Best Western Plus Yosemite Way Station Hotel Review: Mariposa, California

Why is it that the priciest hotel we stayed at during our vacation was also the worst? The Best Western Plus Yosemite Way Station hotel in Mariposa, California clocked in at $199/night (this was in May, which is considered shoulder season — it’s likely more during peak summer season) and hotels can demand those rates because of its (somewhat) close proximity to Yosemite National Park.  I say “somewhat” because this is quite the distance from Yosemite (a good 50 miles or so on winding mountain roads), but when you can’t plan your vacations to the national parks years in advance, this is what you get for lodging.

See, that’s my main beef with the National Parks — the lodging situation, especially at the really popular parks, like Yosemite and Yellowstone. If you want lodging (with a roof over your head), you have to plan your trip a good year in advance.  That’s never my travel style; I’m typically planning about two months in advance – I don’t think I’ve ever planned a trip a year in advance. Lodging inside the park is crazy-expensive and the hotels really aren’t that great. It’s all about convenience and if you want to enjoy your time in the park without having to drive 50 miles to a hotel after the day is done, you will pay for it.

I planned this entire trip only a month in advance, and when I checked Yosemite’s lodging page, I actually did have a few options. The Ahwhanee hotel had rooms at over $400 a night (good lord…) or we could stay at the Curry Village/Housekeeping Camp (the name “Housekeeping Camp” is such a turn-off. Sounds like some camp counselor is going to make me do chores for the privilege of staying there) and stay in a heated yurt for ~$250 a night. The Ahwahnee was out of the question – no way was I going to shell out $400+ to stay there but I briefly considered the yurt. After reading some of the horror stories on TripAdvisor, I quickly decided against it. Maybe folks were being dramatic but too many people kept calling the place a refugee camp that I decided we’d stay outside the park.

So we stayed here, at the Best Western Yosemite Way Station in Mariposa. Mariposa is a small community just outside of Yosemite, but “just outside” is still a good 40-50 miles away from the valley. Be careful when using those hotel aggregators – so many hotels will have the name “Yosemite” in them but they are nowhere near the park – like this place!

We stayed up at Yosemite’s Tunnel View for the sunset and got great pictures. But those kick ass pics came with a price: I’d have to drive to Mariposa on twisty mountain roads at NIGHT.

Mariposa is only about 40 miles away from Yosemite Valley but the drive is so much longer than that. The drive from Yosemite Valley is a good hour +, especially in the dark. This is NOT close to Yosemite — you really should stay closer to the park because you’ll eat up 1 hour each way en route to the park. But again, if you’re like me and want to go to Yosemite last minute (or just don’t want to drop $400 on a park hotel or want to camp), you’re going to have to stay outside of the park. Let me tell you, that drive was no fun. It seemed to go on forever. I was pretty rattled by the time we pulled up to the hotel for check in.

Best Western Plus Yosemite Way – Mariposa – Hotel Details

Check in: Process was smooth and easy and the lady at the front desk was very nice. We were assigned a second-floor room and she advised us to park in the back. The hotel is situated on a hill and all the 2nd floor rooms can be accessed without climbing stairs if you park in the pack. Luckily we were able to score a parking spot (though it was in a dark corner of the parking lot) — this place seemed to be booked solid, even though we were still staying during shoulder season (mid May).

As you can see, very basic. Nothing remarkable about them, but nothing bad either. It was adequate for one night.

Breakfast: This is not a good hotel breakfast. Granted, hotel breakfasts aren’t that great anyway, but the Best Western Yosemite Way Station’s is pretty bad. When we checked in, the lady told us that breakfast is held at the pool house room. We walked into the building, even though we weren’t sure if we should be there or not because there was a TON of construction going on — heavy equipment, buckets filled with cement, drills laying around, plywood, etc. Once inside the building, we still weren’t sure what was going on because all the doors to the 3-4 different rooms were closed and there was no one in sight — and certainly no breakfast to be found. After poking around a bit, my sister opened a conference room door and a bunch of people stopped what they were doing and stared at here. We thought we walked in on some sort of retiree convention. Theresa exclaimed, “Uhh…is this is breakfast?”

One person exclaimed, “Oh yes, dear! Come on in! The door is shut to keep out the construction noise.”

Ok.

So we found a table and grabbed plates. Nothing looked good. Powdered eggs, a few loafs of bread, a waffle maker, limp sausages, oatmeal packets. Meh. I don’t know if we just lost our appetites by the dirty surroundings or weird conference room vibe or what. Neither of us ate much.

The breakfast attendant lady was beyond delightful. So friendly, that I really feel bad about knocking the breakfast. It’s not her fault they serve up shitty powered eggs.

Fitness center and pool area:

At this point, we were well over halfway through our 16-day trip and I had only missed 2 workouts (I try to workout every day while on vacation). I missed the workout here because the fitness center was under construction. And the pool?  I don’t even want to get into it but I will. Just have a look at this pic:

It looks like a Home Depot lumberyard. Not to mention the toilets (!) sitting right by the hot tub. And yes, the pool area was OPEN to guests. I am flabbergasted that the pool area was open for use! Cement rubble and exposed rusty nails? Dear god.

Final Thoughts: Best Western Plus Yosemite Way Station – Mariposa California

Bottom line: The Best Western Plus Yosemite Way Station Motel is an okay place to stay, I guess. It’s just really expensive for what you get, it’s far away from Yosemite Valley but if you’re out of options, it’ll do for a night or so. I’m just shocked that they don’t seem to give a damn if a child steps on a rusty nail by leaving lumber, old toilets and other assorted rubble by the open pool area.

Again, it’s a good hour away from Yosemite Valley, so you’d have to be the judge if this is a good location for you. (I personally think it’s too far, but sometimes you have no choice for lodging).