January 11, 2011 me and my wife and daughter stayed at National Park Inn. This is the only available hotel as Paradise closes in Winter. We saw a memorial for Ranger Margaret Anderson who was gunned down January 1. We wrote something in the condolence book. It was a moving moment for us. May God bless and provide for the family of the fallen Ranger. Staying at the mountain is not like you staying at a Hilton. The hotels are basic, they remind me of English boarding schools. But the mountain is great. We go there every 3 months or so.

The rooms were drab and the furnishings spartan. I kept wondering if they purposely did this to make it authentic back to the 1950s. I don't get this because a simple picture or two on the walls would have warmed the place up substantially. The view outside of our window was pretty. The common area with the big fireplace was simple but pleasant. It only had sitting for 8 or 10 people so i kept wondering if I was missing the real common area. There were some pleasant hikes (walks) right from the lodge. The porch of the lodge allowed for relaxing. It was the end of their season so the lodge at the top was closed for the winter or we would have stayed there.

My only major complaint is the fact that I woke up with a bad back ache. My wife also complained that the beds were very uncomfortable. It took days for my back ache to go away so I must give this place low marks.

We scheduled a weekend stay at the National Park Inn in early November for a relaxing getaway. I found the Inn a little too quiet for my own preferences. No tv, no phone, no internet and outside held the chill of twenty degree days and wet ground kept us primarily inside. We tried hanging out in the fireplace area of the lodge, playing cards and even attempted a puzzle. I should have brought some dvds. The food was ok, breakfast was really yummy but the dinner lacked creativity - my steak was over-done and my partners stew was rather mushy. I did enjoy bringing dessert back to our room. The beds were comfy but they skimped on the pillows. The in-room shower was teeny and the fixtures out-dated. Maybe I am just not the demographic they target:).

We were originally scheduled to stay at the Paraidse Inn at the base of mt. Ranier but we had to change our schedule and ended up staying at the National Park Inn and are we glad we did! First of all, even in late July, the area at the base of the mountain (including the Paradise Inn) still had several feet of snow. In contrast, the National park inn, several thousand feet lower in altitude was in a beautiful forest. It has a porch with rocking chairs that faces the mountain and we would watch the sunset there every evening (and were lucky enough to have it clear up each evening). Across the street is a nice walk around a pond where we saw a beaver dam and a beaver. The rooms, while not the Ritz, were really comfortable and quiet and clean. Restaurant had delicious food (make sure you save room for the berry cobbler) and the staff is one of the best, nicest, friendliest, most helpful. They will even bring you drinks and dessert while you're on the terrace watching the sunset - it just does't get better than that.
Even though the trail to Panorama Pt. was snowed in we drove all the way through the park, stopping at each vista, hiking to each waterfall and had a great time. When we got back to the visitor center it cleared up, and we walked partway up and played in the snow.