Narrow Gauge Inn - Fish Camp, California

Diana V

We stayed 2 nights to be close to Yosemite. The feedback below was also shared with the manager when there.

The good:
We appreciated the continental breakfast, and the staff was friendly. Dinner in the restaurant was good, had a fun, rustic atmosphere with live music that we enjoyed. Josue was so very friendly, kind, and a wonderful asset to the restaurant!

The bad:
The hotel and our room was much more tired than the website pictures show. The musty smell hits you as soon as you walk in. Our room had 3 maintenance issues. My husband asked for a screw driver to fix the door knob himself. He showed the manager the other issues, which weren't addressed while we were out all day. Also, the shower head doesn't move, which is very inconvenient in such a small shower. A hand-held shower head would work much better. The bed was not comfortable, the blanket worn, and the balcony was very dusty. (A quick sweeping could address this before guests check-in.)

We cannot recommend this hotel.

Sharon C

Fun little place! Bar and restaurant were excellent! Bartender friendly and made us all excellent cocktails. He came and got us to be seated as we have dinner reservations when our resi time came up. Then he became our waiter! He pretty much did it all and did it all well! ||The room we were assigned (#31) was right next to said bar/restaurants' employee exit door. When we checked in I wondered about potential noise and was assured there would be none. Not quite true. Proximity was too close to after hours staff utilizing the door. I don't blame them as they probably didn't realize.||Overall I felt the room was a bit pricey for what we got - too bad as it's actually overall a beautiful little place! Next time I'll be a bit choosier about what rooms I might be able to pick from.||Continental complimentary breakfast was just ok. Filled the tummy with something anyway...

Kira G

Tis is the closest to the south end of Yosemite Park, so very convenient. It is quaint, woodsy and safe. There is an excellent restaurant attached to it - plus an old-timey western style bar. Incredible short rib burger with everything on it and the server was a delight. The motel part is just standard, but fine. The old Wawona Hotel (within the park) is either getting torn down or renovated, so this is the only option. There IS a narrow-guage railway right next door that would be a fun activity for kids.

MSZMW

For over 10 years I passed by this Inn many times and each time I thought to myself I have to try this place once. Finally, I booked a one night stay for Nov 28th this year, Thanksgiving day. We left our house in Bay Area at 9 am and got there at 1:20pm. The receptionist got my name. While staring at her computer, she says be patient with me, I’m new. Ok, we waited. After at least four minutes she says your reservation is cancelled. We’re stunned. Why? Booking.com has cancelled your reservation, she says. Hard to believe, I ask for manager. Mr. Petal comes out and says Booking.com has called you and emailed you and has canceled your booking because your card couldn’t be charged. My network is not at its best and is spotty and slow, but I was able to check my emails, check my phone, check my bookingapp and there is nothing. I check my account and there are two credit cards that could be used. I show him. One doesn’t work? The second was a debit card and would definitely work. I show him my emails, my phone, and my account info and ask him to help me find booking.com’s emails or calls or notification of cancelling my reservation. I have been using their services for over 20 years and never had any issues. I made this booking two weeks ago, on Nov 15th. If there were any issues with my account I should had been notified sooner. A few days prior to the reservation day, I even called the hotel to see if I could add another night. The receptionist found my reservation and said nothing of having any issues….Mr. Petal insisted that the booking.com cancelled your booking and sorry. It’s Thanksgiving day. No where is open. We are in a jungle and it’s a cold day and colder night is coming. He says let me call and find you a room for you. He is happy and wants me to give him credit for finding a room $10 less than his room! He doesn’t understand. It isn’t the money, it’s the experience which he ruined very badly. He doesn’t understand. After about 15-20 minutes of feeling (fill in the blank) we walked out. After 15 years I reserve this hole in the jungle on Thanksgiving day and drive four hours to get there and this was my experience. Why? Because they overbooked? Perhaps. They had no moral, no ethics, no courtesy, no decency to think twice before canceling my reservation, not even in Thanksgiving day. Later when I returned home I found email from booking.com sent at 11:30 saying “ great, the hotel has accepted your cancellation.” And another one at 11:34 saying my reservation was cancelled. My reservation was cancelled by the hotel at 11:30 the day of my reservation. Just like that. Who would do that? What do we rate the merchants for? Why do we go back to a merchant? What is it that attracts us customers? Wrong Mr. Petal, wrong. From now on and for ever every time I drive by your Inn I will remember this ugly and nasty experience and that how you ruined my favorite Holiday and our trip. We will never forget this.

Charlie Martin

(this is a copy of the email I sent directly to the manager)

We enjoyed a stay at your hotel Friday night October 19th, our group had a total of 4 rooms booked.
I have to say it is so sad to see such a cool historic property in such horrible condition! We stayed in room 30 and the odor of smoke (or ?) from years ago was almost overwhelming! That is in addition to everything else being worn, mismatched or ? Everyone else in the group had problems with their room also,
The restaurant and bar were fantastic (other than the pile of greasy mats out side the side door, which we had to walk by) and the reception area was also nice.
Please get your stuff together and maintain this wonderful resort that you are stewards to!
Thank you,

Hannah Madison

We took a quick little vacation here this week (in September.) and it was honestly amazing. Hospitality was amazing, the restaurant was great, everyone that worked there was SO kind and helpful.
The beds were literally so comfy. (We were just talking about this and actually even lifted the sheets to see what mattress it was because it was so comfy haha!)
The blankets/bedding were so soft. The rooms were nice, definitely just a room you go to sleep in, but the deck was top tier. I could have sat out there forever. It’s close enough to oakhurst for food/stores and then also close enough to Yosemite! It was such a great experience.

Overall, super awesome experience and we found our new go to place. 😍

qin lola

Lovely rustic lodge. The complementary breakfast had good varieties. I had a queen room with forest view. The balcony was facing the forest, which is perfect for enjoying a breakfast. It offered free WiFi.

815Schmitt

Here are the pros and cons||Pros: |Location to Yosemite's South entrance - 30 min/4 miles |There is a restaurant on premises (but we didn't get to try it out, closed on Mondays) Get a room with a balcony- it is worth the view after a long day and your room will not be somewhere you will want to linger (see Cons below). |There is a small pool that looked cute |There is a very basic free breakfast- bagel, coffee, hard boiled egg, cereal, fruit cup.||Cons:|Our room #30, smelled like a diaper in a musty antique store. The odor hit us in the face every time we left and came back to the room|Shower did not have enough pressure to rinse shampoo out of our hair|Everything is just old, calling it "rustic" is a stretch. The carpeting makes you want to keep your socks on.||It's slightly nicer than camping and their proximity to Yosemite is the only plus.