One of the places we stayed at on our California road trip was the historic Ahwahnee Hotel. We only booked a night since it was so expensive, but we really wanted to have time to check it out.

The Ahwahnee is in the Yosemite Valley in an amazing spot. It is in a meadow surrounded by The Royal Arches. Ahwahnee means “Place of a Gaping Mouth” which the Miwok Indians called Yosemite Valley. It opened in 1927 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1987. The Ahwahnee was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood who also designed the Zion Lodge and Bryce Canyon Lodge. It was a real undertaking at the time to build the Ahwahnee because Yosemite was so remote.

The interior designers were Dr. Phyllis Ackerman and Professor Arthur Upham Pope. Several artists also worked on murals, floors, beams, etc.  Some of the Ahwahnee interiors were used as templates for the sets of the Overlook Hotel in the film The Shining.

We stayed in one of the newer cabins towards the back of the hotel. It was nice and quiet and the cabin was large. There is a small pool, a beautiful restaurant with floor to ceiling windows, a smaller tavern, outside dining and a few bars. A shuttle stops in the parking lot, but it can get crowded in the summer with people visiting.  

I look forward to staying at The Ahwahnee Hotel again in the future! The Sunday Brunch was great.