The Pines Resort

Don’t know what happened to my previous review but I have nothing but wonderful things to say about this place. I will definitely be staying at this place again for my future family trips to Yosemite. All employees were very professional, and kind. We had plumbing issues in a beautiful chalet we stayed in, they were very very quick to respond, and even put us in their lake house after seeing the plumbing issue wasn’t able to be resolved. The lake house was beautiful and perfect for a large gathering. The general store had so much stuff, and prices were very reasonable. I definitely recommend this place to everyone, including friends and family. I honestly can’t wait to go back.

The chalets are beyond tired! Overpriced! Great staff. Great location the facilities has tremendous potential but needs a major makeover if they want to compete at this price level read the previous review about the green spa being fixed. It is still green. So the owner met with me and explained that he was renovating and wanted to make things right. Awesome!

Great family trip to The Pines Resort. We ourselves own a Hotel Spa in Napa Valley so we completely understand what it takes to provide a memorable experience worth repeating. The rooms (we had 3) we all very rustic but nice. You can tell they have been renovating slowly the property and we were lucky enough to stay right on the lake. We stayed all week before the memorial weekend and glad we did as the resort was very busy and crowded when we left. Rooms were clean, kitchens had all necessary amenities, carpets were new it was just a few minor issues… decks are very old and not that stable, joists are all falling out so keep an eye on the kids on railings as the two stories are very high up. some mold and some Cobb webs but that’s what you expect in the woods at a very old resort…
Overall service was very friendly, Rachel at check in was great and Mandi the manager made sure all our requests were taken care of promptly. One major flaw… WiFi. We know on vacation we should be unplugged, but when you own a business it’s hard to not have a reliable connection. The Internet did not work at all the entire stay and we notified them of the issues but nothing was fixed…
Outside of that our little kids and adults really enjoyed themselves and we all said we would definitely come back. We also rented a patio boat for the day and enjoyed the lake and the service at the marina was absolutely fantastic! We hope to return someday to The Pines and hope they keep renovating and also keep the reasonable prices!
Thanks Pines Resort for a great summer vacation!!!

I had a wonderful time this past week. Great location and room. I could see the beautiful lake and nature surrounding it. The two story home I stayed in was fabulous! It had everything I needed except for the food and drinks :) The store on site had just about everything you would need. I did go into town a couple of times to explore and shop. I will definitely be back soon!

Used a Groupon for $ 99 for a chalet on a Thursday night. The room wasn’t completely clean (there were little hairs laying around in the bathroom/​bathtub) but for the price, it was a steal. It was just me by myself but the price would’ve covered 2 people. It had a rustic cabin feel and was very spacious. It had two floors. The main floor has a living room with a full kitchen, full stove/​oven, full size empty fridge, wet bar, microwave, utensils. There’s a ladder that leads up to a small unfurnished loft space. There’s an outdoor patio with a table, chairs and bbq grill that overlooks a forest of pine trees! Downstairs there is a bedroom with a king bed (or 2 queens) and a bathroom. Both rooms have a tv. Service-​wise, the front desk attendants were pretty apathetic but whatever.

We had a fantastic stay here. Everyone was so nice. The place have everything you need to enjoy with your family from 8 yrs old to 80 yrs old. Would recommend to anyone & definitely will stay here again

We stayed here recently on our first family trip to Yosemite. I have wanted to see Yosemite since I was a child so it was super exciting for me to be able to see it for my first time with my littles. I had no idea where to stay so I looked at the visit Yosemite Madera website to get a feel for the area. They connected me with The Pines Resort and I feel like we hit the jackpot! We stayed in one of their renovated Chalet’s and it is everything you would expect from a mountain lake resort plus a ton of family friendly activities right on-​site.
The Chalet has 2 queen beds and a full bathroom downstairs with a closet, a window that opens to a nice view and breeze, and a dresser with 4 drawers. Upstairs is a wood stove type fireplace (that we had roaring every night!) a clean couch that pulls out with a coffee table and two chairs and a full kitchen with granite counter tops and decent cooking items. There is a ladder to the right of the kitchen that the kids can climb up into a little play loft with a window. Just be sure to keep an eye on your kids, but it is a fun play space — mine were up there playing cards and games and giggling!
The décor is charming rustic mountain and it was pretty clean, again it is a mountain lake resort and you feel like you are in a lake club, almost like a time-​share so keep that in mind.
The resort has a pool that is heated from April thru October. The heat was not on when we were there, but that did not stop my kids. They both went in while I watched from the hot tub! The hot tub was nice and warm!
There are tennis courts with fun lawn games on them — including a giant jenga game that we had a blast playing. A playground, a country store, 2 restaurants (that we found out the hard way close at 8!) a bar, loads of fishing spots and hiking places and a place to rent boats. We rented a boat for an afternoon from the Bass Lake WaterSports marine in front of the resort and had a blast — it was definitely a highlight of the trip!
The staff was knowledgeable and was able to answer all of our questions.
They are only a pretty 20 minute drive to the entrance of Yosemite park and many other fun local attractions.
Their renovations are ongoing, but from what I saw while we were there, this place is on the right track! The Chalet was an awesome place to spend our family vacation.
Our stay was wonderful and we will be back again for sure.

