Stay Report: Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel (Yellowstone - September 2020)

Stay Report: Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel

comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

I was traveling around Yellowstone National Park and all the research and reviews said to stay in the Mammoth Area as a good base to explore the north side of the park.  Due to the COVID pandemic, there is only one hotel available in this area and the hotel fills up really quickly.  The Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel is apparently one of the oldest hotels in the park, and is currently managed by Xanterra.  Xanterra manages most or all of the hotels within National Parks (I stayed at Xanterra managed properties in Grand Canyon) and they offer a range of accommodations.  Even though they offer a range from basic to more upscale, not of them go beyond a 3.5-4 star rating.  The Mammoth Hot Springs is considered on the higher end in terms of star rating, price, and accommodation value.  I was checking in June for travel in September but the booking only opened up in July, and once it did I booked my stay.  Due to the pandemic, the fare was refundable even though the full payment was due at booking.

Check-in is technically at 4pm but we pulled up to the lobby around 2:30pm and we were able to be

checked-in and receive the key to our cabin.  The lobby did have COVID procedures in place with limited number of guests inside, social distancing stickers on the floor, contactless payment, screens between the hotel attendant and yourself, and limited interaction between staff and guests.  The lobby itself looked grand and had a huge entryway with a gift shop on left, the check-in desks on the front and entrances to the dining room and upper floors behind the check-in desk.  Due to COVID restrictions, you could not congregate in the lobby but there were seating outside and there were lots of people sitting outside - either eating or taking access of the wifi, which was only available in and around the lobby area.  

We received our key and went to our cabin.  The hotel had standard hotel rooms connected to the lobby or had individual cabins behind the hotel; I believe the hotel rooms were not being used and mostly the cabins were in use during the pandemic.  Each building contained 2 cabins and they were basically somewhat-upscale versions of camping cabins.  Each cabin had a separate entrance and its own porch with two chairs and a table outside.  Once inside, everything was in one room.  As you entered, there was a little coat hook on the left-hand side and a trash can/recycle/compost bin on the right side with a tray and ice bucket on top.  The left-hand side also contained the small sink, towels, as well as hand-soap and lotion bottles (which were refillable to reduce waste).  The bathroom was also on the left-side, was extremely compact width-wise, and contained a toilet, towels, and a small shower which had shampoo, conditioner, and bodywash in refillable bottles.  Along the right-side were the two beds with a night-stand in the middle.  The two beds were decent enough and comfortable enough for a good nights sleep, but there needed to be more blankets and other covers for those who felt cold.  The room lacked amenities such as AC, and while it did get really cold at night so there was no need for AC it was hot during the day so AC during the day was definitely needed (there was a small fan but it did not look clean so were hesitant to use it).  

There was one restaurant on the hotel property and this was the only restaurant that was open in the area.  This restaurant served the same menu for lunch and dinner so my suggestion would be to come

prepared with either your own food, or prepared to pay a lot of money for the same food at the restaurant or to buy some basic supplies from the general store on the hotel grounds and make your own food there (we did a combination of the two since the food at Mammoth was exactly the same as what we had at Old Faithful). 

This was my third experience staying at a Xanterra property.  When I first stayed at their property in Grand Canyon, I did not know what to expect so I kept my expectations low and was pleasantly surprised at the good quality of the hotel.  I was expecting a similar quality at both Old Faithful and Mammoth and they were not of the same quality; both of these looked older and more utilized (ie not as updated) as the other hotels.  Despite the lack of luxuries and the lack of updating, the price paid for the hotel is extremely high and I understand we are paying for the convenience of staying the park but given the price I would expect the level of amenities similar to Grand Canyon.  I would rate the hotel in Grand Canyon as 3.5 stars and would give Mammoth 2.