Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite Park. U.S.A.

Built in 1927 of art-deco and native American design, this magnificent hotel is set in a beautiful woodland setting with views of Yosemite's iconic natural features. It was a massive trucking feat of its time to bring in 5,000 tons of stone, 1,000 tons of steel and 30,000 feet of timber on what must have been much more primative roads than exist now. Much of the wood-like exterior is in fact concrete pored into wooden moulds and then painted to reduce the ever present risk caused by forest fires.

The Great Lounge features a gigantic stone fireplace approximately 2 metre high and 4 metres wide, (4 of us stood comfortably in it!). The Dining room as you can see from the photos and menu cover has 34 feet high ceilling with floor to ceiling glass and stained glass. This Hotel must surely be one of America's architectural and historical wonders. The menu is from our visit in 1982.