I have not gone on this tour with Tauck but have gone on a similar itinerary on our own multiple times. We have stayed at the places listed for nights 1-4 and they are wonderful older, historic, rustic places. There aren't many places to chose from in the parks and you will not be disappointed. However, I cannot speak to the other hotels for the remainder of the trip. I would check Trip Advisor. We did a 36 day cross country drive in 2016 and used it extensively to select places both inside and outside the parks. Good luck !
I've been in the lobby at the Old Faithful Inn and it would be worth a certain amount of 'rustic" ambience in the room to stay there. If by Tauck standards you're imagining the Savoy or Intercontinental then no. This tour is about location location not luxury.
Tauck standards?? Clean, great service and outstanding location. I don't think Tauck would use a a location for any length of time that would be unacceptable to their guests. I am not sure about the dude ranch in Wyoming, but the Yellowstone accommodations are National Park Lodges, rustic but the locations more than make up for that. Lake Yellowstone is a bit different from other lodges as it is not as rustic looking from the exterior. Even the Ahwahnee (Grand Majestic) in Yosemite, at $500+ plus a night, is rustic!! And, Virginia Travelers was correct about checking out Trip Advisor as you should be able to view photos rooms of the lodges taken by previous guests.
I was on Tauck's Scandinavia tour last summer and found two of the hotels well below their "standards." That is a potential issue with isolated locations. You can't find four or five star hotels everywhere.
I took a tour with Tauck that included the Tetons and Yellowstone last year. National Park lodges are in the Park, you go to see the park, you are right there. say no more.
In the Tetons, we were in A Four Seasons, but we were a $30 ride into town. We stayed on a couple of days and that was a pain in the behind. For us, location location location is the key. That is what Tauck usually says. And guess what, they scrapped that tour, so the luxury of the hotel did not influence the tour. Tour director did, the only very so so TD we have ever had.maybe it should also be, TD, TD, TD
August 2019 Tour. We loved this part of the country! We understood that the rooms at the National Parks may not be to the level of what we have come to expect with Tauck, including the rooms not having tv's and a/c. We are just commenting about the accommodations on this Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore tour. The first few nights at The Jackson Lake Lodge were a disappointment. We feel Tauck inaccurately embellished this hotel room. In retrospect Tauck's website listed the accommodation as The Jackson Lake Lodge and what was pictured was the beautiful lobby. Before our trip we did a search online for pictures of the rooms with Trip Advisor & Google and what we saw were pictures of views inside the rooms and beautiful views from the rooms. However, we stayed at one of The Jackson Lake Lodge Cabins which are down the road from the main hotel. Our cabin was across from the laundry where the workers gathered each morning at 5am. There is no a/c in the cabins and our windows were opened to let the cool air into our cabin. The employees were not overly noisy, but we could hear them arrive at 5am. All cabins are within walking distance of the main lobby, unfortunately during a downpour we could not walk to the lobby for dinner one evening. We enjoyed the The Jackson Lake Lodge Diner for breakfast which included friendly service and fresh food. Day 3-The Old Faithful Inn is magnificent, even if our room faced the back where the deliveries were made. This hotel is big and you can easily get lost but the architecture was unique and wonderful! The Old Faithful Dining Room has a fresh and flavorful menu choice for breakfast and dinner. Day 4-The Lake Yellowstone Hotel is a 5 Star Hotel! Lovely! Meal choices were upscale for dinner and breakfast. Day 5- the Holiday Inn in Cody - tv was included with the room although we didn't miss the tv on this trip. The tour director had a plan for dinner, having us arrive in 15 minute intervals, but the staff of 2 to 4 could not keep up with the dinners. Day 6-The Ranch at Ucross and our room was as pictured in the Tauck website: a pleasurable cabin surrounded by beautiful countryside. Day 7-The Rushmore Hotel and Suites is a very big hotel, not what we were experiencing at the other hotels on this trip. The breakfast left a lot to be desired, seemed everything was frozen or canned, but the next day many were rushing to catch planes and maybe did not experience it.
Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore tour questions: Thanks to AwayWeGo post. Can we stay in the main Jackson Lake Lodge? or are all the rooms in cabins? Tauck doesn't mention that the accommodations are not in the main hotel.
