Wuksachi Lodge at Sequoia

This was our first visit to Sequoia National Park and we stayed at Wuksachi Lodge as it was the closest to the attractions and really the only place you can stay in the park. It was myself (age 37, and my two sons, age 9 and 12). Overall the stay at the Lodge was satisfactory. PROS: Closest to all attractions, beautiful view from the deck, only place to stay in the park (next closest is Three Rivers, which is about an hour drive away down a very winding road). And, here are a couple of things you need to know before going. 1) No air-conditioning in rooms (except for the superior rooms): We went during a bit of a heatwave, temperatures were about 30 degrees C, which made the rooms quite warm - even with the window fans. I wished that this was more clearly communicated in the room booking as I didn't realize there was no A/C until looking again (after reading another review). Since it was so hot, we had the fans on all night which was so loud to sleep with. My advice: Go during a cooler time of year or spend the extra $$ on the superior room. 2) Food: There are two places to eat the lodge - #1 Restaurant, #2 Pizza Deck. We had the buffet breakfast two mornings at the restaurant. The Wednesday morning was excellent, lots of food, and fruit, with great service. We went again Friday morning - and it was a completely different story. There was no batter for waffles, no bacon, minimal fruit, and the service was stretched thin. The pizza deck had great pizza and that was it - the soup was lacking, salad was not great and the sandwiches were something from a grocery store counter (made overnight and left in a fridge). My advice: Not much to say here, get the pizza for sure and overall the food is satisfactory/medicore and overpriced, but you're in a national park - so this is expected. 3) Trek to the rooms: all of the rooms are in another area from the main lodge. You will have to climb either stairs or ramps to get to your room and there are no elevators in the lodges. This was especially difficult for families with small children or elderly. Add in the fact that you're high in elevation, it really was an obstacle to get to things to your room. My advice: ask for help from the staff (I wish I did this before I lugged up all my luggage on my own with my kids - single mom here). Take it slow. 4) Drive to the lodge: This is a warning to everyone that the drive to the lodge and into Sequoia National Park is VERY WINDING. The road is narrow, with many spots where there is no railing and it's just open to the steep drop off below. You will need to be a confident driver to drive here. It definitely took me for a shock that first day, after spending a week here, I got used to it. But overall, I wanted to warn people who may not be strong drivers. My advice: take it slow, go with someone who is a confident driver. I hope this was helpful for everyone to hear - I wish I knew these things before I went. Read less

The lodge was very comfortable and beyond our expectations. The room was spacious and clean. Bed was comfortable and we liked the fresh air from the windows (we don’t enjoy over air conditioned hotels). The water pressure from the showers could have been stronger but we were fine with it especially to preserve water. The staff was kind and friendly. The Peak restaurant was a different experience. Unfortunately, we found our hostess Lydia to be a little racist. That is the only way we could sum up her attitude. We reserved our dinner reservations weeks prior to arriving at sequoia. Both nights she insisted to give us the worst table in the room which seated only two (all other tables seat 4) and the furthest from the window near the kitchen doorway. Both nights we asked if we could be moved to a window or a larger table as we like to try many dishes. She refused saying they were held for larger parties. Well large parties never arrived as we watched her seat couple after couple by the window for tables of four. Many of the other tables of four were left vacant throughout the duration of our meals. Coincidentally, we were also the only Asian couple on both nights. On the first night she stood near our table throughout most of our meal with her arms crossed watching us by the back wall and quite close to our table. While the food was good, especially the duck, we were very uncomfortable with her attitude and put a damper on both evenings. If there could have been another restaurant option perhaps we would not have had to suffer her two nights in a row. Everything else about our experience at sequoia was wonderful though. Read less

We stayed here for 2 nights as part of our CA trip. The place itself is in a beautiful location. While the bedrooms were very nice, the dining area / restaurant was average with not a lot of choice on the menu. The 2nd night we stayed the restaurant was very busy, needless to say the staff were overrun and the service was poor. We found the barman exceptionally rude and refused to serve us, which we were very disappointed with as we were looking forward to having a few drinks after dinner after having a very busy day. "why have a barman / bar manager working there, with no personality and no good customer service". We travel to the US quite a lot and this is the 1st time - we feel we need to write a review about this place - poor quality it's disappointing as if the proper staff were in place, it could be an amazing place to go to Read less

We enjoyed eating in the Peaks Restaurant while traveling through the park. We arrived exactly at 5 PM (opening time for dinner) and were already the 6th or 8th party in line to be seated. If you're arriving any later, you probably need reservations. The dining room is attractive enough with large windows that allow diners to enjoy the trees outside. The menu was limited and somewhat pricey which is understandable, considering that this location is somewhat inaccessible by delivery trucks. Our server Morgan was attentive and friendly. Our meals were good, but somewhat slow coming out of the kitchen. Peaks is closed during the mid-afternoon. (Only pizza is offered midday.) If Peaks were open more hours, they might have less congestion during the dinner hour. Of course, maybe they're struggling with the same understaffing that many restaurants experience now. Read less