Where is the nicest place to stay in West Yellowstone, MT? Most of the hotels I've been able to find seem to be 2 or 3 star hotels ... surely there's something better than that there? (I am posting this in both "Montana" and "Wyoming" since West Yellowstone is on the border.)

The star rating deals with the kinds of facilities (elevators, pools) and doesn't mean the quality is inferior in any way.

West Yellowstone is a tourist town. I wouldn't be expecting a Ritz-Carlton there.

Perhaps I should rephrase my question -- I am looking for a hotel along the lines of Hampton Inn, Marriot, etc., and less along the lines of EconoLodge, Super 8, etc. Can anyone recommend a hotel of that caliber? Not looking for a Ritz-Carlton, just a nice hotel to which I look forward to returning at the end of a long day of hiking. Thanks!

The only hotel/motel in West Yellowstone I am aware of that is not like Super-8, etc, is Hibernation Station and it is not along the lines you are apparently looking for. It is more like a modern old tourist court if you're old enough to remember those. There are individual cabins in a faux-western motif and they are clean and comfortable but not overly spacious.

I've stayed in several places in West Yellowstone and Hibernation Station will be my choice for my future trips.

Your choices are pretty limited in places to stay and places to eat. We stayed at the Holiday Inn and it sounds like it would fit your requirements.

I did the same search you are doing, a couple of years ago, and ended up at the Holiday Inn as I couldn't find anything better. We stayed one night, then moved into Yellowstone and later GTNP for lodging. Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestions, I will definitely check those out. Does anyone know anything about the Best Western Desert Inn? I like Best Western hotels in general, although they can be hit or miss, and this one is close to the Park entrance.

Last Friday night, we stayed at the Grey Wolf Inn in West Yellowstone. We had requested a 2 queen bed room, and given a suite (full kitchen, etc). It was nicely furnished,and clean. We had an early departure, and they were just setting up the breakfast area so I can't comment on that.

There are about 5 newer three story hotels in West Yellowstone - Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn, Kings Inn, Grey Wolf, and ?. This is a small town, and not much in the way of restaurants. We enjoyed dinner at the Oregon Short Line restaurant a few blocks from the hotel.

Hello DejaDeb

We've stayed at the Holiday Inn Sunspree several times and have really enjoyed it. It is a large convention-style hotel, with big conference rooms for groups. The guest rooms are very large and clean and have a nice sitting area (with couch). If I recall, they also included a small refrigerator. Their restaurant, Oregon Short Line, serves a very decent breakfast and dinner, too (haven't eaten lunch there).

Happy travels!

Thanks again -- I'm off to check availability!!

I recently stayed at the Three Bear Lodge. It wasn't anything special but a place to sleep & shower. Clean & conveniently located...just outside the West Yellowstone entrance. Our room was on the motel-side so we parked our car right outside our door.

Bar-N-Ranch is about 5 miles out of town. Nice upscale cabins - wonderful breakfast.