What is the most elegant, upscale hotel located in the National Park System? While an argument could be made in favor of several hotels, it is likely that most people would say it is the 4-star-rated Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park.

Certainly the price would indicate a cut above. The lowest-priced room ranges from $179 a night off-season to over $430 per night for peak periods. Want to impress someone? You can spend $1100 or more for a night in one of the parlor suites located above the Solarium, which feature a bedroom and a large sitting room, with a wood-burning fireplace and a stunningly magnificent wrap-around view of Yosemite Valley. (Bargain hunters: you can get this room for less than $600 a night if you book it mid-week in the winter.)

If you're looking for something unique you may also want to look into the 6th floor Mary Curry Tresider Suite; with a huge bathroom and a canopy bed, it is literally fit for a queen (Queen Elizabeth II stayed in this room when she visited in 1983.) Really want to blow the doors off the bank? Book the entire 6th floor, which becomes a private six-room suite (4 bedrooms) with the Tresider room as the master bedroom!

All the rooms in the Ahwahnee have the amenities you would expect in a luxury hotel, right down to a rubber duck for the bath tub! Dinner in the magnificent dining room, with its towering open-beam ceiling and huge picture windows is certainly an event you won't soon forget. Or spend some time in the evening in the over-stuffed chairs and sofas of the beautiful lounge, listening to live piano music while reading a book, or maybe sharing your day with a group of new-found friends. Desire a smaller public space? There are three smaller public lounges, not counting the lobby, each with a different decorator theme, each furnished with antiques and original art. And yes, there is a hidden, yet very spacious, balcony with a magnificent view of Yosemite Fall-- if you happen to know where the unmarked door to it is!

The Ahwahnee opened in 1927, making it one of the last of the grand rustic hotels to be built prior to the start of the Great Depression. It was designed by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood, who had already perfected his rustic hotel design skills in such parks as Yellowstone (the Old Faithful Lodge, not the inn) and Bryce Canyon (the main lodge), and he pulled out all the stops for the Ahwahnee.

This was not a standard hotel; the Ahwahnee was meant only for the rich and powerful. In fact, in the early days common folk were stopped at the doors and turned away by the doormen. The hotel was the brainchild of Stephen Mather, the first director of the National Park Service, who envisioned the hotel as a showpiece that would attract the society's upper crust, if you will, to Yosemite. Mather knew that once these people had visited Yosemite they would become firm supporters of the national parks, a bold political play that greatly advanced the standing of the then-new Park Service. Wealthy supporters meant more money from Congress, money that Mather could then use to build facilities for the everyday people. It was a smart move that paid off. The rich and powerful flocked to Yosemite and the Ahwahnee. The Park Service gained many allies in powerful positions, allowing it to grow and prosper. While a very exclusive hotel in a national park may sound a bit unthinkable today, this one certainly paid off!

Today anyone may stay at the Ahwahnee; that is if they scrimp and save long enough! Pamper yourself for a night or two. You may rub elbows with the rich and famous in the lounge or elevator, but just as likely the other guests will be ordinary folks like you, who have saved for a couple of days of extraordinary vacation. Can't quite afford the price? Stay at one of the less expensive accommodations in Yosemite and simply drop by the Ahwahnee for a look. Good news; the doormen no longer turn away the poorly dressed and unwashed! Have a drink at the bar, or grab a souvenir in the gift shop. The hotel is owned by the National Park Service, so even if you are not a registered guest you may wander freely around, as long as you behave yourself. Get rowdy or start handling the rare artwork and you may still feel the point of a doorperson's boot in your behind! Or more likely it will be a ranger's strong hand and a pair of 'cuffs. Little known fact: Yosemite has its own jail and courthouse. I've been there, it's not 4-star rated. But, I digress; let's get back to our discussion of the Ahwahnee.

Expect excellent service and excellent food if you stay at the Ahwahnee. How good is the food? There are often limos in the parking lot from couples who have driven up from Fresno (two-hour drive each way) and back just for dinner. What more can I say?

The guest rooms are lovely, well-appointed and clean. New replacement windows reflect the style of the originals, but don't leak or squeak. (The 6th-floor rooms still have their original, hand-made, leaded, angled pane windows.) The rooms are large for the period in which they were built, which means slightly small by today's standards. But they aren't cramped like many of the rooms you find at national park hotels. You will find all the standard niceties in the room and more: coffeemaker with coffee, tea, bottled water, ceramic coffee mugs, etc.. There is a TV and small refrigerator in each room, which is unusual for national park lodging. Historic photo reproductions or paintings hang on the walls. The carpet is standard commercial carpet found in most hotels. Each room has a small safe, two nice linen bathrobes, and an iron and ironing board. The rooms have central heat and air conditioning. Most of the walls and all of the floors are concrete, so the Ahwahnee is a rarity- a quiet historic hotel!

In the baths you will find modern, elegant ceramic, chrome, and glass fixtures that fit the historic feel of the hotel. Porcelain handles grace the faucets. Soaps, lotion, shampoo, a glass container filled with cotton balls and cotton swabs are on a shelf. A bath scale is provided in case you want to see how many pounds that fancy dinner added. Towels are all folded to display the towel origami skills of the housekeeping staff. And yes, a small yellow, rubber duck sits on the edge of the tub. So no need to pack your own ducky from home!

How about a virtual tour of the Ahwahnee Hotel ? If you promise not to tell anyone, I'll even show you how to find that secret balcony! Plus I'll tell you a few Ahwahnee ghost stories along the way. Also at that website you'll find a more in-depth history of the Ahwahnee, a detailed list of all the guest amenities and services offered, as well as a review/article of my own stay in the hotel's elegant 6th floor Spenser Room (and another ghost story!)

The Ahwahnee Hotel is operated by DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Inc. which is an authorized concessioner of the National Park Service. Standard and Classic rooms may be booked at http://www.yosemitepark.com. I recommend calling if you wish to reserve one of the Parlors Suites or Featured Specialty rooms with balconies. For reservations call (801) 559-4884.