The Ahwahnee Selected As Best In The World - News Release
The Ahwahnee was selected by Conde Nast Traveler for its Gold List 2016

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif., December 22, 2015 — The Ahwahnee was selected by Conde Naste Traveler for its Gold List 2016. The Gold List is a list of top hotels around the world selected by the magazine's writers and editors. The List includes hotels and resorts on six continents in 47 countries.

Chief Operating Officer, Paul A. Jeppson commented “We are very proud of our operations here in Yosemite National Park, and The Ahwahnee is certainly the crown jewel.”

The complete Gold List 2016 can be viewed on Conde Naste Traveler website or at http://bit.ly/1YvLctH (W. Bryan)
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Apparently they didn't eat there. I've never been impressed with the food, or wine list, at the Ahwanee.

Lunch has been always good but dinner is a hit and miss thing. Last year, after decades of visiting there, we decided to go to the brunch. It was horrible and to top it off my son wanted pancakes, which on the website they said they were part of the brunch, and they were not making anymore because our reservations was at 11 am. When we decided to leave the waiter said that he could order them separately off the menu which we did but they still charged us for the whole brunch price although he only ate the pancakes. We have stayed at the Ahwahnee for special occasions and the last few times it has been really bad. For our 20th anniversary we were promised the cottage with the fireplace. When we checked in we were told that the previous visitors decided that they wanted to stay another day and instead of honoring our reservation and moving them to another room, they let them stay. Our choice was to stay in another cottage for the whole trip or to move to that cottage on our last night. Since I had tried for many times to get that room we decided to move our final night. However this should have been a hint for us to move to the Lodge and at less than 1/2 the price. If you can think of anything related to bad customer service and poor housekeeping it happened and more. I ended up writing a multiple page letter listing what all went wrong and never got a answer back. I have had a better stay at a Motel Six. We have never stayed there again and I hope that they have improved because we would like to stay there for our 30th anniversary.

Staying at the Ahwahnee has never been a
serious consideration, due to the high
price and fact that I'm almost never in
my room during a visit. Maybe one night
during a weeks stay, just to try it, would
be worth it.

It would be interesting to try Curry, Yosemite
Lodge and the Ahwahnee, and determine which
is the best value, all things considered.

The place sure gets its share of negative reviews...

We never stayed at the Ahwahnee often because it is just way too expensive so it is a very special occasion thing. Most of the times we had good stays but there were two times that were really bad and I wrote very long letters. The first time we had a really bad experience we got a nice letter back from the manager and a comp weekend stay. That stay was beyond something since the staff was basically falling over their feet to make sure it was a good stay. The next stay was fine and then there was our last stay that I mentioned above which really put a damper on our enthusiasm for staying there. We never even got a short note saying that they were sorry. Some of the issues we had can be considered health code violations and the front desk didn't even apologize when we reported them. However, we just had friends that stayed there and they had a great time and were even upgraded on their accommodations so maybe things have changed for the better. It will be interesting to see how things go with the new concessionaire. As for the other places the only ones that I have not stayed at are the tent cabins at Curry and housekeeping. It is hard to say which one is the best value because most of the time people are not in their room, have different expectations of lodging in a park and prices are much higher in the park than you would pay for the same type of lodging in another place. I think it all depends on what you want in a place to stay. Some people only want a simple place to sleep and as long as it is clean and everything is working that is all that matters. We tend to stay at the Lodge more than the Ahwahnee or Curry. If we could afford it and they lived up to a four star rating, then it would be great to stay at the Ahwahnee. The big drawback we have found at Curry is that the rooms are small and there is a lot of noise from not only the people in the rooms next to you but from the area as a whole. Because groups tend to stay in Curry it is more chaotic. The Lodge rooms can get noisy at time depending on how your "neighbors" are but there is not all of the hustle and bustle of Curry to contend with.

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Dave
Apparently they didn't eat there. I've never been impressed with the food, or wine list, at the Ahwanee.

Nor stay there: http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,58655,58695#msg-58695

Wow you found what I posted years ago.

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parklover
Wow you found what I posted years ago.

It's not hard to find if one searches.

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eeek

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parklover
Wow you found what I posted years ago.

It's not hard to find if one searches.

Depends on what you are looking for, according to my Zen master. Sometimes you have to stop searching.

---

Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

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balzaccom
Sometimes you have to stop searching.

Google seems to be headed that way.

I finally clicked through to take a look at the actual Conde Nast posting. To be fair, they don't list the Ahwahnee as "Best in the World" but rather [one of] "Our Favorites in the World" (and I didn't count but it looks like there are about 200 hotels on that list). "Favorite" (as opposed to "Best" at least acknowledges the subjectivity of such an accolade ("Best" (applied to pretty much anything) is pretty meaningless unless criteria are objectively defined). Still, it would be nice to have them say at least a little bit about why The Ahwahnee's one of their favorites. (The entirety of the post on the Ahwahnee is "A grand hotel dating back to 1927, the Ahwhnee is a Yosemite landmark in and of itself. With views of some of the park’s most famous destinations—Half Dome, Glacier Point, and Yosemite Falls—you may never even have to leave the hotel.".

You certainly can't deny that the setting and views are wonderful and the building itself is both visually and historically very interesting. We've eaten there a number of times over the years and the experience has been hit-or-miss (we gave up eating in the dining room several years ago (although my wife and I often stop by for a drink and a snack in the bar when we're in the Valley for anything other than a quick errand (or as a reward after a particularly gruelling day hike)). I've never stayed there but have certainly read the mixed reviews and they don't make me anxious to spend a bundle on a room there (especially if we'd be spending the majority of our time out on the trails).

One of these years, we'll make it to the Bracebridge dinner and, when we do, we plan to stay at the Ahwahnee. My expectations are that I'll enjoy the spectacle and the "I finally stayed there" aspects of it more than any kind of stellar accomodations or breath-taking service (although if we manage to encounter Ansel Adam's ghost playing the Jester at the Bracebridge, THEN I'll be very suitably impressed! )

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DavidK42
I finally clicked through to take a look at the actual Conde Nast posting. To be fair, they don't list the Ahwahnee as "Best in the World" but rather [one of] "Our Favorites in the World" (and I didn't count but it looks like there are about 200 hotels on that list). "Favorite" (as opposed to "Best" at least acknowledges the subjectivity of such an accolade ("Best" (applied to pretty much anything) is pretty meaningless unless criteria are objectively defined). Still, it would be nice to have them say at least a little bit about why The Ahwahnee's one of their favorites.

Shouldn't the reason be obvious. It's the only air-conditioned lodging accommodations within Yosemite Valley! And is there any place in the whole world that's a better place for a vacation than Yosemite? Of course, not! Hence it's the best hotel located in the best destination in the whole world. It would be crazy if they DIDN'T list it as one of their favorites!

I've been to a couple of the Vintners Dinners. Those are great. They bring in outside chefs and pair their foods with some nice wines. The outside chefs sure beat the cooks they have there all the time.

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Dave
The outside chefs sure beat the cooks they have there all the time.

They probably get a bit more pay too.

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eeek
They probably get a bit more pay too.

Of course. Chefs usually get paid more than cooks.

The Ahwahnee didn't make this list. I guess it depends on who ya ask...
http://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Hotels-g191-a_Mode.expanded



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2016 10:00AM by troutwild.