Thunderbird Motel
Thunderbird Motel descritpion
In Bishop, California, 45 miles from Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, this motel has guest rooms that include free Wi-Fi. It features a 24-hour front desk.
A cable TV is provided in each air-conditioned guest accommodations at Bishop Thunderbird Motel. Each guest room includes a refrigerator, a microwave and a private bathroom.
Vending machines featuring beverages are located at Motel Thunderbird for added convenience.
Thunderbird Motel has a free shuttle service to Bishop Eastern Sierra Regional Airport, 2 miles away. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is 20 miles from this motel. Laws Railroad Museum is a 12-minute drive away.
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They speak 2 languages——Thunderbird Motel's staff speaks:Hindi,English
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Facilities of Thunderbird Motel
Pets ：Pets are allowed on request. Charges may apply.
Internet ：Free!WiFi is available in all areas and is free of charge.
Parking ：Free!Free public parking is available on site (reservation is not needed).
Services ：Vending Machine (drinks) | 24-Hour Front Desk | Baggage Storage | Private Check-in/Check-out
General ：Non-smoking Rooms | Facilities for Disabled Guests | Family Rooms | Heating | Air Conditioning
Languages Spoken ：Hindi | English
Reviews for Thunderbird Motel
Review 1：Bed hard as a board. Water not hot enough. Old furnishings need replacing upgrading needed. Free breakfast was a joke.
Review 2：It was the last room available in town.
Review 3：The decor was dated and there was some obvious neglect to the bathroom ceiling fan and the door had punched a hole in the bathroom door.
Review 4：It's proximity to businesses we frequent was really convenient and made our stay easier than we had anticipated. The Bed was reasonably comfortable thought the room was a touch shabby. The value we received and convenience of location outweighed the negatives.
Review 5：The bed was as hard literally like sleeping on a wooden board. I woke up sore like I had been sleeping on the ground. The drain was so slow to drain that by the end of the shower you're shin deep in water. The tv box had a tv 14 parental lock on it courtesy of the last guest and all I got was sorru when I called about it
Review 6：it was right off the main road.
Review 7：Bedding dirty cigarette burns and holes in the blankets and sheets shower dripping the ceiling hold water damage hanging down never changed our bedding during our time of day even at our request old coffee filters used one still in the coffee maker overly priced
Review 8：Nothing whatsoever would never stay at this location or recommend it to anyone not even the homeless
Review 9：Rude front office lady who tried to charge more than my booked quote. Curry smell to the place. Uncomfortable beds. Free breky not appetising (we skipped it).
Review 10：Location and good shower pressure only redeeming features.
Review 11：Run down hotel, dirty look.the staff treats guests as it was a favour to have them in their hotel. They didn't show up for breakfast until past 8, supposed to be from 7.
Review 12：Position
Review 13：The air conditioning unit made an awful lot of noise. It took a long, long time to get hot water in the shower, so much that I gave up using it. Wasting so much water is bad anywhere, but specially in water deprived California.
Review 14：The room was spacious and quite well appointed.
Review 15：Air conditioner was old and rattled noisily all night attempting to provide cooling effect. Parking inside courtyard was like packing sardines into a small can.
Review 16：Location in Bishop was convenient for two day trip stopover. Price for one queen bed at $109 plus taxes was economical in the market when competition soared over $200 a night. In other locations this small one bed room would have gone for $49-59 per night.
Review 17：Only three lites in room worked two days later one fixed. bad mixing valve in shower ice cold to burning hot every ten seconds.
Review 18：bed was great,but pillows were soft as cotton
Review 19：Linoleum in the bathroom was peeling, dumpy amenities, noisy a/c, "backwards" plumbing.
Review 20：Quiet (except for the a/c), good location, cheap. Great ice machine. The neon signage looks great at night.
Review 21：Very unfriendly, unhelpful staff/owners, room wrong type initially,horrible stale breakfast offerings, constant smell of curry as theirvery large and extended family seems to live at the facility. Noisy-people on parking lot with room chairs til 2 in the morning drinking,smoking, laughing. Family stores their personal open containers of milk,juices, sodas, etc. in the guest ice bin which has a wooden, splinteringlid (both a major health code violation I'm sure!) Parking ishorrible due to number of family vehicles. Dirty bathroom floor withhair, molds and muddy water residue, ancient dirty carpet, drapes wouldnot close by 6" due to disrepair, ac not working right, hardmattress on a wooden platform that looked like it as made from scrapwood from a dumpsite, gross sheets and blankets appeared to be from arummage sale, pillows smelled horrible, hairdryer didn't work - Icould go on! Do not stay here! I work in a homeless shelter in myhometown and it is 100% better. I would have stayed somewhere else afterarrival but it was a holiday week so nothing was available. This placehas the the potential to be a great retro style motel if someone cared.Instead it appears to be mostly a family residence that makes money fromguest bookings. I do not know how the ratings score can add up to a 2.9.I would give it a 1 out of 10!
