Virtual Tour of The Ahwahnee Hotel - Main Lobby Facing East

Looking back toward the Ahwahnee Bar from the other end of the hallway. The Main Lobby is an impressive room, but not as magnificent as those in some other famous lodges, like the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone or The Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Large, square, maroon colored columns support the plain plaster ceiling, and decorative iron chandeliers provide lighting. The walls have a wainscot of dark wood about 4 feet high with off-white plaster above. Several heating radiators are located against the walls; radiators are still used to heat the ground floor of the hotel. The top perimeter of the walls has a painted decorative border, again with a Native American influenced design. The south wall of the lobby consists of glass doors and windows, with a view of a manicured meadow and the cliffs below Glacier Point. The concierge desk sits in the middle of the room and adjacent to it is a seating area. Around the lobby perimeter are the main hotel desk, the Sweet Shop, the Gift Shop, and the previously mentioned Ahwahnee Bar. Adjacent to the hotel desk is the old banking area, in the old days there were banker-style windows where you settled your account at the end of your stay. Behind you in this photo the hallway leads back to the center of hotel, ending at the Elevator Lobby.