12 Best Hotels in The Sierra Nevada, California

The cabins at this resort a 10-minute drive south from Mammoth Lakes range from rustic to modern and come with fully equipped kitchens, including coffeemakers and premium coffee. The least-fancy feel like upgraded fishing cabins, and the nicest have whirlpool tubs and other creature comforts. In addition to the 28 cabins, three houses are available for groups of 12–32 people. Whichever room you book, the valley here is so gorgeous that you may want to spend all your time outdoors. Winters are especially pretty.

Lofty pines tower over this June Lake Loop spa retreat with rooms in four buildings overlooking a pond, as well as a three-bedroom house and knotty-pine two-bedroom cabins—all with fully equipped kitchens. The on-site Eagles Landing Restaurant serves three meals a day, and spa services and treatments, plus access to the indoor pool, are available for guests and nonguests. In 2023, the spa added soaking tubs and new treatments including acupressure, neuromuscular release, Thai massage, and lymphatic drainage massage.

On the edge of the John Muir Wilderness Area, where cross-country ski trails lace the woods, this 1924 lodge looks like something out of a snow globe. The lake it borders is serenely beautiful, and during warm months fishing, canoeing, hiking, and mountain biking can be had right outside. For more privacy, opt for one of the cabins, which range from rustic to downright cushy—many have kitchens and fireplaces or wood-burning stoves. The softly lit Lakefront Restaurant (reservations encouraged) serves outstanding seasonal cuisine.

Across from the Village at Mammoth, this family-run hotel (with rooms and a couple of cabins) offers basic comforts and a few niceties such as attractive pine furniture. All rooms have fresh color schemes, contemporary bedding, ski racks, refrigerators, coffeemakers, and flat-screen TVs, and some rooms have fireplaces and kitchens. The pool is a nice touch in summer. Best of all, you can walk to shops and restaurants, including the on-site Petra's. In business for over 50 years, the owners also run the downstairs Clocktower Cellar pub. The Village Gondola is across the street, a major plus for skiers.

Perched on 11 hillside acres, Oakhurst's best motel has carefully tended landscaping and rooms with stylish contemporary furnishings and hand-painted murals of Yosemite.

This mountain-lodge-style hotel, where the river-rock lobby has a wonderfully large hearth, is a good base for exploring the town or going skiing and trout fishing nearby. Rooms are elegantly furnished; request number 140 for a view of the creek. In summer you can sit around fire tables near the water's edge.

Tops for slope-side comfort, these condominium-style units have full kitchens and ski-in, ski-out access to the mountain at Eagle Lodge. Extras include gas fireplaces and balconies; the heated outdoor pool—surrounded by a heated deck—is open year-round. If you like to be near nightlife, you'll do better at the Village, but if you don't mind having to drive to go out for the evening, this is a great spot. For the best rates, book ski-and-stay packages through 1800–Mammoth. 

If you want to be within walking distance of the Mammoth Mountain Main Lodge, this is the place, and, in summer, the proximity to the gondola means you can hike and mountain bike to your heart's delight. Accommodations, which vary in size, include more than 14 room types, from standard hotel rooms to condo units. The inn, ski lodge, and other summit facilities are likely to be razed and rebuilt within five years, bringing more of a 21st-century ski resort feel to what's been a quaint 1950s-born resort. Meanwhile, the inn has done a respectable job with continual refurbishing.

Rooms at this family-owned property have balconies with views of the surrounding woods and mountains. For maximum atmosphere, book a room overlooking the brook (runs in spring and early summer); for some serenity, choose a lower-level room on the edge of the forest. All accommodations are comfortably furnished with old-fashioned accents. The restaurant, decorated with moose, bison, and other mounted heads, specializes in steaks and American fare. It's open from late April until late October.

This full-service resort has it all—Old Mammoth rustic elegance, a restaurant, bar, seasonal pool and whirlpool, and room and suite options in three buildings. All accommodations have flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi, mini-refrigerators, and microwaves; some also have gas fireplaces, leather lounge chairs, soaking tubs, waterfall showers, and kitchenettes. The 10 cabins sleep anywhere between two and six people In late 2022, new owners remodeled extensively, adding a rustic-modern flare to the rooms.

With their exposed timbers and peaked roofs, these four-story condo buildings at the epicenter of Mammoth's dining and nightlife scene pay homage to Alpine style. Units have gas fireplaces, kitchens or kitchenettes, high-speed Wi-Fi, DVD players, slate-tile bathroom floors, and comfortable furnishings. You won't have to drive anywhere: the buildings are connected by a ground-floor pedestrian mall to shops, restaurants, bars, and—best of all—a gondola (from November through mid-April) that whisks you right from the Village to the mountain.

Two miles outside Yosemite's Arch Rock entrance, this modern property is the most convenient place to spend the night if you are unable to secure lodgings in the valley. All rooms have good views, but the ones with balconies that overlook the Merced River are the best. You have your choice of four pools here, one of which is indoors. The restaurant cooks up an impressive breakfast buffet, and there's also a pizza joint on-site (open only from April through October). Many of the rooms, however, come with kitchenettes.