Review 22：The only positive things that I can say about Thunderbird Inn was thatthey have some pretty rose bushes on their property and the shower hadgood water pressure.
Review 23：The property owner had their family at the breakfast every morning about 10 people you had to wait until they were finished before you can eat. The ceiling was leaking water for 2 days before they even try to fix it. The whole town was but we had to wait to the last night to find another room to stay. Would never come back again nor could I recommend it to my worst enemy
Review 24：Location
Review 25：Curtain did not close. Requested repair. Did not come so we "adjusted" strings. Needed to climb on chairs - not steady. Holes in seat chairs. Tacky decorations - Old and worn.
Review 26：Welcome by proprietor.
Review 27：I really didn't like the fact that the whole lobby and everything in the vacinty of the lobby had a real eye watering curry smell!! We didn't dare go in the lobby for the continental breakfast because the smell was so strong! We also had no cold water in the room,dam that water was hot as hell!!
Review 28：What I liked was the location. Restaurants and shops within walking distance.
Review 29：The offering for breakfast looked like management didnt care. Cereal , coffee , and a box of OLD oranges ??
Review 30：Direct TV was awesome ,free HBO. Micro , refridge and coffee maker are nice . Great coffee shop next door !
Review 31：The carpet is stained with spots. The bathroom ceiling had nicotine drops after a shower and stained a blouse of mine. the shades for the window needs to be replaced as people can look in.
Review 32：Friendly people
Review 33：Hotel was seedy and run down, had a run in with a drug addicted guest that pulled a screwdriver on another person in the parking lot. I would never stay there or recommend it to anyone!
Review 34：Nothing!
Review 35：The motel was priced a bit higher than some comparable motels in town for no reason that is obvious to me. When the city informed them that their water would be turned off at seven in the morning (!!) the staff simply told me I would have to take my shower early. I understand that the water situation was unavoidable, but it would have been nice to have been offered something as compensation for such a major inconvenience.
Review 36：This motel has a cool old retro sign and is adjacent to the best coffee house in town. The main street is conveniently close, but traffic noise is not an issue.
Review 37：Hot water in sink hard to adjust.
Review 38：The quiet, the bed, the location, the friendly staff, the perfect wifi connection, the clean rooms (we've been there twice), the low pet deposit.
Review 39：Helpful staff. The free continental breakfast made up for some shortcomings in the room - some amenities could be updated. Coffee maker in room. Parking spot. Pretty cheap.
Review 40：Hairs in the bathroom. Old and tired room decor. The carpet was stained and needed a thorough clean. AC/heater was very noisy.
Review 41：Fast WiFi. Basic breakfast included. Bed was firm but comfortable.
Review 42：The bed was very firm and I did not sleep very well.
Review 43：The room was clean and functional. We had an issue with the TV and the management was very prompt in finding a solution even though it took over half an hour.
Review 44：A minor maintenance item, the entry door kick plat was loose.
Review 45：Location, price. I've stayed at other low cost Bishop motels and they are all about equal overall. I usually stay in the lowest priced motels (under $70) and I do not have a motel preference of the 4-5 Bishop motels I've stayed at over 7-8 nights. Large, thick soap bars.
Review 46：Faint smell of tobacco smoke in a non-smoking room. The proprietor was informed and stated that it would be attended to.
Review 47：we found the staff to be most helpful and courteous.
Review 48：I got bitten by some bugs on right side of my body. Several bites from forehead to ankle. Disgusting! The room we got was very small. There's hardly any maintenance done in last few years. Holes in the wall and ceiling are plugged by napkins - probably by motel guests. We stayed 2 nights. There was no room service the 1st night we stayed. hut tube drain was very slow so when I took a shower I was standing ankle deep in dirty water. it was rather difficult to setup shower head to get hot water. old TV was stuck ed up on 2 pieces of furniture that blocked passage to the side of the bed. It was too big impractical and ugly. Door to the room had the kick plate peeled off 1/2 way making noise every the door got open or closed. TV channels were very limited. Over all terrible place to stay. Will never again go there. For $90 a night it was terrible experience. Not sure why hotels in Bishop are so expensive even a hole like this!
Review 49：The only good thing was location. everything else was terrible.
