Holiday Inn Express & Suites Chowchilla – Yosemite Pk Area

Overall, we had a great experience at this hotel. It’s not too far of a drive from Yosemite and it’s right off the freeway. We attempted to check in early hoping we can drop off our stuff before we head to Yosemite but when we called ahead to see if it was possible to check in early. The lady at the desk told me that there’s a $ 40 charge if you would like to check in early. My boyfriend and I were extremely surprised because no other hotel has ever charged us a fee if our room was available to check in early. Two issues we had (which was not the hotel’s fault) was that someone in the hotel was smoking in the middle of the night. Which caused my boyfriend and I to wake up and turn up the AC even higher. Thinking that the smoke was coming from one of the adjacent rooms or coming from the vents. Another minor issue is that if you’re a light sleeper (like me). I suggest sleeping with ear plugs because you can hear the trucks off the freeway and trains coming by since the hotel is near a railroad track as well. Overall. The hotel room was clean and tidy and the staff were extremely friendly.

We’ve never even thought about staying at a Holiday Inn Express but this was the only hotel in Chowchilla. We were pleasantly surprised. The hotel was very clean and well kept. The bed was comfy and huge! We paid extra for the room with a jacuzzi. I didn’t expect the jacuzzi to be worth the extra cost but I was wrong. It fit two adults very comfortably. It was a little loud but sitting in a jacuzzi with candlelight made for a romantic mood!
The staff was very helpful and friendly. We must have called the hotel before our arrival about ten times with questions. Imelda was more than happy to help us every time! Upon our arrival Imelda gave us a rundown on the town… Where to eat, opening and closing times, weather and traffic.
The breakfast was decent… It was hot and easy… Eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, oatmeal, fruit, oatmeal, coffee and juice. Imelda kept the food & coffee hot and fresh.
There area felt safe and there was plenty of parking.
We will be back on our next visit to Chowchilla. Thank you Imelda for all your help!

Had to come to this little town for a volleyball tournament. Only like 2 – 3 hotels in this little town. We lucked out. I was absolutely pleased with this place. Room was clean, bathroom too, nice amenities (Bath and Body Works toiletries, Kuereg in room, micro wave and fridge in room), reception was sweet and helpful. Dog friendly without a hugely fee. I see other reviews which rate the town more than the hotel or bugs in the beds/​room which they really can’t control completely so I find that unfair. This hotel is a jem considering where it is. The grocery store is close and really nice. And the steakhouse down the street had great service and decent food. Yes, we paid quite a bit to stay here, but you know what they have to charge a little more considering they don’t have the quantity of guest like a bigger city. But I believe I paid for what I got. Haven’t had breakfast yet but saw the set up and it looks great! Almost wish we could come back to stay at this hotel again for another tournament, but at the same time not really cause it’s so far. Would definitely recommend. 7:30am now. Came down for a nice breakfast set up. Bacon, sausage, eggs, different baked goods, pancake machine, fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, oatmeal and beverages. Pretty good deal.

Kind of in the middle of no place on the way home we all got tired and needed a place to sleep. We lucked out and found this place on Unilocal.They lived up to their good reviews. There was hardly anyone staying at the hotel so quiet wasn’t a problem. We arrived after midnight and a nice gal checked us in and made sure we got the best rate available.
Room was clean and the beds were comfortable. At breakfast we were greeted kindly and there was plenty of breakfast items to choose from. Yes, it was included and there was something for everyone.
The only things you could call negative was the fact that the elevator was so cold you could hang a side of beef in there, but you’re only on there for a few seconds. They are also across the street from a dairy farm, but you can’t smell it from inside.

Great location right off the 99. Customer service 5 stars! Imelda (front desk) was not only efficient but very friend. And the hotel is pet friendly!

Over-​priced hotel in Chowchilla. Paid $ 142 for 1 night and a big spider IN the bed. Called the front desk and the attendant said «oh my gosh, ew. I’m sorry. Do you want me to come kill it?» I told her if that’s all she could do, I would kill the spider myself. Disgusted, I had to pull off all the sheets, shake them out and check the rest of the bed for insects.
When we checked out the following morning there was no note of said spider and the desk attendant basically gave the same reaction.
I called later that day when I noticed the charge on my credit card was higher than the amount I was told (incidentals and 30% still pending from check in hold) and asked if there was anything they could do to make up for the spider… they gave me a whopping $ 14 off my stay.
Do yourself a favor and just drive 15 more minutes to stay in Merced or Madera.

