Re: Housekeeping Camp

I'm planning a trip to Yosemite in September and am considering a stay ay Housekeeping Camp.
I've read some reviews on tripadvisor, but would appreciate comments from real people. Do you
have any experience with this place and would you favor it over the tent cabins at Curry?

Thanks for your expertise.

I would favor just about anything over the tent cabins. The problem isn't the tent cabins, but the fact that they are extremely close together, and full of people, We were awakened numerous times by our neighbors...including one charming woman who vomited outside our tent twice in the middle of the night, waking up the whole neighborhood.

Not my idea of a Yosemite experience in any way

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It's the luck of the draw. You might get good neighbors, or not. Sept might be ok, but I would avoid it in the summer.

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balzaccom
I would favor just about anything over the tent cabins. The problem isn't the tent cabins, but the fact that they are extremely close together, and full of people, We were awakened numerous times by our neighbors...including one charming woman who vomited outside our tent twice in the middle of the night, waking up the whole neighborhood.

Not my idea of a Yosemite experience in any way

I've heard that exact same complaint about House Keeping.

Both the tent cabins at Curry and Housekeeping Camp have the problem of too noisy guests. At both locations, many guest to not abide by the quiet hours curfew of 10:00 PM. It's very unfortunate for the other guests.

And it's more unfortunate that the staff at either place often don't give a courtesy call to the offending guest (to tell them to pipe down) even after other guest have complained about the noise.

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I was in a campsite in the Pines campground across the road from Curry, and thought the tent cabins were way too noisy!

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AnotherDave
I'm planning a trip to Yosemite in September and am considering a stay ay Housekeeping Camp.
I've read some reviews on tripadvisor, but would appreciate comments from real people. Do you
have any experience with this place and would you favor it over the tent cabins at Curry?

Thanks for your expertise.

Since you are going to be staying in September I would suggest you save an extra $10 a month for each day you plan on staying and then stay at the lodge or in an actual room at Curry Village.

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Old Dude



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2013 06:14PM by mrcondron.

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mrcondron

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AnotherDave
I'm planning a trip to Yosemite in September and am considering a stay ay Housekeeping Camp.
I've read some reviews on tripadvisor, but would appreciate comments from real people. Do you
have any experience with this place and would you favor it over the tent cabins at Curry?

Thanks for your expertise.

Since you are going to be staying in September I would suggest you save an extra $10 a month for each day you plan on staying and then stay at the lodge or in an actual room at Curry Village.

Good suggestion!

Both the Curry Village tent cabins and the Housekeeping Camp housekeeping units can be problematic because of noisy neighbors. That's a major problem with both of those types of lodging. That said, my personal preference would be Housekeeping Camp because 1) you can cook your own food there, 2) it's a bit more spread out, 3) you can park you vehicle relatively close by to your unit and I feel that 4) it's in a nicer, more central location.

But an actual room at Curry Village or the Lodge would be a definite upgrade (and in my opinion well worth the increase in price).

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If you decide to stay in a room, I would pick the Lodge over Curry. Curry is always noisy although it might not be too bad if you go in mid to late September when kids are back at school. They do start closing eating places or have limited hours at Curry in September. If you stay at the Lodge, ask if they can put you in a meadow view room on the second floor of Hemlock when you make the reservation. Staying on the second floor eliminates having to hear people walk above your heads. We like 3434, 3428 or 3424. They don't guarantee you a certain room but they always try to do the best they can. If you get meadow view rooms then you are not overlooking a parking lot and you get a view of Sentinel Rock in certain rooms. If you want a view then don't stay in the Juniper building because some of the rooms have trees right in front of them. We have also stayed in Maple 3530 and it has a view of Halfdome from the balcony. We have not stayed in that room for years so growing trees might have obscured the view.

I haven't found the standard rooms or the cabins with baths at Curry to be more noisy than either the deluxe lodge rooms or the standard rooms at the Lodge.

The nice thing about Curry in the summer (and September at Yosemite is still summer with often numerous days in the 90's in the valley) is that Curry Village is shadier and cooler than the Lodge whose the rooms, especially the second story rooms can become like an oven in the summer.

That said, I alway prefer staying at the Yosemite Lodge instead of Curry Village because I prefer the location of the Lodge being closer to the center of Yosemite Valley and it being an easy walk to Yosemite Falls and Yosemite Village. At the lodge I like staying in rooms with the view of the meadow in winter and early spring, but not in late spring or summer because they are south facing and are the hottest rooms at the Lodge. Prefer the buildings that are more shaded by the trees during the warmer months. Also the first floor rooms tend to be cooler in the summer than the second floor rooms.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2013 10:10PM by plawrence.

I guess that I have had different experiences with noise at Curry rooms v.s. Lodge rooms than you have had. We have stayed more than once in Stoneman and vowed never to stay in there again. The worse was when the room was near the registration building and the shuttle stop. We could hear the shuttles and the people waiting for them and all night long people would walk by our room to go to registration. Walking on the veranda makes a lot of noise. We also could hear more noise from people in other rooms. It is not just about the noise from the rooms next door but the noise of people outside your room especially if you are near the pavilion and the other buildings. When we have stayed in the cabins further away, the outside noise was not bad.

I still miss the cabins that were near the Lodge. It was always much quieter there than at Curry.

I agree that the meadow view lodge rooms can be hotter in the summer but I would rather be a little warmer than be facing the parking lots, the other buildings and the shuttle stop. Personal preference since I have to deal with cars, traffic,parking lots and looking at too many buildings at home and when I am in the park, I want as little exposure to that as I can get while in my room.

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parklover

I guess that I have had different experiences with noise at Curry rooms v.s. Lodge rooms than you have had. We have stayed more than once in Stoneman and vowed never to stay in there again. The worse was when the room was near the registration building and the shuttle stop. We could hear the shuttles and the people waiting for them and all night long people would walk by our room to go to registration. Walking on the veranda makes a lot of noise. We also could hear more noise from people in other rooms. It is not just about the noise from the rooms next door but the noise of people outside your room especially if you are near the pavilion and the other buildings.

The first floor standard rooms at the Lodge (Cedar Cottage) have the same problem in regards to noise as the standard rooms in Stoneman at Curry Village, with many vistors walking past the rooms to and from Food Court, Lobby, Gift Shop, Amphitheater and Mountain Room restaurant and lounge of the Lodge and the parking lots on the east side of the Lodge. The only difference, the Cedar Cottage veranda is made out of concrete and not wood, so no creaking planks but still at times noisy visitors, especially ones with little children who just love to yell to the parents even though their parents are only two feet away.

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If you don't mind rude neighbors and noctural visits by very aggressive raccoons, then houskeeping is your place. If you want some actually "personal" space, which even kills me to say this then curry village. My first choice if I couldn't afford the lodge would be to tent camp it. Look for my post about raccoonville..it explains what I mean.

It really comes down to this: do you want to have the ability to cook right at your lodging, or not? If not, get a tent cabin, if yes, get a house keeping unit.

Thanks for all the input.

I stayed at Curry last year, and got along OK. But, what cost $89 last year is $124 this year.
For a hiker, Curry location is tough to beat, and the place is both cool and creepy. (Think of
the damage that one dude in a hockey mask with an axe could do) I don't need fabulous
accommodations like the Ahwahne (sp), so Curry or Housekeeping will probably do it this year.

When the trip nears, I'll be here with requests for updates on the Ledge Trail and its current
conditions.