Complaint Review: Yellowstone Riverside Cottages - Gardiner MT

Worst, most disrespectful customer service ever!

I never write negative reviews. You have to work really hard to get me to the point that I’ll actually take the time to write a negative review. But James at Yellowstone Riverside Cabins accomplished that. He should be fired. Go to any other hotel, there’s several to choose from. Because if something happens that’s out of your control (Yellowstone gate closures, a car accident….death…) they will show their true colors. And it’s not pretty. They are unbelievably rude, disrespectful and aggressive. It’s not even about the $112 at this point. Check out what they did…

During our 5 week trip, my, we wanted to see Yellowstone. We scheduled for 3 days in West Yellowstone and 1 day in Gardiner before heading to Bozeman. However, 3 days before going, the West Yellowstone entrance was closed. Our hotel in West Yellowstone alerted us and was very accommodating. They let us cancel while waiving cancellation fees for all three days. So we decided to try to stay the extra 3 days in Gardiner. This was close to the only open gate and we already had  a one night reservation at Yellowstone Riverside Cottages - YRC.)

I called YRC several times. No one ever answered and no voicemail option. I was beginning to wonder if the booking was a scam. 

Since I booked all of our hotels and rentals through my Expedia account, I called them. The agent said the dates I needed weren’t available online for YRC, but he would call them  to see if anything opened up that wasn’t online. He tried several times and had the same experience  (no answer, no vm.) So, he suggested a different hotel (the Absaroka Lodge) who could accommodate all of our dates. He booked the room for us. We’re there now and they’ve been awesome!

I reached out to YRC via the Expedia app (since they weren’t answering their phones) and I explained the situation. Albeit, by this point, I had spent about 2 hours going through this and gave a very brief explanation that the Yellowstone gates had been closed leading to a change in our plans. I asked if they would consider waiving the cancellation fee (fully not expecting that they would, because it was only 3 days from our dates, but I wanted to at least ask.) That’s when I had the unfortunate experience of communicating with James….wow…

James’ first response was a canned, standard response (you’re cancelling after our 14 day window and therefore you won’t receive any refund and will be charged the full rate.) Fine. But I did want to take the time to explain that the entrance had been closed at our current location and we were originally looking to extend our stay with them. However no one would answer the phone for us OR the Expedia agent, so he booked another location who could accommodate our new dates. That’s why I was making the request. This is where things turned for the worst. James basically called me a liar! He said he looked at their incoming calls and nothing from my area code came in. He also said that they speak with Expedia all the time and they knew his phone number. He accused me of changing my story to try to get my money back and said they would not be issuing a refund if I cancelled! 

That’s when I got angry. It wasn’t about losing the $112.00. We’ve been traveling for 5 weeks and that was insignificant. This jerk basically called me a liar! So I offered to take a screenshot of my outgoing call log and email it to him. Then I suggested he call Expedia to ask if this had taken place with my reservation as I know they take notes and have recorded call logs. Again, at this point it wasn’t about the money. 

Instead of responding with an email so I could send the screenshot or calling Expedia, he again inferred that I was a liar and said “if you cancel you will not receive a refund.” Okay. That’s not a problem and is justified with my 3 day cancellation (regardless of the park gates being closed to visitors.) I knew the rules when I booked. Fortunately the hotel in West Yellowstone was 50 times better because we would have lost a lot of money there. However, James at YRC doesn’t get to treat me like that and call me a liar without some consequences. So at a minimum I’m going to warn the public about what to expect from you in the event that there’s any unforeseen issues. 

As long as James is employed there, this place should be off your list of potential places to stay. And know that if you do book with them, and something out of your control happens, you’ll be met with, not only a lack of caring, but a rude, harsh, judgmental demeanor.  Thank God I hadn’t booked with them for a week!! Go ANYWHERE ELSE!