Good_Will

Thanks again and will order "Yellowstone Treasures" as well as Fodors local guide of course.

Good_Will

we have booked for July 2009 including dinner reservations - one night Jenny Lake Lodge, then two at each of Old Faithfull Inn and Lake Yellowstone Hotel.

Having asked for the most comfortable beds and best location at the Yellowstone properties, I was pointed to frontside rooms.

Have I made the right choice on rooms ?

Any particular rooms you can recommend for us ?
Hope the weather is more predictable in 2009.

Thanks again.

swisshiker

Hello Good_Will

You have chosen wisely.

The frontside rooms at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel face the lake. However, the hotel is set back a bit from the lakefront (a small road and a grassy area with trees). If you happen to get a room directly behind a tree, well, there goes your view.

At the OFI, we had one of the eastside rooms. It had a direct view to the geyser. Again, some rooms have views impaired by trees.

Trees in a national park. Go figure.

Have a great trip!

Regent52

In reading all about accomidations in Yellowstone N.P. we Too are so confused! Some folks say that Old Fathful Inn is " Grubby, 70's, sparse" Has anyone stayed in the "High Range Rooms"? and these prices are not cheap. We've looked into staying out of the park on the west Yellowstone and Coady on the east side. We know we have to book now for late July 2009 but where to book? We're thinking 3 nights on each side, is that a good idea?

spirobulldog

I don't know how you could classify OFI as sparse. I can't imagine going to Yellowstone and not staying or at the least having a meal in OFI. If you are ever going to stay at a National Park Lodge this would be a great one to stay at. We stayed in the older and less expensive original part. These are shared bathrooms. I would do it again, exactly the same way. If I had 6 days in Yellowtone, I would spend 2 nights in OFI, 2 in Roosevelt Lodge, and 2 in Lake Hotel. None of these are like staying in a Ritz or staying in a Holiday Inn. We always stay in National Park lodging when we go to one. Most are historic or camping type. It is a different kind of vacation, but it is the type we enjoy most.

Regent52

Okay, so let us ask you this... is there any beneifit to staying outside the park? for strolling through town at night or shopping in West Yellowstone or Cody?

KMartin286

Yes staying outside of YNP is great if you like to shop more or if you want more of a choice of restaurants or bars. We stayed most of the time within the park because we enjoyed waking up to seeing wildlife VS lights and hotels and shops. But it is good to have that as well so I would include a few nights in the park and out of the park. It seemed to me that the east entrance to the park closes more often than the west which may add time to your trip if you have to drive around.
BY all means take the BearTooth Highway if you can at least once. Just gorgeous. We hit a hail storm in August with hail the size of golfballs. I felt sorry for the motorcyclists as there was nothing for them to take refuge. Oh also as soon as you get east of the east entrance and are outside the park= eat at that restaurant. I don't know the name, but try the saddlebag pancakes and be prepared for leftovers!!!!

KMartin286

We stayed in the little yellow cabins next to yellowstone lake. The were clean, but older. No TVs or phones, but I enjoyed them a bunch. My husband called them sheds!!!
But we would have buffalo walk by during the night and could walk to the lodge or lake if we wanted.
They were reasonable in price and centrally located so that we stayed there most of the week and went to a different section of the park each day. We loved not having to move our luggage all the time. BTW we stayed in late August so there wasn't a lot of traffic to get through the park.

RedRock

Regent52 -- Cody is much to far from the Park to commute. If you cannot or don't want to stay inside the Park the only realistic areas to stay are West Yellowstone, Gardiner or Cooke City. We have visited the area many many times and have stayed at all three locations outside the Park. Our choice is Cooke city. In fact we stayed there 4 nights this past August. We like Cooke City because you must travel thru the Lamar Valley to and from the other areas of the Park. This makes early morning or evening wildlife viewing easier and you are not so far from your "home".

http://www.colorado-west.com/cooke/CClodging.html

http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/06jul/03.htm

Digbydog

Staying in the park gives you an entirely different feel. The crowds clear out. You can see spectacular wildlife in the early morning or evening. Seeing the geyser basin at Old Faithful in the early morning with the mist rising is fantastic. And you save tons of driving time. The hotels are not fancy, but OFI and the Lake Hotel have a lot more charm than a chain motel in West Yellowstone. Another drawback to the parks is that the dining is mediocre. Nevertheless, I never pass up a chance to stay in a national park.