Review 50：- due to the reasons stated at the other side we kept all our luggage in the car
Review 51：We we warned by other travelers that there are reports in the internet stating bed bugs in this motel. This meant we got quite scared and search the entire room for signs of bed bugs, but we didn't find any. After decinding to stay we stored all non-opened luggage in the car and tryed to stay. Well after two nights we can say that room 30 showed no signs of bed bugs end of september 2014.
Review 52：Ants in the breakfast area were a turnoff. The room had missing tile in the bath, lukewarm water far a shower and a tub that didn't drain.
Review 53：The motel was clean and quiet. The beds were very nice with good sheets and blankets.
Review 54：Bathroom had mold/mildew on the floor behind the toilet. One of the drawers in the dresser had a bag of trash in it that included used feminine products - gross!
Review 55：Staff was super nice. Place was easy to find.
Review 56：they had lots of bedbugs. I haven't reported them because I left early the next morning and just wanted to get away. Judging from other travellers reviews I read afterwards I was not the only one experiencing bedbugs in this facility.
Review 57：not much, except that it was the cheapest option available at that point ant time. however, it wasn't really cheap, just lack of alternatives
Review 58：Check-in took almost 1h as our room wasn't ready and We were woken up by a knock on the door from the cleaning lady asking us if we were checking out. Check out is at 11 so please don't wake guess up to ask if you can clean! Breakfast's not really much. A couple of apples and sweets
Review 59：Good beds Location Clean bath with fresh towels Coffee machine
Review 60：The beds were crawling with bedbugs!! Had to leave the motel in the night. Worst motel experience to date! After a dialog with management we got a refund. So if you like insect diversity this is the place for you :)
Review 61：The room was very dirty and smelt horrific. All hotel items ice bucket, bin etc was branded holiday inn. The sheets looked and smelt like they were bought from a second hand shop. The pillows smelt like sweat. ( We used our sleeping bags ) The blinds in the room were broken, so we had no privacy. Parking was very tight even for a compact.
Review 62：Room was a good size and shower pressure was good.
Review 63：The price goes up on the weekend regardless of the season, or how many times I have stayed there.
Review 64：I have stayed here for a decade and for the price it is a good nights rest. The water pressure in the shower is the strongest I have ever experienced,the rooms stay warm in the winter, cool in the summer and the owner is always glad to see me and I them. Give them a chance and if you are looking for clean, quiet and value and not a spa/resort this is your stop.
Review 65：I'm a fairly friendly, cheery person who has spent years in the hospitality business, but the manager of the hotel was very unfriendly in response to my smiling greeting and attempt at small talk. I understand that they live at the hotel and it smelled as if dinner was recently cooking but part of managing a motel is being friendly to guests and making them feel welcome...at least smile a little. It was almost as it she was angry at us for even showing up. Not sure how to explain it but it was as if she "disapproved." A very rude greeting for such an overpriced motel after a long drive. After my room key was shoved at me we went to our room, which smelled heavily of body odor. The carpet was old, dark and needs to be replaced. Very gloomy décor. We noticed there was an ant problem also in the bathroom and it had obviously only been wiped down since last guest, not really cleaned. A few "short hairs" were still hanging out in the tub. The faucet was loose, corroded and leaky to boot. We tried watching some television but upon turning the channel it got "stuck" somehow and we were no longer able to turn channels and the picture froze. We tried to reboot the dish system but to no avail so we gave up. Upon going to bed we were appalled at the condition and type of sheets. They were grey and covered with lint balls. Obviously these are not sheets that are ever bleached and therefore probably not very clean. How much do new white sheets cost anyway? Surely the almost $100 a night fee for this pull up motel would cover that. Totally gross. Complimentary breakfast was non-existent to boot. Advice to managers: be friendly to good people, use our money to buy new sheets, clean and replace the carpet and dark décor in rooms. Learn to appreciate what you have. It is sad for them as I travel through Bishop often and know many people who do also and we all would have been a good guests.
Review 66：This motel is in a good location so you can walk to restaurants and downtown. They accommodated request for downstairs room.
Review 67：Dirty, carpet with stains. Small. Bed. Linnen smelled like smoke, while it was a non smoking room. There were electricity wires coming out of the walls, ceiling, etc.w e did not take a shower because it felt unsafe with all the open wires in the bathroom...
Review 68：Old facilties. difficult to control water pressure. Leaky wall during rain - nothing major.
Review 69：Microwave oven, refridgerator and coffee maker. Close to everything - mountains. Price makes it exlellent value overall.
Review 70：We booked a non-smoking room but the room smelled so strongly of smoke, it was disgusting. The lady at reception was not helpful at all and we had to pay more for another room. She was aggressive to the point that we were worried about our personal belongings in the hotel.
