The Ahwahnee In Yosemite

The Ahwahnee in Yosemite Park is part of the grand scheme of this mixture of a natural playground, sanctuary, and place of unparalleled beauty. Part of what makes the The Ahwahnee Yosemite so fabulous is that the architecture seeks to blend into and not detract from its majestic surroundings. The AhwahneeYosemite is a must-see, even if you chose not to lodge there when visiting the park.

YOSEMITE FACTS

NAME: When some of the first European-Americans entered Yosemite and Hetch Hetchy they were met with the first inhabitants of the area. That was the Ahwahnee's who were mainly Mono Paiutes. Chief Tenaya was the founder of the "Pai-Ute Colony" of Ahwahnee and he spoke a "Piute Jargon". He was born at Mono Lake. Yosemite means "The Killers." The word Yosemite was termed by Miwuks who were frightened of the Yosemite.

OPENED: The Ahwahnee was completed in 1927 to provide accommodations in the park fitting for visiting dignitaries who did not want to "rough it". The Ahwahnee was not the first hotel constructed in Yosemite with this in mind, but it was the first designed to last. It is almost completely constructed of stone, concrete, and steel so that it would not meet the same doom as previous hotels in Yosemite - fire. The exterior facade of the hotel is constructed of poured concrete shaped and stained to resemble redwood. The only large wood construction in the hotel is the dining room which comfortably sits over three hundred.

For more information or to make reservations at The Ahwahnee log on to: www.nationalparkreservations.com or call toll free 866.875.8456.