Jo1023

I just got back from Yellowstone, Cody and Jackson last week and highly recommend staying in the park, but without expecting too much in the way of "the best". I stayed in the Old Faithful Inn in the original building in a suite (two bedrooms). It was not luxurious, but was very clean, comfortable and spacious. There is no tv or air conditioning, and the windows didn't close tightly (it was in the 30's overnight) and the heat in my room didn't work. The rooms were very dark and had minimal lighting making it difficult to read or see much in the room at night. We were on the first floor, faced a back parking lot and heard workers leaving late at night and arriving early in the morning. Nonetheless, it was a very special experience. It was great to sit by the fire in the lobby in the evening and the dining room buffet food was quite good for the price for breakfast and dinner. I would definitely not recommend staying in Cody and commuting as it's a long distance away and very slow going (narrow, twisty mountain roads, often with no shoulder or guard rail). You have to plan for slow drivers looking for animals (me), animals in the road (we were stuck in a 45-minute buffalo jam one day) and large vehicles (buses and campers). W. Yellowstone didn't seem quite as far as Cody, but the town was less interesting for us (more touristy/t-shirt feeling). Cody is also a tourist town, but feels more substantial and has more substantive things to do (the Cody museum is absolutely worth several hours and has something for everyone--an unexpected surprise for us as my companion's not a huge fan of museums). The Buffalo Bill story is really fascinating--so much more than just a cowboy tale. We took a one-hour tour of the town and learned a lot about Bill's significant contributions to the development of the town, and Wyoming in general--well worth the ride. It stopped at the museum and we got a combined ticket for both the ride and museum. In Cody, we stayed in Cody Cowboy Village--very nice, but log cabins allow noise to travel room to room so beware if that bothers you. In Jackson, try to take the wildlife ride from Moose Visitor Center in the evening with a ranger if offered--we learned several spots for animal viewing we hadn't heard of (and so I finallly got to see several moose!!)and learned a lot about the area and wildlife. It's a great visitor center with a nice bookstore/gift shop. Incredible country all around, lovely friendly people everywhere we went or stopped. Have fun!

spirobulldog

We thought the dining was plenty good. We ate many meals at several different spots. OFI for dinner, Roosevelt Lodge for Dinner and Breakfast, Hamilton Store (next to old faithful) for lunch and breakfast, Lake Hotel for dinner and breakfast, Canyon shopping strip for picnic items and good sandwiches. We aren't that picky, but we do expect things to taste good.

Regent52

Red Rock,
Thank you for your responce. That's a fresh idea of staying in Cook City. Let us bounce our itenary off you and feel free to respond with ideas. Arriving in Jackson Hole and staying there 4 nights to include a white water rafting trip , hiking in Grand Tetons and touring. Driving through Grand Tetons into Yellowstone N.P.staying 3-4 ? nights at Old Faithful Inn touring west side of the park, hikes, Canyon Village,Norris, Madison, West Thumb and Grant Village. With knowing that we're flying out of Billings, that leaves us three nights to which we could stay in Cooks City. Any suggest of where to stay in Cooks City?

RedRock

Regent52-- We always stay at the Hoosier Motel in Cooke City when we decide not to camp. Less than $100 a night. You can walk to anyplace in town. We have found it clean but spartan, A/C not needed even in the summer. The TV has 13 channels.. Not many places in and around Yellowstone are fancy and reasonably priced.

iamq

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