The River Inn

3 days before our stay, they called us to say we couldn't stay there because they are overbooked. Our daughter wanted to see the Sequoias for her birthday. Now we're left scrambling to make other plans. They weren't apologetic and seemingly put the blame on us saying we booked last minute. We booked on a Monday, mid-October not high season summertime, for a Saturday stay 5 days later. The booking site said multiple rooms were still avaiable. Pathetic!

Mattress is comfortable, but I would not stay there again. The grounds are messy and not as pictured in their ad. The room has poor lighting, mold on shower curtain, no wash clothes, no shampoo and felt dirty and dingy. I never saw anyone cleaning vacated rooms. This motel is only a place to sleep if no other option is available.

Just don't stay here. The room was dirty, I won't talk about the fridge, the picture talks for itself. We waited a long time for checking in because there was no one at the office. We tried to call but the phone was in the office... so not really helpful. We were during the check-in hours so it was very annoying. Especially when you spent your day at the national park and you just want to rest a bit. The office was so dirty we already were scared. We didn't sleep well, I understand why some people sleep in their cars.

So, we were waiting for one of the workers to come for 5 min. Then we went to our room and the moment I walked in, I saw a spider. Then another one, and another one. Then I walked in the bedroom because we had the biggest room, and saw 2 of those big misquotes. The bedroom wall was yellow. The were cracks on the walls. The shower looked like sh*t.

First, I'll give a few positives: amenities of in-room coffee, refrig and microwave, which are pretty much the expected standard in modern travel. A/C worked well, both cool & heat. Problems: They still use "old school" key, rather than card, which would be fine EXCEPT for 1 thing - there is nobody in office except for hours 3-9 PM, so upon departure, you drop key in outside open/unsecured box.. Very dangerous, as anybody could take key, make copy and enter your room whenever to do whatever. And if you arrive after 9 PM (which fortunately I didn't) you have to go about 5 miles back to the Western Holiday Lodge (owners own both) to get a key (they do tell you this via email upfront, but this is not a good business practice). Next, the shower in Room 6 is leaky, very difficult to get the control knob in just the right position to stop it. Next, WiFi very balky & slow, cuts out repeatedly, esp at certain hours (late afternoon and evenings, not so much very early AM). Next, no towels in room, only a wash cloth and bath mat. Office clerk did provide some promptly. Told him I wouldn't require daily cleaning since I had everything I needed except for couple extra coffee packets, which he provided (no problem with him personally, he provided items needed). Was informed that they usually didn't clean daily, which some travelers may not like & makes you wonder about their maintenance overall. Won't stay again unless these matters resolved.