this place is worn out, customer service is not so great, front desk either under staffed or just don’t care-​attitude over phone, ignore request, needed 2^nd phone call for request such as towels etc. Jacuzzi water was green. would not stay here again, they need to clean up the place and shape up their customer service.

The Pines Resort is tired, worn out and dirty. The chalet room had the ceiling partially painted down stairs, the toilet seat didn’t fit the toilet and the shower had 2 large patches on the wall.
The restaurant breakfast was very good. The staff was good and the setting is great.
I would not come back until they remodel.

Let me preface this review by saying that I have travelled all over the world and I am used to basic accommodations (i.e. $ 2/​night hotels in India). Now…
I have bought two groupons for the pines resort (a one night stay and this two night stay). We have used the one night stay on Wednesday night and we were appalled at the state of this resort, especially in comparison to the pictures posted on your page. The property appeared to be in various stages of disrepair. There was yellow caution tape fluttering in the breeze and trash strewn all over the place (including broken glass bottles). The boards on the deck in front of the restaurant were warped and sticking up causing my kid to trip and take a nose dive. Part of our plan was to have a nice dinner at the much touted Ducey’s on the Lake but we found out at lunch that the place was closed for a private event. Booo.
The state of the chalet itself can be summed up in three words old, dingy and dirty.
The furniture was old and dingy, the sofa grimy, there were spiderwebs everywhere (in the restaurant as well, yuck). The kitchen cabinets and appliances looked like something out of the 1980s and were in corresponding conditions. Crooked cabinet doors, peeling veneers, the burners on the stovetop were all popped up and wouldn’t stay in place. The carpets throughout the place were dirty and gross. My son walked around barefoot for 15 minutes after waking up and his feet were dirty. The bedspread was old and covered in loose threads. Two out of the five lights in the kitchen/​livingroom area were not working and a third (right over the stairs, so not safe at all) kept turning itself off mysteriously and we had to keep getting up to switch it back one. When we woke up the next day I was shocked to see in the morning light that the wood paneled walls had some sort of growth on them. At that point I was done with the whole experience and we got out of there as quickly as possible.
I have stayed at Motel6s that were better appointed and most importantly cleaner. An establishment that dares to charge it’s guests regular prices of $ 183 per night really should concern itself more with upkeep and cleanliness.
One more thing: When we checked in we were charged $ 70 for «remaining fees». I thought that was odd and later checked my groupon to find out that we only owed 11% for taxes. I brought this up during checkout and the charge was reversed.
I had booked the remaining 2 night stay for my son’s birthday but for sanitary and safety reasons there is no way I am taking him back to this dump. Groupon’s kick-​ass customer service team gave us a credit for the unused Groupon and saved us from having to go back. Yay!

We came here on a groupon stay. I had been near the Bass Lake area on business and had always wanted to check out The Pines. It’s a Summer retreat that is open all year round. That means it’s a skeleton crew staff and services. No pool and no hot tub. It seemed everywhere we went at the resort something was broken or out of service. I found that a little disturbing. When checking in the first thing That caught my attention was when the front desk person let me know that the rooms were only cleaned once every three days. I was surprised to say the least.
Don’t get me wrong I like funky and rustic. That’s why we stayed. The «Chalet» we stayed it was fun for the kids who sprinted up and down the stairs and snuggled near the fireplace. I would recommend, like another rater, to bring your own cooking hardware. Overall we had fun, but the whole resort definitely needs updating. I’m sorry to say it was pretty dirty/​dusty in our «Chalet»
Staff was very friendly and gave great advice everywhere we went. The guy at the boat rental place was friendly. We BS a while about trucks and then he showed me on A map some great family hikes on the other side of the lake. Very cool hikes.
Overall did we have a good family vacation? Yes. Would I stay here again? No.

