This was our second Thanksgiving weekend at the Lodge. The Lodge rooms typically sell out for Thanksgiving weekend exactly a year and a day in advance (within a few minutes of the reservation window opening.) You can't beat the convenient location in Yosemite Valley and the yummy hot chocolate at the Food Court. The front desk staff is helpful and courteous. Unfortunately, some of the rooms are poorly lit and it is nearly impossible to keep the carpets clean despite the attentive efforts of the cleaning staff. My advice is to spend as much time out of the room (and enjoying the park) as possible.

We came here as part of a 3 week honeymoon travelling around California. We chose the Lodge because of location but also because we have enjoyed staying in luxury lodges elsewhere.

The room was extremely poor, two 3/4 size beds which weren't really big enough to share. No actual light fittings just some dim bedside lights and a general very dated decor. For the price we were really disappointed; if we had stayed in a cheap motel I'd have no issues but this place isn't cheap. Carpet was dirty and we couldn't wait to get out the room in the morning. What could have been perfect turned out to be very disappointing

The food canteen resembled a smelly, messy school canteen. The bar was nice enough although too busy to get a seat and the restaurant continued the overpriced theme. A very random choice on the menu, all very expensive for what they were. If not for a nice bottle of red we would have complained.

Great location but if you are going to spend money go to the Ahwahnee!

The lodge rooms (green classification) are worth the extra cost. It was large with semi-cabin style furniture. The large picture window leading to the balcony or patio was very nice. You keep it open all day to see the trees and valley walls.

The front desk staff was very nice in accommodating the extra requests we made on our reservation for a second floor quiet room.

Our room was far away from the main lodge, so there is a lot of walking involved. We didn’t mind since that was why we were here, plus it gets you out of the hustle of tour buses and shuttle vans.

The hotel location is ideal as it is in the Yosemite Valley with no need to use the car. The other hotels are about 40 minutes away.

Buses can take you most everywhere, but with that comes a caveat: In the winter the number of buses in service is very small. The wait time is posted to be 15 minutes in the day and 25 at night. In two days we experienced 30 minute waits during the day and 45 at night.

We didn’t notice any more noise from the other rooms than any other hotel.

The cleaning crew could be better as I found several skittles in the carpet. Overall though the room was clean and the beds comfortable.

The only complaint is most of the ice machines were broken, making us walk the entire length of the resort to find the one working machine. It was like a joke on guests as each machine had a note pointing to another machine that would be broken and had a note pointing somewhere else.

You’ll need a flashlight as it is a big resort and there are several areas where there is no lighting.

I hadn't been to Yosemite Valley in about 5 years, although we used to visit frequently and always found the accommodations and food satisfying and reasonably priced. But I was very disappointed this visit. Our room was shabby in decor and furnishings -- not modest-accommodation, wilderness-cabiny shabby, but unkempt as though the concessionaire is unwilling to spend money on refurbishing. The chrome on the faucet was completely worn through in places. That wouldn't annoy me so much if I were paying $79.95/night, but the Lodge is not inexpensive. At $145+/night I expect something at least as spiffy as a Motel 6. Worse, the room was not even clean: carpet edges along the walls and in corners were actually grimy. The tiny refrigerator, which turned out to be a "cooler" rather than a proper refrigerator, did not work; it took four phone calls, and three visits by service staff who assured us that the box was working, when it did NOT work, before we finally got a new box. Finally, food at the Food Court was terrible -- pricey, lukewarm and tasteless as though made from the cheapest possible ingredients. We did have very good dinners at the Mountain House restaurant for $30. I have always loved the convenience of staying right in the valley, but given this experience I will probably choose something outside the park next time.