Review 71：Free parking
Review 72：AC unit was one speed only and very noisey. If it wasn't for the fact that we didn't need the AC we would have complained.. Also tile in bathroom coming up from floor.
Review 73：Clean and pleasant staff
Review 74：Tub very old, water did not drain quickly.
Review 75：Room was large, 2 queen beds, coffee maker , seemed clean overall. Located 1/2 block off 395, so close to shops and food.
Review 76：Air con. Was extreamly noisy. Temperature knob was removed, could not adjust temperature. Fridge temperature knob was removed, could not make fridge cold. Most of the power outlets were inoperative. Only one light fitting illuminated. Wifi was extreamly slow. Included breakfast was dismal. In room coffee maker not clean.
Review 77：Not much at all.
Review 78：Carpet was dirty. Bed sheets were rough. Pillows not comfortable, flat. Shower had mold on the ceiling. Tile broken around the shower. The room felt dirty. Breakfast was awful, 2 types of cerals, 2 types of fruit, and juice and coffee. Ate breakfast out.
Review 79：Nothing
Review 80：It was very dirty. If we have not arrived as late as we did we would not have stayed in the room. The continental breakfast was not continental. It was muffins and coffe. I will not recommend any one to stay at this mote.
Review 81：'breakfast' 2 containers of cereal served up in 4x5ft section of office with 1 small table and 2 chairs! we went across street to the diner!
Review 82：good location, easy to find and a short stroll to main street shops and a great diner across the street
Review 83：Everything this place is the nastiest place. Very filthy, I wished some kind of health services could go and she this unsanitary place. The owner is very nice but I believe lazy to maintain cleanliness.
Review 84：Raised price at last minute
Review 85：Coffee , toiletries selection
Review 86：location. comfortable king bed
Review 87：beds too hard
Review 88：$$
Review 89：Old furnishings. Bedside light didn't work, tried to adjust shower head causing it to come off.
Review 90：Tired facility. Needs renovation.
Review 91：Breakfast is just coffee and cereals in reception area.
Review 92：a dump, overprice.
Review 93：noisy,poor service , no breakfast
Review 94：nothing
Review 95：Pool, clean, near to Dead Valley
Review 96：stinky rooms, foodsmell all avoer the place, overprized by far
Review 97：to leave this hole the next day
Review 98：location
Review 99：Hole in ceiling, broken chair, told manager, didn't try to fix, hole from bathroom door hitting wall
Review 100：This motel is in need of remodeling...old and tired
Review 101：phone needed replacement, lights are dim
Review 102：Clean and updated bathroom, spacious room
Review 103：Breakfast was a joke.
Review 104：At least there were four locks on the door to feel really safe.
Review 105：They might have nice rooms as shown on the photos, but the tiny room we got was not nice.
Review 106：Close to road
Review 107：Very poor breakfast served in front desk. Only cornflakes, few bunnies and coffee.
Review 108：The hotel doesn´t smell well. You can make a better choice. .
Review 109：Better prices than closer to Yosemitte.
Review 110：The quality of the wifi
Review 111：The staff and the location.
Review 112：Dirty room, too expensive
Review 113：Price and location ---around corner from Jack's restaurant---- excellent menu there.
Review 114：It needs a complete makeover.
Review 115：the location was good.
Review 116：Great place for a quick cheap sleep.
Review 117：Room missing a lot of light bulbs!
Review 118：Close to Yosemite, Mamouth Lakes and Death Valley. Just off main street.
Review 119：Although the room appeared to be clean, our room smelled like cat pee
Review 120：sheets, towels & TP were good quality & soft
Review 121：Run down, needing tlc. But was clean.
Review 122：Close to the main street.
Review 123：Suck smell smoking in room
Review 124：Good location, very good price and front desk staff very helpful with information and very pleasant..
Review 125：The place is sadly in need of repair and updating.
Review 126：It was easy to find.
Review 127：Breakfast was a poor excuse!
Review 128：Location was great!
Review 129：smell, dirt, needs work
Review 130：in town
Review 131：The location
The Fine Print
You must show a valid photo ID and credit card upon check-in. Please note that all special requests cannot be guaranteed and are subject to availability upon check-in. Additional charges may apply.Please check for road closures during winter months. Highway 120 (Tioga Pass) typically closes from late October until late May. When the Tioga Road is closed, it is not possible to drive to Tuolumne Meadows or enter Yosemite National Park from the east. All other park entrances, including those along Highway 120 from the west, Hetch Hetchy, Highway 140, and Highway 41, remain open all year.Guests are required to show a photo ID and credit card upon check-in. Please note that all Special Requests are subject to availability and additional charges may apply.