I really can’t understand why this place has only a 3 star rating. Our stay was amazing!
We got a deal on either Groupon or Living Social and upgraded to the suite because the basic room deal was sold out. We hoped to book for the upcoming holiday weekend. To my surprise, they had vacancy.
When we got there, the woman at the front desk was talking with someone about a broken heater and offering to have maintenance bring a space heater. She went in back and pulled out two old, beat up space heaters. Needless to say we were worried.
Our room was great. Nice and spacious. A great king sized bed, a fireplace, and a working heater. It even had a balcony.
Our «lake view» left a lot to be desired, that wasn’t what we came for anyway.
Long story short, the room was great, the staff was friendly, even taking the time to tell us where to go and how to get around in nearby Yosemite, and since we city slickers aren’t used to having everything close at 9, they even told us where we could go to get a decent late night meal.
I was so impressed I might even find an excuse to come back here.

Got a Living Social deal and stayed in the Chalets for about $ 90/​night in late January. The highlights:
–Chalets have space but walls and floors are thin. There was a party going o next door until 430 am and we could here everything.
–We called hotel management 4 times between 230 am and 430 am, they failed to quit our neighbors.
— Best to go with a group and rent out both chalets (they have a connecting door).
–The cleanliness we experienced was similiar to other reviewers. Dust on tables, crumbs on dishes, etc. Bedding and bathroom were good.
–Wifi no good during peek hours, but it is fine at 330 in morning. I think they need an upgrade.
–Proximty to South Entrance of Yosemite is awesome.
–Full kitchen is functional, but nothing special.
–We ate at the bar and grill onsite, food was great, service excellent.
All in all, we would probably stay here again provided that we got the discount.

We came in January and stayed here for a holiday weekend to visit the Yosemite area. I really do not recommend this place during the winter. Half the businesses in the resort are closed, the lake is fenced off so you can’t even walk in the vicinity of it and the pool area (which was advertised as being heated for the colder days) was closed.
We brought our small dog with us, which required us to pay an additional pet fee, which I suppose is to cover any mess that might occur from the animal during the stay. They also claim to have «pet-​designated» chalets, which is where we were, and I’m guessing this is for the benefit of the Resort and not the guest as there is nothing different between this cabin then any other.
The chalet itself was comfortable, on a scale of 1 – 10 I’d give it a 7 for overall appeal and cleanliness. One item of note, the hot water was nearly non-​existant. There was enough for one person to shower and that was it, so i suggest couples use the time to get romantic and shower together, cause otherwise one of you will freeze their butts off while washing their hair.
My recommendation is to bring cookware and shop at the grocery store near the resort. Since we have never been here before we didn’t really plan ahead in terms of food and were stuck buying takeout and eating at restaurants nearby, none of which really thrilled us and the drive back to the resort is 20 minutes, so your take out will be lukewarm at best when you get back.
We didn’t really have any issues with the room other than the Wi-​Fi, which is practically non-​existant. It’s funny cause they have a sign saying that because the resort is in the mountains, the wifi can be sketchy. I call BS, cause as long as I can call your front desk, you have a hardline running into your resort and the only reason there isn’t any decent wifi is because you’re too cheap to upgrade your system with some decent routers. Seriously, it was like being on a 56k modem.
Come check out time, there were two people in front of me that were complaining to the front desk that something was not as it should be in their room (water leakage, appliance not working). I’m not taking that into account on my star rating, but it will probably be a huge factor as to whether or not I come back.
A final note, and this is probably something future guests should be aware of (based off my own experience and other Unilocal reviews), they run the risk of double billing you. I paid when I checked in on the first day and then when I went to check out the guy at the front desk told me that I had a balance of $ 300+. I tried to explain that I already paid and he said that was just the security deposit. I get out of line and check my account (15 minutes using their wonderfully antiquated wifi) and go back to the woman at the desk to check out, phone in hand ready to show that I’ve already paid and she takes the keycard, hits a couple buttons on the computer and says «thank you for your visit, we hope you enjoyed your stay». So either the other guy doesn’t know what he’s doing, or they see if they can get away with double billing you and then put a hold on the refund hoping you just give up, figuring it’s not worth the headache.

