Gilbert Stanley Underwood designed the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park, completed in 1927. It stands on the village site of the native Miwoks, and is situated between Yosemite’s most memorable sites: Half Daome, Glacier Point, and Yosemite Falls.
Interior designers Ackerman and Pope went with a Mayan Revival concept and added Art Deco and Middle Eastern elements. Underwood’s grand six story concept was scaled back to only 123 rooms, which is why it is pretty much impossible to get a room today. The Indian aesthetic fills this rustic interior, and provided inspiration for the dizzying maze-like interior of the hotel in the film The Shining.
The top of the hotel was originally a dance hall and rooftop garden. It was converted to a private apartment. A hastily-added porte-cochere on the east side provides a grand entrance into the hotel. A 130 ft long dining room provides the only fine dining to be found in the entire Yosemite area. Unlike Yellowstone, Yosemite is still devoid of fine architecture. The Ahwahnee is the exception.
