The Old Faithful Inn is one of the few remaining grande dames of the National Parks. The Inn is just so full of character. The rustic timber construction is truly amazing expecially considering the age and the location. The inn has everything required for a relaxing and stress decompressing stay, no TVs, no telephones, and no internet. In the evenings you can just sit in the rocking chair next to the massive fireplace and listen to the crackling fire. The second floor has a espresso cart for the morning pick-me-up and a small bar for beer and wine. In the evenings we would sit in the upper porch drinking one of the local microbrews and playing cards until one of many geysers would go off. Keep your camera in your lap - you never knew what you would see.

The meals were great. Like most of the National Parks - book dinner arrangements well in advance and expect a friendly and accommodating staff. The historic rooms have no bathroom (which were down the hall) but there was a sink in each room. Rustic - but it sure beat tent camping. Our room overlooked the geyser basin - what a view !

This was a trip I will never forget.

We arrived two weeks after the Lodge opened after winter at 5pm to find our room "not ready" and no idea when it would be ready. The I had to spell our name 4 times to the lady on reception who had no idea what was going on.

Eventually at 6pm we got the up graded room I paid for with a view of Old Faithful, at least there would have been a view if there wasn't a tree outside our window. The room was tiny, so much that you couldn't get past the bed when the wardrobe door was open and the ensuite was tiny a toilet with a tiny shower and a dirty shower curtain. Plus the double room only has 5 coat hangers in the wardrobe for the two of us! Admittedly after phoning and the going to reception they produced some more.

We asked, at check in if reservations were needed for dinner and were told "no". When we turned uo to eat we were told it was an hour and a half wait. Most of the staff were snooty and did not care about the guests or know their job. With the exception of the main entrance area, the parts of the property we saw were dirty and had damage to the paint which had not been addressed during the winter break.

Fortunately we were told the Old Faithful Ski Lodge (some 400 yards to the rear of the main lodge) were able to serve dinner straight away. What a difference - it was clean, the rooms were large nd clean with great showers and the staff were everything that their colleagues in the main lodge were not. We ate there, went back to the Main Lodge and checked out and stayed at the Ski Lodge which was also cheaper! No one asked why we were leaving - they must be used to it.

Old Faithful Lodge is in a great location and has real US history in it but is dirty, over priced with condecending staff. "Zero out of 10". Ski Lodge - 10 out of 10.

Yellowstone is just the most superb locaion with fantastic wildlife - we will return soon ...... and stay at the Ski Lodge.

Norman London UK

First, this hotel is absolutely amazing when you think about when it was built and why. After spending many vacations in Yellowstone, we decided to finally stay at Old Faithful.
My mom and I stayed for a couple of nights in late September. We had a premium west-wing frontside room overlooking the geyser basin. The view was beautiful!
The room was larger than we anticipated for being built in the 1920's. It was clean and comfortable. The bathroom was clean and had a toilet and tub/shower combo and was decently sized. In the entry area of the room was the sink area.
Although the National Park Service is not the top of the line with decorating, the room had their version of rustic, western furniture. The bed was basically comfortable, a 3 out of 5 star rating. What I did find charming about the room was it's "bones" and original features still showing. Unfortunately, the National Park Service either doesn't have the money nor vision to maintain the rooms as close to original as possible. It certainly could have been done, and you would think at $250.00 a night it should have been done.
I am glad there are no tv's or radios. It just wouldn't be right in Yellowstone! And nothing is worse than listening to someone's idea of good tv when you are in as spectacular of an environment as this.
Dinner in the dining room is average. The service was very good. Breakfast was a little better than average and again, the service was very good.
Overall, I rated this hotel 5 stars because although the rooms could be better overall and the dining could definately come up a notch or two - the hotel itself is a gem and its environment is spectacular.
If the Park Service plushed up the rooms and improved the dining, I would gladly pay more to stay there.
We love Yellowstone so much that we've already booked mid-May, 2010 at Old Faithful Inn. Can't wait!!

We were in Yellowstone 3 years ago but could not get a room at the Inn. This time I made reservations in April for a room .One must keep in mind this is a historic Inn not a modern INN with hot tub and all the "other trimmings". Our room was on the side near the Yellowstone gift shop/coffee shop. It was breath taking in the mornings to get up and see the geysers spouting off, the bison roaming the grass areas.The big blue sky showing off its early morning appeal was great. Our room was clean, beds ok, bathroom was clean as well. You spend a lot out in the park viewing the sites, so we were in our room mainly to have some downtime and relax before the next day's journey through the park. The food was good, we ate breakfast in the dining room. Service was fast in and out.The interior of the INN was everything the guide book said it would be and then some. We sat on the outside deck area , on the benches and just glazed at the sites surrounding us. Beautiful ! Remember when you travel to a park this is a historic site not a 5 star modern Inn. We are ready to go again. This time it will be in the winter time.