We just spent 1 night at Tenaya Lodge (March 29, 2018)- and we fell in love. Here are my tidbits:
website: Tenaya Lodge
Do this:
1) Prepare for the price. Regular rate is $479, but the calendar shows some (weeknights) as low as $169. SO WORTH IT!
2) Budget! Almost everything is extra $$, but you are in Yosemite (ok, more like 1 mile to the gate), the scenery is amazing and you get what you pay for!
3) Ice Skating rink ($15 approx per person)- It's covered outside. Not sure if year -round
4) in winter (snow) they have FREE sledding runs, just bring your sled! Below was start of spring, we had to walk down the hill towards Archery to sled. A short run, but my littles had a blast.
5) Other things to do: Arcade/game room $, Archery $, Nature Hikes $, Tour in a nice small bus of Yosemite $$, Yoga for kids $, morning stretching $, Paint Nights $$, and MORE!
6) FREE things: find your own HIKE, Indoor pool & hot tubs! There was a scavenger hunt for easter, kids prize was full size Peeps. Sledding (if snow). Snow play! Sit outside around the fire pits. Sauna and Steam room for adults.
7) THE SPA! I walked thru it, it's amazing. Prices are normal for a resort. A friend said her massage was amazing.
8) List for kids: Ice skating $, sledding, indoor pool, arcade $, the TV cable has NICK JR! (All my mom friends know this is rare! Always Nick, but never jr- A WIN)! They had a variety of activities for kids.
9) Go to Yosemite! You are 1 mile to the GATE and another 45 minutes to the valley floor.
My Budget Hacks
1) Stay random mid-week (January) I saw rates $169. I booked for new years $295 (WHICH IS A STEAL! WAIT UNTIL THEY FIGURE OUT THE HOLIDAY AND RAISE THE PRICE).
2) Basic room has a fridge- cereal and milk for breakfast. Cold pizza for lunch/dinner. No microwave- unless you book the Cottages- sounds like full kitchen.
3) The restaurant is expensive, and they serve kids a TON of food. We boxed up their lunch, then brought it back down for dinner, they heated it up for us! My husband and I shared a meal.
4) Bring your own KCup Pods, Keurig in the room. Not that great of coffee options.
5) As always- bring your BAR to save on alcohol.
As always I explain our my family spends 25K a year on vacations while still have a $630 a month daycare bill.
1) Working REWARDS!
a) Disney Chase Credit card. 2% back. Use if for EVERYTHING except 3 things. We have one of us cruise for free on Disney every other year. AND Disney Vacations are 6 months 0 % interest.
b) Costco Citi card! We make over $1500 a year back from 2 cards and the Executive Membership. That cash (sent as checks you cash at Costco registers) is used to pay for our entire Carnival Cruise this spring break!
c) Alaskan Airlines Credit Card- companion fares, free baggage, miles.
d) EBATES! In 8 days I have made $63 in cash and $30 is pending travel. You start at the EBATES website and simply shop like normal online. The referral link within Ebates makes you money.
ex: Amazon says "hey EBATES send me people to shop" Ebates loads up the % back and posts it. You start on Ebates and click the Amazon link, it sends you to Amazon KNOWING you will earn cash back. You shop on Amazon like normal (be sure to stay in that referral link) and BAM % back in your EBATE account the next day. It is THAT easy!
Cash is sent to your Paypal account (or paper check) every quarter. This alone pays for our spending money for our Thanksgiving Cancun Trip. Here is my snip-it proving what I have earned and (promise, legit)! And the link to sign up.
Below in the photo #1) All money made on Ebates to date (8 days people)! #2) My last PayPal deposit. #3) how I earned cash back on shopping.
LINK to sign up: https://www.ebates.com/r/OOGIEN3?eeid=28187
2) We do not have car payments. Hubby drives a 2003 Accord, me a 2010 Swag Van we paid off in 2 years (hence, didn't travel much those years).
3) Our mortgage is lower. We are both full time educators and could have afforded over 2K a month on a mortgage, instead we opted for a cheaper home for a cheaper mortgage.
4) Shop travel deals online during good sales. Our entire April spring break Carnival cruise is $1400 for all of us. Our Alaskan Cruise we got the alcohol package for FREE when we upgraded to a Balcony (which I had always wanted). In Mexico always Kids Stay FREE deals.
5) YNAB! You Need a Budget is an online cloud budget tool. It is budgeting on steroids! You have to account for EVERY penny! I have been using YNAB for 5 years and I am able to FULLY fund my vacations thru budgeting each month. I set aside 2k a month for travel, this tool allows me to budget monthly and set goals. It tells me what we spend the most money on (ahem, food and shopping) and allows us to have discussions about habits we NEED to change to reach our goals. They have amazing training videos, and a FREE 30 day trial. Try it, no obligation (it is better than MINT which I used for 2 years and EveryDollar). Try it here: https://ynab.com/referral/?ref=G6Kp8nTV4XKAQNSX&utm_source=customer_referral
Travel on Everyone!
