Resort Review: Westin Monache Mammoth, California

Background:

As a California native, I’ve had my eyes on the Westin Monache Mammoth for a while when the hotel opened in 2007. It used to be featured on the Westin website homepage, and only being 350 miles from the LA area, it would be a great weekend road trip for me. It’s located in Eastern California, relatively close to Yosemite National Park. The Mammoth Mountain ski resort is known for having snow very late into the season, even during the beginning of the summer. And there are plenty of lakes and hiking trails nearby for summer activities as well.

Quick Takeoff Points:

Date of Stay: August 2021
Room Type Reserved: Two Bedroom Suite, 1 King and 1 Queen
Pros: Functional suites with a full kitchen and a convenient location make the Westin a nice retreat.
Cons: The rooms are a bit aged, spotty WiFi, and for those who will be visiting the hotel for ski season, there are quite a bit of steps to reach the gondola and village with skis.

Reserving + Rate:

I planned a trip with friends for a weekend getaway during the summer for some nature and hiking exploration and found rates for a 2 Bedroom for approximately $375 all in per night during the summer weekend. The Westin Monache is a Category 7 property in the Marriott Bonvoy program, which means it will cost you between 50,000 and 70,000 points a night if you choose to use points. During high peak ski season when cash rates are much higher, it could be a good use of points, but for my off-season stay, cash was a much better option. There are also limited chain options in the Mammoth area, and the Westin is unique in the upscale chain category.

There is a $25 resort fee per night which includes a shuttle to and from the nearby Mammoth Yosemite airport, sparkling wine in the lobby, self-parking for one vehicle per room, WiFi, pool and fitness center access, in-room coffee, telephone surcharges and other perks. Valet is an additional $15 per night. Even though we booked a two-bedroom suite, only one self-parking spot was allotted per room, and as one of my friends drove separately, he had to valet his car.

I’ve read some recent reviews of the property which have stated the rooms were a bit tired, and I do agree with that statement, which I will touch upon later in my review. Right when I checked in, I noticed on the Marriott app that guest room renovations were underway and that they would take place from mid-August to mid-December 2021. We didn’t see any renovation projects taking place during our stay just yet, but it is apparently in the works.

Check-In:

We arrived right at the standard check-in time of 4pm and there was no line for check-in. The hotel was showing sold out for the weekend two days prior to arrival, so I wasn’t expecting any upgrade or anything. We were quickly helped and we were assigned to our two-bedroom suite on the 2nd floor and offered a cup of sparkling wine which they have in the lobby until 10pm. Technically, there are 3 levels of the two-bedroom suites, the standard, the large and the luxury.

There are a total of 7 floors at the property, so I was a bit disappointed at first being on the 2nd floor, but we were assigned a corner room with a nice quiet view of the forest which was nice. And, for hotel with over 200 rooms and 7 stories, it only had 2 guest elevators, so being on the 2nd floor ended up being a blessing as we just took the stairs most of the time. Plus, the pool and fitness center was located on this floor so it was convenient to visit the pool during our stay.

Room:

If you want to check out a video of the room, check out my YouTube video below!

When entering the corner two-bedroom suite, immediately to the right is the kitchen and a full guest bath with a tub to the left. A dining area with space for 6 is in between the kitchen and the living room. I’ve stayed at the Westin Riverfront Villas in Beaver Creek, Colorado and the Westin Princeville in Kauai and this hotel reminded me a little bit of both of them. However, the room at the Westin Princeville was much roomier and I enjoyed that one more.

The kitchen was fully stocked with utensils, plates, pans and even a blender. One negative was that the freezer did not work well and unfortunately our ice cream melted in the freezer. The appliances were all a bit aged as well, so a refresh would be nice.

The living room contains a full-size pull out sofa bed and fireplace. It was a tiny bit cramped, but not too bad. Sadly, my friend said that the sofa bed was very uncomfortable with the springs causing back pain.

A separate guest bedroom with one queen sized bed and TV was located next to the living room.

The main bedroom had a king sized bed, as well as a TV with a DVD player. No smart TV or anything at the moment. The main bathroom directly connected to the main bedroom had a separate shower and tub. The bed and sheets were comfortable, and lived up to the Westin Heavenly Bed Experience.

The toiletries provided were the famous Westin White Tea Aloe scent. I remember as a kid I really enjoyed that scent, and even til this day I still think it’s one of my favorite scents.

There was also a closet with an ironing board in the living room, as well as a coat hanger which was a nice touch for winter trips and hanging larger jackets.

There wasn’t any in-room laundry machine, which I was used to having at both the Westin Riverfront and Westin Princeville and I think it would be a nice touch.

The balcony could be accessed from the living room and main bedroom. There were two chairs and a small table. It was nice to overlook the all of the trees.

Some negatives from the room included the fact that the AC didn’t really work. We wanted to cool the room down to 70 as many days Mammoth was 85 degrees during the day, but the room never went below 76. In early mornings, Mammoth does get pretty chilly, around the low 50’s but the air quality has been pretty poor in the area recently due to the ongoing fires in Northern California, so it wouldn’t be good to leave the windows open with the ash smoke.

Cleanliness was decent, only a few towels were questionable, but most of the room was pretty clean. Some of the kitchen appliances and tools could have been cleaned better as well.

Another pet peeve was the fact that 3-4 lamps in the room didn’t work as they were missing buttons or the switch was just broken. And, some of the furniture have seen their better days. But, the upcoming renovation should help with that.

Location:

The Westin Monache is conveniently located across the Village at Mammoth. It is a collection of shops, restaurants, has a lift ticket office, bus stop, and gondola. The gondola takes you to the base of the Canyon Lodge section of the Mammoth Ski Resort. The resort isn’t technically ski-in/out and has a decent amount of stairs until you reach the gondola.

Amenities + Dining:

The Westin Fitness Studio is on the pool level with a few machines and free weights. There’s a decently sized main pool, but it was a tad bit disappointing, with 1 of the 2 hot tubs out of service. I also saw an outdoor grill in front of the pool.

The onsite restaurant Whitebark currently serves Breakfast from 7-10am, Lunch from 11am-2pm and Dinner from 5-9pm. Additionally, room service is offered until 9pm.

In the area, we walked from the hotel down the street to Mammoth Brewing Company for dinner one night, which we enjoyed.

Service:

Service was sufficient. When we needed extra towels and bedding we ordered it from the app and within 20 minutes a bag containing the supplies were delivered contactless to our room.

Additionally, I asked for late checkout and I am Gold Bonvoy Member. They said to ask the morning of checkout, and was thankfully granted 2pm.

The Verdict:

Overall, the Westin Monache Mammoth is a nice resort option in the town of Mammoth Lakes. Once the refresh of the guest rooms is complete, I may consider trying the resort in the winter as the town is very charming.

Have you stayed at the Westin Monache Mammoth before? How was your experience? Comment below!

Cheers,

Ty

Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!