The Bear Retreat served our purpose well, for a base to visit Yosemite and Sierra NP’s. Everything was as described in the listing, the noise from the upstairs apartment was noticeable but minimal. The only issue was with the satellite Dish TV. With a couple days of heavy cloud cover we were unable to receive a signal, I did have my Firestick so was able to stream TV over the internet.

We came from France, landed in SF, headed to Yosemite and spent the night before in that place. Wow ! Localization is great, close from peaceful silent nature . The room was perfectly clean, and decoration absolutely wonderful ! Bear theme everywhere, so cute and very mountain theme friendly. Probably the most beautiful place we found among the 20 different places we sleep in during our trip. 10/10 !

Very clean and neat. Everything you need for a comfortable stay. Quiet location close to Mariposa.

It’s a great stay. Highly recommend

This was a very nice place to stay. Very homey and comfortable. Loved all the bear decor!

This was a clean and cozy place to stay. Easy check in, and easy drive to Yosemite National park. Would recommend!

Very clean, comfortable, cute property. Nice location. Beds were very comfortable. Coffee, condiments, etc available. Great communication with host and clear check in/check out instructions. Would book again if in the area.

Wonderful host, great apartment with the best location for Yosemite visits. I’m em-BEAR-assed to admit that we love the bear decor here. I could BEARLY contain my excitement when I saw how well-provided it was. Unlike some VRBO rentals, this place contains everything you need, from condiments to utensils to the little odd’n’ends that are missing from some other nearly bear (BARE) VRBO rentals. Really , the only slightly negative thing I can say is that it was hard to find at night, but we managed. Thanks so much, Irene!

Very convenient, quiet, comfortable, large apartment.

We were in the butterfly room and everything was excellent. All of the amenities were there and we felt like we were at home. Irene and her husband were great hosts. Next time we are in the area we will come back. We highly recommend these accommodations to anyone coming to this area and Yosemite National Park. The drive from the Air B&B was wonderful.

It is a small yet cute condo. It is very clean, which I like a lot

It was so easy. Irene left a code which was easy to use. The process on vrbo was easy. The owner communicated with us. It was a pleasurable experience.

The host, Ilene, and her property epitomize the value you hope to find when you venture out into the sharing economy. Rent this property if you can, you won’t be disappointed.

This apartment was clean, comfortable and well appointed, with deer and wild turkeys in the yard. It is located about 35 minutes scenic drive from the El Portal entrance to Yosemite, where we had a wonderful time hiking.

This place is awesome! It is a great homely apartment decorated with great love and care. As much as we enjoyed Yosemite, we were always drawn back to this place. And of course Bears. Many Bears! All Bears!

Everything was great. We were there with a 2 years old. Expect a bear themed environment ;)

Great place to stay! What is not to love? It is clean. It is roomy. It has a full kitchen/grill/pots/utensils/ect. (you can really limit how much items you have to bring if this is your only stop as there is so much provided at the property :) ) It is close to the national park (they even have books and such at the property for your information or if you haven't researched where you want to see, hike, eat, ect. at the national park. They even have coffee, water bottles, powder packets to flavor the water if you like, ect. They have thought of about everything! Highly recommended!!!!

The place met all our needs, and was a nice place to relax in the evenings. Our kiddos loved the décor especially! Neighbors were not loud, and we enjoyed seeing the family of deer nearby.

Large apartment... comfortable, well-appointed and airy. Friendly and courteous owner. My wife and I used the apartment as our base, for day trip to Yosemite... great views along ride.

What a lovely place to stay! We loved the decor, it was spotlessly clean and very comfortable. We are a couple from Australia and we were thrilled to be greeted by a small family of deer on our arrival. We easily communicated with Irene and check in was easy. After nine weeks on the road, it was great to be able to enjoy a barbecue meal. The only thing missing was a sharp kitchen knife to cut up vegetables. We would not hesitate to recommend this property.

This appartment is amazing! It is cozy and very comfortable. Everything was clean.

