Bad Change, Good Change in Mammoth Lakes
After staying the night, doing some hiking, and having lunch in Lee Vining, California, next to Mono Lake, we drove south to Mammoth Lakes. We'd stay Saturday and Sunday nights in Mammoth, and do hiking in the general area, before heading home on Monday.
Even the drive to Mammoth Lakes is scenic. The higher peaks are still flecked in snow, even after a record dry winter. We knew the snow was there during our midnight drive at nearly 10,000' Friday night. It was nice to finally see it! Down at the foot of the mountain- which is still over 7,000 feet elevation in many places here- the grass, shrubs, and trees are green...ish.
We pulled into Mammoth Lakes first even though we had one more hike on our agenda. We figured we'd check into our hotel and stow our bags. The hotel was apparently short staffed, though. Nobody was at the desk. We understand that sometimes at smaller (or cheaper) motels the one front desk person has to step away to do something; but we waited several minutes with no sign of staff.
We left to get snacks at a nearby bakery and came back. By then the front desk person had returned to the front desk. She told us no checkin until 4. She didn't even check our names or reserved room type; just "No rooms until 4pm."
We went hiking and came back after 4. She welcomed us in. But the elevator was broken. We weren't thrilled about having to use stairs, as a) we packed lots of small bags, and b) Hawk has a dodgy back. She assured us she could accommodate us in the room type we'd reserved on the 2nd floor, just one flight of steps up.
When we got to the room, though, we found it was not the type of room we reserved. Hawk stormed back downstairs, angry at the bait-and-switch. The front desk person said the only room of the type we reserved was on the 4th floor. "Hell, no!" we decided and asked them to refund our money.
Before deciding to bounce, of course, we checked that other hotels actually had rooms available. It was tight- summer weekends in a tourist town always are- but we found a room at the Westin Monache, one of the nicest hotels in town.
The difference between the two hotels was night-and-day starting at the front desk. The staff at the Westin welcomed us warmly and explained the hotel's many amenities. Our mini suite on the 6th floor (reached by multiple elevators that work!) has a fireplace and a view of Mammoth Mountain. It was more expensive than the hotel we walked out of, of course. But given that the hotel we walked out of was another basic place for $200/night like where we stayed last night, paying $330/night for this place seemed reasonable.
We found the room here so comfortable that after dinner we decided not to avail ourselves of the hotel's pool and hot tub or other amenities. Instead we lit a fire in the fireplace and stretched out on the floor in front of it with our computers and desserts we'd bought at the bakery.
Even the drive to Mammoth Lakes is scenic. The higher peaks are still flecked in snow, even after a record dry winter. We knew the snow was there during our midnight drive at nearly 10,000' Friday night. It was nice to finally see it! Down at the foot of the mountain- which is still over 7,000 feet elevation in many places here- the grass, shrubs, and trees are green...ish.
We pulled into Mammoth Lakes first even though we had one more hike on our agenda. We figured we'd check into our hotel and stow our bags. The hotel was apparently short staffed, though. Nobody was at the desk. We understand that sometimes at smaller (or cheaper) motels the one front desk person has to step away to do something; but we waited several minutes with no sign of staff.
We left to get snacks at a nearby bakery and came back. By then the front desk person had returned to the front desk. She told us no checkin until 4. She didn't even check our names or reserved room type; just "No rooms until 4pm."
We went hiking and came back after 4. She welcomed us in. But the elevator was broken. We weren't thrilled about having to use stairs, as a) we packed lots of small bags, and b) Hawk has a dodgy back. She assured us she could accommodate us in the room type we'd reserved on the 2nd floor, just one flight of steps up.
When we got to the room, though, we found it was not the type of room we reserved. Hawk stormed back downstairs, angry at the bait-and-switch. The front desk person said the only room of the type we reserved was on the 4th floor. "Hell, no!" we decided and asked them to refund our money.
Before deciding to bounce, of course, we checked that other hotels actually had rooms available. It was tight- summer weekends in a tourist town always are- but we found a room at the Westin Monache, one of the nicest hotels in town.
The difference between the two hotels was night-and-day starting at the front desk. The staff at the Westin welcomed us warmly and explained the hotel's many amenities. Our mini suite on the 6th floor (reached by multiple elevators that work!) has a fireplace and a view of Mammoth Mountain. It was more expensive than the hotel we walked out of, of course. But given that the hotel we walked out of was another basic place for $200/night like where we stayed last night, paying $330/night for this place seemed reasonable.
We found the room here so comfortable that after dinner we decided not to avail ourselves of the hotel's pool and hot tub or other amenities. Instead we lit a fire in the fireplace and stretched out on the floor in front of it with our computers and desserts we'd bought at the bakery.