Simple fast easy check check in. They had my reservation and everything was in order as it should be. The desk clerk was welcoming and friendly. When we asked her about Yosemite she gave us maps and booklets and great information.
The room was your standard HI room with 2 queen beeds. It was very clean and everything worked like it should. There was a great hot breakfast served at 6 am sharp. I am a gold elite priority club member and this is what I expect a HI to be. A good overall experience. If I am back this way and need a room I would not hesitate to stay here again.

I decided to review this very basic yet nice hotel because I appreciate the other reviews that helped me decide to stay here in «Chinchilla» for 1 night, as my husband kept calling it.
Our room looked very clean. I liked the huge variety of items served at the free continental breakfast buffet. I did not understand the coffee maker in the bathroom and wish hotels would stop doing this already (ugh can you say GERMS in your coffee?)
Overall if it’s a clean crash pad you are looking for, definitely stay here. If it’s frills you are looking for, stay elsewhere.

i visited back in december 2013 during a road trip and i have absolutely nothing to complain about. The room was affordable, the staff was friendly and the WiFi was the best we had on the whole road trip (speed test during our stay was between 35−50mbit). I’m going to come back one day and i hope that the stay is going to be as good that time!

I absolutely loved this place! The rooms were extremely spacious and new, breakfast was great, Starbucks is across the street, and it’s only about 1−½ hours from park. Go with the Yosemite package and get a free goodie bag and free park passes. I highly recommend this place. Don’t worry about the train. I only heard it once and that was early in the evening.

It’s a cheap, niceish hotel in the middle of nowhere.
Pros:
The rooms were clean
The bathrooms were clean
The free breakfast was good
The staff was friendly
There is a little gym
The wifi is good
Cons:
The little gym is very little, just 3 machines and some ball/​weight things
The hot tub is not good! The hot tub smelled weird and the bubbles would shoot UP like a jet and the water was splashing everywhere!!!
There were like 3 little bugs in our room – I think they have termites here.

Very bad customer service. The manager Monica does is not able to provide customer service. She is very rude to people.

As a retired flight attendant of a major airline, I’ve stayed in my fair share of hotels over the years, especially HI Express… As someone originally from Chowchilla, I also know what a big deal it was for this particular HI to come into the area. It truly IS the nicest hotel for a pretty wide radius. The only one that I could honestly say is possibly comparable in cleanliness/​comfort etc would be the Hampton in Merced. It’s very clean, it’s totally up to date and I feel almost like I should personally apologize if anyone has thought the staff to be rude, because they’ve always been quite wonderful to my crazy family when they’ve come into town to visit. Yes, it is a bit more pricey than normal, yet not an unreasonably high… but remember, it’s the ONLY nice hotel for miles, so they hold the market for where they are. We’ve stayed there many times since it opened and have not once had a poor experience… as for Ashim’s snarky comment about the reeking of cow manure — well honey, around here, we know that to be the smell of money lol… money in quantities that you probably are unable to fathom ;-)

I found a TICK in the bed!!! Not good, nada de bueno!!! No, No No.
However, the staff was really nice.

Very nice hotel in the middle of nowhere! Probably the nicest hotel between Fresno and Sacramento.
The other reviews are very accurate and agree a lot with what Samantha wrote. This hotel is the nicest Holiday Inn. It is very nice, new, extremely clean, spacious, and modern. Nice TV, outstanding beds — very comfortable. Nice bathroom. 5 stars for the room and cleanliness.
I’m dropping it to 4 stars because the hotel staff can be unaccommodating at times. They wanted to charge an extra $ 30 /​night to switch to a double room because the hotel was booked through a third party (Hotwire). Although, they were accommodating with letting me check in a couple hours early.
Also, the complimentary breakfast is as good as the come for a hotel. With eggs (processed), sausage, waffles, biscuits, gravy, fresh bananas, etc. Definitely a big plus.
On a side note, you might notice that the manager went to the Charlie Sheen school of management as all of the female workers are fairly attractive and thin. Not important, just an observation I made over my 3 nights there. Unfortunately, the customer service could have been better. It appears that they are instructed to charge extra for other things like switching to a room with a double bed or for using their fax. Exception: as Bill S. stated, the woman in the breakfast area was very helpful!
Overall, I would definitely stay here again. You get a Marriott room, just not the Marriott customer service.

