Best Western Desert Inn

Jaclyn Black

In summary: Decent room, but customer experience tainted by rude, unprofessional, and unhelpful front desk staff and management upon check-in —— Long version: I stayed in Jackson Hole last week and my mom and I decided to book a night at this hotel so we could have an extra day to explore Yellowstone. When we were about 15 minutes from our home base in Jackson Hole on the way into the park, I realized I left my ID at the house. It was no big deal as I had everything else I needed, but I remembered I might need it to check into the hotel. We didn’t want to backtrack and add 30 min to the drive if it wasn’t necessary, so I decided I’d call the hotel just to see if they would accept a detailed photo of the ID instead of physical ID. I called the morning of our check-in on July 29th at 9:23 AM and talked to a girl who told me that would be completely fine if I used a photo of my ID, and that I wouldn’t have a problem checking in. With that information, we went ahead and kept driving and did not go back to get the ID since it wasn’t needed. We spent a whole day at the park and had a really long day of driving and hiking. After the day, we were quite tired and excited to take a shower and have a chill night at the hotel. We arrived at the hotel at about 7PM. When I arrived I told the young lady at the front desk that I needed to check in, and I didn’t have my ID (basically explained the situation that I called in and they said it was fine). Her reaction was MUCH different than the person I talked to that morning. She stated (rudely) that they absolutely can not accept check-in without the physical ID. I asked her if she could get an exception since I was given wrong info by one of their associates, and she went back and texted the manager and she came back out and told me said the manager said the same thing…(even more rude this time) that “you absolutely need an ID to check in”. I again explained the situation and asked that I speak to the manager directly. She finally sighed and went back and I guess called the manager and said the manager was on their way over. When I asked for an ETA for when the manager would be here, she said “she’ll get here when she gets here” and stormed off. I think this person is the rudest and least helpful customer service person I’ve ever worked with. I’m not sure what her name was but she had brown curly hair with purple ends and was working front desk at 7pm on July 29th 2022. Finally, after waiting probably 30 minutes, the manager showed up. My mom had to deal with the manager because I was so angry from my encounter with the other rude employee. The manager came in and first complained that she had to come in on her day off (lol). The manager never apologized, was actually pretty rude too, but at least was able to work with my mom to get her ID/credit card on file so we could stay using my booked points. We went up to the hotel room and it actually was a decent hotel (clean room, nothing to write home about but it was about what I expected for a best western). However, the horrible check in experience put such a sour taste in my mouth that I can only remember that. I feel like the only way best western would be able to make this right would be to give me some sort of refund or credit. I would maybe consider staying at a a Best Western again but only if they do something else to make this right because the service at the front desk I received was uncceptable.

Jennie Edgar

My flight was cancelled and I forgot to reschedule the room. Despite no attempts to contact me or even reminders (booking was made months before), I was charged 800 and wasn’t even there. Attempts to work with the staff on maybe reducing the charges were fruitless. Very frustrating and not helpful. I will not stay here and recommend you don’t either.

Chris

Positive: The hotel was close to the entrance to Yellowstone. The breakfast had a lot of options and even had some gluten free options.

J Watson

Our room was nice, clean, and comfortable for our family of 5. We were thrilled to discover it had a little kitchenette with a full-size fridge and a microwave. Since it was late April the hotel was not too busy. We almost always had the pool and hot tub to ourselves. I seldom swim in pools at hotels because most aren't warm enough for my comfort.This pool was warm and comfortable and the hot tub was delightful! Many restaraunts were within walking distance. The buffet breakfast was great! I missed the Belgian waffles that many other Best Western Plus serve, but they had yummy French toast and Biscuits with sausage gravy that made up for it. There were plenty of other options for breakfast so you could easily find something you liked. The only thing missing was fresh fruit options. I loved that the hot chocolate, hot apple cider, (coffee/tea if you drink that) were available all hours of the day. We look forward to coming back to this Best Western next time we visit West Yellowstone.