When we planned a trip to Yosemite, we used TripAdvisor and trusted the great rating of this place. We looked forward to going. Unfortunately, our experience was very disappointing and needs to be shared so others can be ready.
We made a reservation over the phone, and our credit card was charged. The inn said they did not do confirmations by email or snail mail, so it was all over the phone. Coming across the country, we counted on having this place to stay while in Yosemite. We arrived at the inn around dinner time to find the owners nowhere to be found. Others staying at the inn said they were with friends and should be back soon. We called the inn's number and left a voice mail, called the cell phone given in the answering machine - still no answer and we left a message there. Also, there was another number posted on the inn's door - tried that, no answer, left another voicemail.
By this time about an hour had gone by so we went across the street to grab dinner and wait. By 9 PM they still weren't back. The other people staying at the inn said there was only one room open anyway, so it must be ours. The room left shared a bathroom however, and was definitely NOT the room we had requested and had been guaranteed over the phone, so we didn't bring our things in. Tired, 3000 miles from home, and frustrated, we gave one last effort to try the cell phone number. The female owner answered, having no clue that we had been leaving voice mails on 3 different numbers for the last 2 hours. She apologized profusely and said she would be right there. She said that they must have "gotten their dates mixed up"....but out credit card had promptly been charged days after making the reservation. Our belief from subsequent conversations is that they simply had forgotten about us period. About 20 minutes later her husband arrived, seeming quite confused that we had chosen to NOT spend the night there and had found another inn across the street to stay at instead. He appeared to not understand why we wanted a refund, and eventually his wife came by around 11 PM, catching us as we stopped by the car to ask for our credit card to issue the refund. She told me how wonderful the inn is and how everyone loves it there. She also explained that they would let us stay, but they have good friends staying with them who are already in the room that we had reserved...which seemed quite strange to explain to a customer who is unable to stay at your inn because of the mistake you made with their reservation.
Overall, we would strongly not recommend this place to anyone traveling to Yosemite due to the poor communication and disorganization. Although people who have actually gotten in the door have enjoyed it, it was a terribly irritating way to begin our trip - being across the country and finding out that we had nowhere to sleep that night, having to make quick new plans....not something we'd want anyone else to experience. If you want to stay in Coulterville, which was a very charming town, look across the street at Hotel Jeffrey - they saved us and made sure we had a clean, reasonably priced room at 11 PM - the owner was very professional and organized.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.