DH and I went to Yellowstone 2 summers ago and absolutely loved it! We stayed the first half of the week in the Old Faithful area at a place called "Old Faithful Snow Lodge". The hotel was recently renovated and nice looking, but we actually stayed in separate cabins that were located behind the hotel. The cabin was roomier than the rooms inside the hotel, but don't be deceived by the term 'cabin'. There aren't very many amenities and these cabins were located in a paved lot area, not the prettyest. We already knew that most all of the rooms/cabins would be a little on the bland side, but we didn't mind since we weren't going to be spending much time there anyway. From what I read, there are many cabins throughout the park in addition to the hotels but PLEASE read up on what each one is like; a few don't have connecting bathrooms and use woodstoves for heat! It depends how much you want to rough it if you plan on staying in a cabin.
Old Faithful Inn is a HUGE log cabin hotel and has a lot of history to it. The structure of the lobby area is actually what the Wilderness Lodge in WDW is based off of...very impressive. Again, with this one, I would advise you to research the rooms if you are interested in staying here...there are many different types of rooms, some newer and nicer and some older and not necessarily that nice (which have a communal hallway bathroom).
Both hotels mentioned are in very close proximity to Old Faithful and some surrounding geothermal features. Also note most all rooms are very basic, and no rooms have TV.
Lake Yellowstone Hotel is probably the fanciest place to stay, since it is styled from the Victorian era. It is located directly on Lake Yellowstone, very beautiful. We had dinner there one night which was wonderful, I HIGHLY recommend the chocolate dessert called "Yellowstone Caldera".
There are many other places to stay as well, these are just a few.
Yellowstone covers a very large area, yet the roads that get you around are fairly easy to acquaint yourself with. Basically, the roads form the shape of the number '8'. The loops are referred to as the 'upper loop' and 'lower loop'. Together they are referred to as the 'grand loop'. I don't know how long you are staying, but there are guide books we checked out from our library that give recommended plans of travel depending how long you are there. If one goes only for a day, the driving plan would be quite different than if you are staying for several days or a week.
Although most people tend to want to focus only on the Old Faithful area, there are MANY other features equally as impressive. Old Faithful is not the largest geyser, nor is it the most 'faithful'. If you see a sign on the side of the road telling you there is a geyser basin of some kind, pull over and check it out! The boardwalks everywhere make it easy to see all kinds of features. There are bubbling mud pots and geyser openings that makes sounds like a freight train. Even the itty bitty geysers are cute! There are pools that are the most awesome shades of blue and green you will ever see. On the East side, a little further north of Lake Yellowstone Hotel, is the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It has two not-to-be-missed waterfalls, The Upper Falls and The Lower Falls. They are beautiful, and there are easy trails that take you right to the brink of the falls...What an awesome experience! The roar was so loud and being SO close almost made you afraid to get too near the railing!
We spent a whole week there, and we spent a lot of time hiking. We're not professional hikers or anything, but we went on several trails for maybe a couple of miles. The neat benefit of doing that is that some of them take you to rarely visited geysers & geothermal features (not to mention beautiful waterfalls), none of which have the boardwalks. Obviously, you shouldn't get close to them, but it was really neat to see some of them. One geyser that went off almost continually was smack dab in the middle of a pond, with grassy hills around. We sat down and had a picnic while watching it. There were only about 4 other people there.
The second half of our stay we drove to the north end of Yellowstone and stayed 5 miles north of the entrance in Gardiner, MT at a family-owned place called the Yellowstone Basin Inn (
www.yellowstonebasininn.com). It was wonderful! They only have about 10 rooms, each with a different name. We stayed in the Paradise Cabin, which is made to look as though you are really in a cozy little cabin. There was a kitchenette, cable tv, communal hot tub (we never saw anyone else there, so we had it to ourselves!) and a free continental breakfast every morning. Even with all of these amenities, it was still CHEAPER than the cabin we stayed at on Yellowstone property! There were little tables and chairs scattered on their deck and we enjoyed our breakfast there every morning. The owners were super-friendly, and made our stay wonderful. Tip: We got a discount because we said we found out about them through their website when they asked.
While at the North end of Yellowstone, we visited Mammoth Hot Springs. Pictures we had seen of this area of Yellowstone looked beautiful, but unfortunately when went nearly everything was dried up and looked like nothing more than white stone. We inquired about it and they said the springs are constantly evolving and sometimes go through dry spells. Just our luck it happens when we are there! We had enjoyed other parts of Yellowstone better and found ourselves driving the extra miles to go back and enjoy some the places we had already been.
Wildlife is EVERYWHERE! Buffalo in the middle of the road, elk, muledeer, coyotes...supposedly bears, but we weren't lucky enough to spot any! There are wolves too, but hardly anyone ever sees them...they really stay away from people. Whatever you do, please remember they are WILD and do not approach any of them. There are warnings all over the place and they show actual footage of people who approached and taunted the animals getting attacked.
We went the week after Labor Day, an AWESOME time to go. Crowds are drastically lower. If you go before then, you may be stuck in huge crowds.
Also, depending on which direction you are coming in from, the Beartooth Scenic Byway is awesome! We flew into Billings, Montana and drove the Beartooth Scenic Byway all the way into the NE entrance to Yellowstone. It takes you up a beautiful mountainside, and you can stop at the peak (as well as at other scenic views), over 11,000 ft tall! When we went, we were just at the edge of the clouds! There are switchbacks at certain points because of the steep mountain, so if you don't like heights, this might not be for you.
I have to end this post some time, so I will just say this: Research is the key to enjoying yourself at Yellowstone. I searched the internet, scoured through tour books, printed maps beforehand and felt like I knew the place like the back of my hand before we ever got there! It freed us up to just enjoy the area without having to figure out where we were or what things were available...we already knew! Start out at
http://www.nps.gov/yell/ and go from there. Check out library books and check out the great tips and maps they offer.
If you have any other questions, please let me know!
-Laura
give me any hints on good places to stay, where to eat, and other things to see out in that area? I need all the help I can get! 
Stop by and say hi! 
