rug was very worn out and old. Two spiders were found in the sheets. Overall this experience was extremely disappointing. The nice thing about this lodge is the grocery store even though they did not carry any medication for insect/bug bites, hotel lobby, spas, and pools. We may give it a second chance, but only if we are desparate.

The river view from the patio was excellent. We stayed on the first floor and were fortunate enough to have the river right under our noses outside of the patio. We encountered many friendly squirrels that kept us company in the morning, too. The Yosemite Valley is only 15 miles away, so it was an easy getaway to spectacular scenery. Lastly, we enjoyed the gas fire place and big dual shower. We will definitely come back again and we would recommend the Yosemite View Lodge to anyone.

The location of this lodge is terrific--right outside of the park. The rooms are a bit older, and the heating system made one side of the room much warmer than the other. The food in the restaurant was excellent, but a bit pricey.

The Lodge has nothing to do with Yosemite Blue Butterfly Inn!!! My ratings are for Yosemite Blue Butterfly Inn.

OUT OF DATE & LOOKING TIRED, INSIDE & OUT. ALOT OF CONCRETE EXTERNALLY, NOT WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT IN SUCH A BEAUTIFUL AREA. ALSO, LACKING IN ON-SITE AMENITIES; ONE AWFUL FAST FOOD RESTAURANT & A SECOND RESTAURANT WHICH CANT CATER FOR THE TOTAL NUMBER OF GUESTS WITHOUT HAVING TO WAIT AN HOUR FOR A TABLE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! OUR ROOM HAD A RIVER VIEW, WHICH IS IDEAL( YOU DONT WANNA BE LOOKING OVER THE FRONT ONTO THE CARPARK- MORE CONCRETE!) BUT OUR SHEETS HADNT BEEN CHANGED & THERE WAS AN EMPTY CONDOM WRAPPER UNDER A PILLOW!!!YUK! THE STAFF WERE FINE, EXCEPT FOR ONE IN THE TINY BAR, WHO TOOK ALOT OF WORKING TO THEM TO SMILE, LET ALONE PIPE UP A CONVERSATION! WONT GO BACK IF WE CAN GET IN ELSEWHERE, UNLESS THEY KICK THEMSELVES UP 5 GEARS!

This was our 4th stay at Yosemite View Lodge and our last. Our prior stays were good but things seem to have gone downhill drastically. We had ants in our room, a hole in a sheet and also in a pillow case, a towel with a frayed edge and a filthy coffee pot. Not what I expect to experience when paying $189 per night. Gayla

I took my girlfriend here on New Year's on the same day I proposed. The manager treated us like royalty-free upgrade to Honeymoon Suite with Jacuzzi Tub, amazing river view, and a bottle of champagne. We couldn't have been happier, so much so we're getting married in Yosemite and staying at the hotel again. Get a room with a River View and you will not be disappointed.