Play all audios:
The 1927 Ahwahnee was built to blend in with its surroundings in Yosemite National Park. Alamy THE AHWAHNEE, YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA The Ahwahnee, built in 1927, may be the
most elegant of the national park lodges — and not just because Queen Elizabeth stayed there. The six-story structure references a country estate and features a rough-cut granite exterior
that blends into the rock formations of the surrounding cliffs. The lodge, which sits on the edge of a meadow in Yosemite National Park, offers views of Half Dome, Glacier Point and Yosemite
Falls. Native American basket weave designs are featured extensively throughout the interior. The hotel includes many gathering spots, but the cathedral-like Great Lounge, with its
floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and the beautiful dining room, with its elaborate chandeliers, are the most popular. (Note that the Ahwahnee Dining Room is closed for repairs until August
2023.) El Tovar Hotel combines three strong design elements: a Swiss chalet, a castle on the Rhine and an American log cabin. Alamy EL TOVAR HOTEL, GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, ARIZONA
The historic El Tovar Hotel, perched directly on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, has welcomed visitors since 1905. The lodge incorporates a trifecta of strong design elements: a Swiss
chalet, a castle on the Rhine and an American log cabin. The main building is constructed primarily of stone and dark-stained wood and logs. Inside, the faint scent of Oregon pine leads to
the celebrated dining room, where murals honor Apache, Hopi, Mojave and Navajo Native American tribes. The hotel and its companion building, the Hopi House, helped introduce the beauty of
the U.S. Southwest and American Indian arts to visitors from across the country and around the world. The 1917 Paradise Inn is located near the base of Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier
National Park. Alamy PARADISE INN, MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, WASHINGTON One of the many jewels of Mount Rainier National Park is Paradise Inn, which opened in 1917. The property, located
in the park’s aptly named Paradise Valley near the base of Mount Rainier, features what may be the most lavish display of wildflowers in the national park system, along with in-your-face
views of the glacier-clad mountain. The inn’s exterior combines native rock, walls covered in cedar shingles, and a steeply pitched roof designed to withstand the park’s massive snowfalls.
Popular parts of the hotel include the expansive Great Room, with its roaring fireplace and log framing, and the equally large dining room, with a 50-foot-high stone fireplace. Much of the
furniture throughout the building is handmade from local materials.