Comments
I have not gone on this tour with Tauck but have gone on a similar itinerary on our own multiple times. We have stayed at the places listed for nights 1-4 and they are wonderful older, historic, rustic places. There aren't many places to chose from in the parks and you will not be disappointed. However, I cannot speak to the other hotels for the remainder of the trip. I would check Trip Advisor. We did a 36 day cross country drive in 2016 and used it extensively to select places both inside and outside the parks. Good luck !
I've been in the lobby at the Old Faithful Inn and it would be worth a certain amount of 'rustic" ambience in the room to stay there. If by Tauck standards you're imagining the Savoy or Intercontinental then no. This tour is about location location not luxury.
Tauck standards?? Clean, great service and outstanding location. I don't think Tauck would use a a location for any length of time that would be unacceptable to their guests. I am not sure about the dude ranch in Wyoming, but the Yellowstone accommodations are National Park Lodges, rustic but the locations more than make up for that. Lake Yellowstone is a bit different from other lodges as it is not as rustic looking from the exterior. Even the Ahwahnee (Grand Majestic) in Yosemite, at $500+ plus a night, is rustic!! And, Virginia Travelers was correct about checking out Trip Advisor as you should be able to view photos rooms of the lodges taken by previous guests.
I was on Tauck's Scandinavia tour last summer and found two of the hotels well below their "standards." That is a potential issue with isolated locations. You can't find four or five star hotels everywhere.
I took a tour with Tauck that included the Tetons and Yellowstone last year. National Park lodges are in the Park, you go to see the park, you are right there. say no more.
In the Tetons, we were in A Four Seasons, but we were a $30 ride into town. We stayed on a couple of days and that was a pain in the behind. For us, location location location is the key. That is what Tauck usually says. And guess what, they scrapped that tour, so the luxury of the hotel did not influence the tour. Tour director did, the only very so so TD we have ever had.maybe it should also be, TD, TD, TD
August 2019 Tour. We loved this part of the country! We understood that the rooms at the National Parks may not be to the level of what we have come to expect with Tauck, including the rooms not having tv's and a/c. We are just commenting about the accommodations on this Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore tour. The first few nights at The Jackson Lake Lodge were a disappointment. We feel Tauck inaccurately embellished this hotel room. In retrospect Tauck's website listed the accommodation as The Jackson Lake Lodge and what was pictured was the beautiful lobby. Before our trip we did a search online for pictures of the rooms with Trip Advisor & Google and what we saw were pictures of views inside the rooms and beautiful views from the rooms. However, we stayed at one of The Jackson Lake Lodge Cabins which are down the road from the main hotel. Our cabin was across from the laundry where the workers gathered each morning at 5am. There is no a/c in the cabins and our windows were opened to let the cool air into our cabin. The employees were not overly noisy, but we could hear them arrive at 5am. All cabins are within walking distance of the main lobby, unfortunately during a downpour we could not walk to the lobby for dinner one evening. We enjoyed the The Jackson Lake Lodge Diner for breakfast which included friendly service and fresh food. Day 3-The Old Faithful Inn is magnificent, even if our room faced the back where the deliveries were made. This hotel is big and you can easily get lost but the architecture was unique and wonderful! The Old Faithful Dining Room has a fresh and flavorful menu choice for breakfast and dinner. Day 4-The Lake Yellowstone Hotel is a 5 Star Hotel! Lovely! Meal choices were upscale for dinner and breakfast. Day 5- the Holiday Inn in Cody - tv was included with the room although we didn't miss the tv on this trip. The tour director had a plan for dinner, having us arrive in 15 minute intervals, but the staff of 2 to 4 could not keep up with the dinners. Day 6-The Ranch at Ucross and our room was as pictured in the Tauck website: a pleasurable cabin surrounded by beautiful countryside. Day 7-The Rushmore Hotel and Suites is a very big hotel, not what we were experiencing at the other hotels on this trip. The breakfast left a lot to be desired, seemed everything was frozen or canned, but the next day many were rushing to catch planes and maybe did not experience it.
Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore tour questions: Thanks to AwayWeGo post. Can we stay in the main Jackson Lake Lodge? or are all the rooms in cabins? Tauck doesn't mention that the accommodations are not in the main hotel.