Find your Joy.
Auggie
website: Tenaya Lodge
Do this:
1) Prepare for the price. Regular rate is $479, but the calendar shows some (weeknights) as low as $169. SO WORTH IT!
2) Budget! Almost everything is extra $$, but you are in Yosemite (ok, more like 1 mile to the gate), the scenery is amazing and you get what you pay for!
3) Ice Skating rink ($15 approx per person)- It's covered outside. Not sure if year -round
4) in winter (snow) they have FREE sledding runs, just bring your sled! Below was start of spring, we had to walk down the hill towards Archery to sled. A short run, but my littles had a blast.
5) Other things to do: Arcade/game room $, Archery $, Nature Hikes $, Tour in a nice small bus of Yosemite $$, Yoga for kids $, morning stretching $, Paint Nights $$, and MORE!
6) FREE things: find your own HIKE, Indoor pool & hot tubs! There was a scavenger hunt for easter, kids prize was full size Peeps. Sledding (if snow). Snow play! Sit outside around the fire pits. Sauna and Steam room for adults.
8) List for kids: Ice skating $, sledding, indoor pool, arcade $, the TV cable has NICK JR! (All my mom friends know this is rare! Always Nick, but never jr- A WIN)! They had a variety of activities for kids.
9) Go to Yosemite! You are 1 mile to the GATE and another 45 minutes to the valley floor.
My Budget Hacks
1) Stay random mid-week (January) I saw rates $169. I booked for new years $295 (WHICH IS A STEAL! WAIT UNTIL THEY FIGURE OUT THE HOLIDAY AND RAISE THE PRICE).
2) Basic room has a fridge- cereal and milk for breakfast. Cold pizza for lunch/dinner. No microwave- unless you book the Cottages- sounds like full kitchen.
3) The restaurant is expensive, and they serve kids a TON of food. We boxed up their lunch, then brought it back down for dinner, they heated it up for us! My husband and I shared a meal.
4) Bring your own KCup Pods, Keurig in the room. Not that great of coffee options.
5) As always- bring your BAR to save on alcohol.
1) Working REWARDS!
a) Disney Chase Credit card. 2% back. Use if for EVERYTHING except 3 things. We have one of us cruise for free on Disney every other year. AND Disney Vacations are 6 months 0 % interest.
b) Costco Citi card! We make over $1500 a year back from 2 cards and the Executive Membership. That cash (sent as checks you cash at Costco registers) is used to pay for our entire Carnival Cruise this spring break!
c) Alaskan Airlines Credit Card- companion fares, free baggage, miles.
d) EBATES! In 8 days I have made $63 in cash and $30 is pending travel. You start at the EBATES website and simply shop like normal online. The referral link within Ebates makes you money.
ex: Amazon says "hey EBATES send me people to shop" Ebates loads up the % back and posts it. You start on Ebates and click the Amazon link, it sends you to Amazon KNOWING you will earn cash back. You shop on Amazon like normal (be sure to stay in that referral link) and BAM % back in your EBATE account the next day. It is THAT easy!
Cash is sent to your Paypal account (or paper check) every quarter. This alone pays for our spending money for our Thanksgiving Cancun Trip. Here is my snip-it proving what I have earned and (promise, legit)! And the link to sign up.
Below in the photo #1) All money made on Ebates to date (8 days people)! #2) My last PayPal deposit. #3) how I earned cash back on shopping.
LINK to sign up: https://www.ebates.com/r/OOGIEN3?eeid=28187
2) We do not have car payments. Hubby drives a 2003 Accord, me a 2010 Swag Van we paid off in 2 years (hence, didn't travel much those years).
3) Our mortgage is lower. We are both full time educators and could have afforded over 2K a month on a mortgage, instead we opted for a cheaper home for a cheaper mortgage.
4) Shop travel deals online during good sales. Our entire April spring break Carnival cruise is $1400 for all of us. Our Alaskan Cruise we got the alcohol package for FREE when we upgraded to a Balcony (which I had always wanted). In Mexico always Kids Stay FREE deals.
5) YNAB! You Need a Budget is an online cloud budget tool. It is budgeting on steroids! You have to account for EVERY penny! I have been using YNAB for 5 years and I am able to FULLY fund my vacations thru budgeting each month. I set aside 2k a month for travel, this tool allows me to budget monthly and set goals. It tells me what we spend the most money on (ahem, food and shopping) and allows us to have discussions about habits we NEED to change to reach our goals. They have amazing training videos, and a FREE 30 day trial. Try it, no obligation (it is better than MINT which I used for 2 years and EveryDollar). Try it here: https://ynab.com/referral/?ref=G6Kp8nTV4XKAQNSX&utm_source=customer_referral
Travel on Everyone!
Find your Joy.
Auggie
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