It is what it is. $ 100 a night to stay in the middle of no-​where, where the smell of cow manure reeks the small city.
It’s a place where the two local restaurants are rated 3-​stars, and it takes an average of 15 minutes to get your fast food order…
This Holiday Inn is pet-​friendly, and they play Fox News in the lobby ²⁴⁄₇. The front desk never asks how your stay was and doesn’t apologize when you find out they sell expired food in their «mini mart».
All in all, for $ 100 on a Saturday for Labor Day weekend, I can’t complain TOO much. But I’ll definitely be avoiding this city altogether next time I am headed to Yosemite, that’s for sure.

Not all Holiday Inn Hotels are created equal.
This one is very recent and has very unusual dimension for lobby, breakfast area and rooms. My room was really wide and long, with space for a kitchenette, a couch, a desk and two decent size beds. All was clean and in good shape.
I had to stop in Chowchilla because nothing else was available closer to Yosemite.
This added a two hour drive from any hike you want to do in the park. Not terrible but certainly there are not many other reasons for going to this city. One evening we drove back from Oakhurst instead of Mariposa, and my GPS led me through some of the most incredible back roads I have seen in the US. We spotted two wolves on River road and nice waves like a roller coaster on Dauton road and Ave 26.
The only problem we had with the Hotel was that somebody with a hitch in his truck pierced the rear bumper of my rental car (and left no note…). This of course is not the Hotel’s fault, however when I asked for a review of the security camera tape, the manager promised multiple time he would do it, but never did.
By the way, if you are in for a surprise, stop at Pedro Pizza. Other than the «American» choice of topping, the crust could have been real Italian.

If you are on a business trip on the fly, just note that this is the ONLY Holiday Inn in ALL of Northern CA that charges $ 1.50 a page to fax AND print anything!!! If you pick your hotels with this being a mandatory requirement, then this fact should upset you when other hotels offer this complimentary, this added up to an extra $ 30 for me.
Ask them to stock q tip swabs, too.
If you don’t need to conduct business, then this is a good place being new, nice décor, somewhere comfortable to put your head down for the night.

WiFi access, equipped with a refrigerator and a microwave in every room and continental breakfast buffet.
We were on a hiking trip to Yosemite and decided to stay at HI in Chowchilla because it’d offered great amenities, had gotten raving reviews, and we didn’t want to spend exorbitant amount of money to stay in the park at a hotel that offers same amenities.
However, it is, as one reviewer had already mentioned, in the middle of nowhere, and it took a lot longer to drive to Yosemite Village than we’d anticipated, about 2 ½ hours vs. an hour as stated when we Google maped it.
Driving to the park was not as nearly as bad as the drive back after a long day of hiking, and staying in Chowchilla definitely limited our dining options, as there are only fast food restaurants.
Also, the hotel is located near the train tracks and a small airport, and although the facilities are new, they did not do a good job sound proofing the windows. Unfortunately, there was a train going by almost hourly, and the noise was definitely bothersome throughout the night.
I would recommend the hotel only if you’re looking for a comfortable place to stay for 1 night, and if you’re a deep sleeper, but those looking for more dining options or looking to get goodnights sleep should opt to stay in Merced or one of the bigger towns near by.

This was the nicest (and newest) Holiday Inn Express I’ve ever stayed at. Everything had a new and modern look to it. Frankly, it seemed a little out of place in Chowchilla.
The good:
–very new
–conveniently located right off highway (but not too close)
–modern look
–very large rooms
–free wifi
–free parking
–free breakfast
–small snack area where you can purchase items (sodas, microwave meals, chips, etc.)
–microwave and fridge in room
–satellite TV (lots of channels)
–comfy bed
–assortment of pillows (soft, firm, etc.)
–very clean room
–decent-​sized bathroom
The bad:
–unfriendly staff
–difficult to check-​in before official check-​in time
–low-​quality amenities (hairdryer, shampoo, soap, etc.)
–completed secured hangers (which I find frustrating as I like to hang up my clothes in the bathroom and let the shower steam get the wrinkles out of them)
Definitely the best place to stay in Chowchilla.