I really liked this place, found it on groupon and will definitely return. Great staff, both restaurants had great food and friendly, the chalets were clean, our whole experience was great! I loved the fireplace, balcony facing the woods and loft space. I want to give it a 4 star but they are in need of some renovations. It’s in cottage country so you don’t really need the Ritz but feel they would benefit from some renos. Would like to return in the summer next time :)

There are not many resort «ski lodge» type places to stay in/​near Yosemite, but The Pines Resort happens to be one of the few. Although we did not stay here, you can find a great deal on hotel tonight. We opted to stay at another spot because Yart access was on premise there, although if Pines Resort had it, we would have stayed here. We did however eat at the The Pines Resort restaurant. While it might look a little dated, the view is amazing, and the food even better. I had an alfredo and salad with a side of mushrooms, and while the combination might sound boring to you, it was phenomenal.

I bought a weekend deal on Travelzoo and went last weekend. I made a mistake by not reading reviews prior to booking. I was expecting something different and a bit nicer. I don’t want to be too mean because it has everything you need and it is unique. We were in a two queen bed cabin. Like I said, it has everything you need but it might not be as nice or as clean as you would hope. Lots of wear and tear and outdated.
Not my kind of place.

Pines Resort is perfect for a fun weekend getaway. We stayed in one of their cabins over the fourth of July weekend and greatly enjoyed the beauty of the lake, the fun activities (jet skiing, boating, inner tubing) that were available on the Lake, and the proximity to Yosemite Valley for some amazing hiking.
The resort itself is about 50 minutes away from the park (Yosemite Valley floor), and only 20 min away from the Mariposa Grove Redwoods. If you’re not used to driving winding roads then it might be longer.
We stayed at one of their 2 bed suites and it was charming and cozy. We enjoyed the rustic feel of the place, while having a full kitchen, couch, fireplace and even some TV to relax to.
Strongly recommend that you stay for a few nights, and take advantage of the sports activities on the lake (jet skiing and inner tubing behind a boat in particular), and be sure to try a couple hikes in Yosemite (Glacier Point, Yosemite Falls, Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls, and Half Dome are all amazing, and worth hiking).

My wife and I went for one night on April 18^th. What a huge disappointment. The room we had was a lake view with a spa. The view was nice. The lake doesn’t have much water but that’s not the hotels fault.
The restaurant wasn’t to bad. Our waitress was very nice. The food was not at the level of a Ruth Cris but was not bad.
What completely ruined our stay was when we pulled back the blankets we found ants in our bed. We called the front desk and was told someone would be coming in 10 minutes. I called back about 15 minutes later and was told the maintenance person was on another project. Ok how about one of the night managers come and at least pretend to care. It was a good thing we lived in Fresno and could drive home. The hotel was full so there were no other options. The front desk people made no attempts to find us an alternate place to stay. I was contacted by a manager both by email and phone apologizing and with and offer to return that would be mailed to us. We never received it or heard from them again. We were not charged for the room but did spend $ 150 or so in the restaurant that night. Good thing I was able to drive and didn’t drink much.

So we planned a weekend Hiking trip to Yosemite and were deciding between either camping down at Yosemite Valley or finding a hotel/​resort nearby. Camping would have been cool, but our decision to choose Pines was definitely the right call.
The resort itself is about 45 – 50 minutes away from the park, and only 20 min away from the Mariposa Grove Redwoods (Wawona Point is an awesome hike btw). If you’re not used to driving winding roads then it might be longer. *Please have the courtesy to move over at appropriate points to let other cars behind you pass. Gracias*
We stayed at one of their 2 bed suites and it was very charming and cozy. Izaac (My 7 year old) loved climbing up to the loft. It wasn’t the busy season so the entire resort was relatively quiet, which was perfect for us.
We got picnic food and drinks at the Market on the resort and drove to the park bright and early to hike. After a long day of hiking we had the luxury of coming back to a full kitchen, couch, fireplace and even some TV to relax to.
Don’t get me wrong I love camping. But after talking to a camper while on our first day hike, and hearing how crowded the camp grounds were in the valley, we were definitely happy to enjoy the quiet and comfort of our little suite after a long day of amazing adventure.
We will definitely be back.