Had 4 lovely nights in Irene's lovely Bear retreat #3. From original booking to checking out (and meeting Irene as we left), we had a great experience. The apartment is absolutely lovely inside and out. We loved the outside space the most (thank you weather!) and spent each night out there soaking up the late sun. The apartment is well laid out with good facilities and a lovely comfy bed. As hot as it was while we were there (up to 98), the apartment actually does not get hot inside as seems well shaded. It is extremely clean and the people in the neighbouring properties were lovely too. Very friendly and chatty. The paid laundry is across from the apartment and is accessed via a key. We visited Yosemite twice - it took us about 50-60 mins to get there and is a very very easy drive (literally one straight road). A great base. Mariposa is a lovely little town (go to the museum if you get chance, it is fascinating and run by volunteers) and this apartment made our stay there absolutely fantastic. We will certainly be back one day. Thanks a lot Irene!

Great property at great price. Good location for exploring Yosemite National Park

The unit is clean, comfortable, and has everything you need for a vacation near Yosemite. Would highly recommend!

We (family of 4) enjoyed our stay. It has everything we need for our vacation. We got to make homemade breakfast and do our laundry. There are restaurants and groceries close by. My kids loved their stay and it’s a perfect “home” for them after a long hike!

This property was clean, well stocked and in a great location. Stay here !

I stayed here over Memorial Day weekend with my family and first of all, the rates were comparable to a nearby 1-room hotel but you get so much more here. We found everything we needed for breakfast— coffee, tea , hot chocolate and all the cooking utensils for making a delicious breakfast. The rooms were spacious and the beds incredibly comfortable. The checkout and checkin instructions were very clear and there was ample parking. The area is very quiet and wooded. We will definitely book here again for our next visit to Mariposa.

My family of four stayed at Irene's Bear Retreat for 5 nights -- and we didn't want to leave! Irene's thoughtfulness with so many of the small amenities (Keurig coffee pods, microwave popcorn, plenty of area guidebooks) really helped to make the experience so different from staying at other places, and we really felt at home there. My young children kept exclaiming how comfortable the beds were, and they were right! Plus, they couldn't get enough of examining the bear-themed pieces all over the unit. The place is situated so conveniently close to town, as well as to the YARTS bus that takes visitors right into Yosemite. Plus, every evening we were privileged to witness a family of 8 deer calming grazing on the grass just down the street from Bear Retreat! During the day, that area would be taken over by wild turkeys - also an interesting sight! - but in the evenings, the deer would return. Our family had a wonderful stay here. We highly recommend this place to anyone going into the area, and we look forward to returning!

My wife and I stayed here only two nights and we said to each other an endless amount of times that we wished it would've been a full week. This place is quiet, in a beautiful wooded area, very spacious, stocked to the brim with any kitchen appliance you'd need, they had popcorn sitting out for us, so many K cups, the beds we're so comfortable, and the place was sparkly clean. It was also decorated in every corner with bears! Seriously, this place is a dream!

We loved it here! It was so quiet, well stocked with condiments, spices, laundry building right on the grounds, close to Yosemite and some other great museums. Irene met us and was so gracious. Working with her was so easy.

A nice place to stay when visiting the Yosemite area. Plenty of room for 2-4 people. The owners are easy to reach if anything is needed. The place is decorated with a very cute bear motif. I can't wait to visit again!

We stayed 2 nights here while travelling to Yosemite National Park. It was the perfect amount of space for my husband and I and our 2 kids. The master bed was probably the most comfortable mattress I slept on during our 2 week trip. The kitchen had everything we needed for the meals we ate in. There was plenty of room in the living room to relax and hang out before bed. We loved looking at all of the bear decorations. On our first morning we were surprised at the "alarm clock" turkeys that strutted by gobbling all the way as if they thought they were roosters! There was a grocery store nearby which was nice. My only negative thing about our stay, and it was easily resolved is that I have am very sensitive to smells and there was an air freshener that was really bothering me. Once I found it, I tucked it into a cabinet until we were ready to leave and I was fine. We really enjoyed our stay and would definitely recommend this vacation rental!