Timed this trip to beat the crowds and hopeful to see newborn bison, elk, bear cubs, deer....the hotel had just opened a day prior to my arrival, ditto the southern entrance to the park. In early April some park areas will still be closed for impassable roads, and there are no Ranger-led tours, just a few private ones found online. Took a chance on the weather.....and won the bet big time. The cabins were much nicer than previous reviews led me to expect; well maintained, very comfortable, excellent heat and hot water. Location was easy walk to the hotel and the lake, with parking right outside the door. Also not more than 50 yards away were lounging bison one afternoon. And a black bear at dusk. Sunset overlooking Yellowstone Lake is worth the price of admission. The hotel was just opening for the season. Great to have it walking distance. Beautiful common areas overlooking the lake, fireplace, free nature lending library and comfy couches. Food options, even at opening, were varied and well-priced; take-out deli(wonderful chili), bar with menu, suprisingly(for a national park) high-end dining room with an imaginative and modern menu. Also a camp grocery store and laundry were open. There were 2 days out of my 2 week stay with several inches of snow. Peaceful and beautiful. Did some reading, a little meditation, a little laundry and had a bit of a deep nap. And 2 days later it was 60 degrees and sunny!!

My wife and I stayed in Sandpiper Lodge, a serviceable two-story building right behind the Marvelous Lake Yellowstone Hotel, for three nights during the busy season (mid/late Aug). Sandpiper offers quick access to all of the common-area amenities of the fancier, pricier, more historic Lake Yellowstone Hotel at a significantly lower price. The location, on the southeast curve of the figure-eight Grand Loop, is terrific, especially for first-time Yellowstone visitors like us -- it's close to the park's Big Three Sites: Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Spring to the southwest, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone to the north. The Lake Yellowstone Hotel features an open-air lobby with plenty of seating, a nightly live pianist (more Elton than Ludwig), and a lively bar (purchase: huckleberry margarita). Great service and excellent view, especially through the large, lake-facing lobby windows. There's a coffee shop with egg sandwiches to start your day, and a souvenir shop that isn't as corny or expensive as you'd think. Oh, and the Hotel is home to the best restaurant in the park -- that's a whole other review, but: fantastic steak & seafood. As for the Sandpiper Lodge specifically, the rooms are small but well furnished, though ours oddly had a sink in the main part of the room, not the bathroom. Easy parking, even in Peak Season. The common area is nothing more than a couple chairs and soda and ice machines, but the Hotel lobby is a sixty-second walk away. And really, that's the point: Sandpiper gets you everything good about the Marvelous Lake Yellowstone Hotel...during waking hours. You'll sleep and shower and dress in small, not-exactly-new quarters. As long as you can tolerate that, every other aspect of Sandpiper is top-notch. An excellent hotel.

We loved this charming, historic hotel on Yellowstone Lake. First, it is a great location for your drives through Hayden Valley to see the bison and hike around that area and also the Grand Canyon area. It is near great hikes: Elephant Back mountain, hikes around the Yellowstone lake, Mary's mountain on the border of Hayden Valley. Second, the building is charming. I sat for 2 hours in the lobby reading a biography of Teddy Roosevelt, sipping a great drink and enjoying the piano playing in the background. Very civilized. Third, the restaurant is pretty excellent for a national park. I had delicious lamb chops one night with an excellent creme brulee for dessert. There is a casual cafeteria-type restaurant in another building on property for nights you don't want a fanicer meal. Breakfast was also excellent in the main dining room and there is a little coffee shop on premises if you prefer a quick grab and go breakfast. We stayed in the annex rooms which were spacious and comfortable. One day Wooly Nelson (resident bison) was outside our front door so we went around the back. Nice gift shop too. I recommend this hotel for families, couples, anyone really. I liked moving around Yellowstone so we stayed here several nights and several nights at Old Faithful Inn before heading to the Grand Tetons. It's worth the money to stay here in the main hotel or annex. Enjoy your trip!

I have stayed a lot of places and paid a lot of money to stay in hotels. This had to be one of the most disappointing experiences I've ever had. The room was meh. The view was meh. The lobby was nice, but crowded. The restaurant was awful. I asked the staff person running the concierge a question about one of their brochures. They said that they couldn't answer it and I had to come back. So I come back the next day and they tell me that the brochure is not accurate and I can't do the thing on the brochure. All the brochures to do stuff are out of date or are for tours and there's no wifi so you can't do any research on your own. The lodge where they supposedly had wifi was a joke. Couldn't even load any websites. Paid for an hour waiting for things to refresh. The only real restaurant there is a sit down expensive place. We never got our food hot. It was bland and mostly gross. And you're paying 120 bucks a couple to eat there. I wouldn't even mind if the food was good. It was not. I would have rather had a pb and j. The ONLY thing this hotel does right is that it has a prime location. So it is in the park. But what we didn't understand before I visited this park was that even though it is right there in the middle of it, it does not save you much time as you have to drive 40 minutes to 2 hours around the park to see stuff. Might as well stay outside the park and drive in every day. At least you'll save money, get a choice of food and have cellular service. Do yourself a favor and avoid at all costs. 500 bucks a night to stay here is robbery.

We stayed here the first time in a 2nd floor room facing the parking lot. It was beautifully furnished, reminding us of a B&B in terms of the sense of individuality. The room was clean and quiet and the bathroom had a convenient floorplan. Instead of a desk, there is a table for two. One thing we really missed having was a fridge - wish they could add this one modern touch. The 2nd time we stayed here we were part of a Tauck Tour and were placed in a room with a view of the lake - just lovely! I wouldn't have paid the extra money had we been on our own but it sure was appreciated. We took the Historical Tour that is offered of the hotel during our first stay which was very worthwhile - really learned a lot of interesting things that we wouldn't have otherwise been privy to that added to our experience. We ate in the Lake Dining Room for all of our meals which exceeded our expectations - a beautiful room with excellent service and ambience. The food quality was the best of all of the sit-down restaurants that we tried in other Yellowstone Lodges. Would highly recommend this hotel!