Guide to Staying at the Wawona Hotel

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Dawn and I want to stay at the Wawona Hotel in Yosemite National Park. Compiling list of facts and opinions:

Wawona facts:

• Rooms — Large rooms: Main Building: Room 213 and Room 220; Annex: Room 137; Hotel labels Room 87 (Moore Cottage) the "Honeymoon Suite"; upstairs of Main Building contains dormitory space for employees; Little White used for manager's residence. Tom Bopp writes, "Not true any more – in 1987 the Little White and upstairs Main Building were restored as guest rooms."
• Attractions — 45 minute+ drive to Yosemite Valley or Glacier Point; Mariposa Grove Road is typically open April-November. Glacier Point Road is typically open June-October. Access to Tuolumne Meadows is generally free of snow June-October.
  
• Renovations — Ongoing. 48 rooms renovated in 2002. Undergoing major renovations in 2005: new porches, new stairs, increasing access for disabled, and fixing the foundation. Assistant Manager Robin says complete restoration to take 15 years.
  
• Entertainment — Tom Bopp plays a restored 1906 Knabe Parlor-Grand Piano (Tom commutes from Oakhurst). He sings Tuesday-Saturday, 17:30-21:30 and also presents slide-lectures on Wawona/Yosemite History (upon request). Tom writes, "just drop by the piano early in the evening and ask me for details; 8:30 is when I usually do them." Also golf, tennis, historic pool, and so forth.
  
• Food and Drink — Dining Room open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Dinner served from 17:00-21:00. Hostess begins refusing people as early as 20:10 if kitchen cannot complete meal by 21:00. Sloping floor near dining room windows. Hotel provides breakfast of hot/cold buffet or a-la-carte; included with selected room packages. Hotel provides coffee in lobby in early morning. Muffins and coffee available at the Golf Shop. General store on-site closes at 20:00. Check
  
• Open year-round but weekends only certain periods of the year. See Tom Bopp's schedule for complete details.
  
• Showers and Bathrooms
• Communal showers — Main Building: 2nd floor veranda; Annex: lower level plus rented portables on first floor veranda; Cottages: claw-foot tubs or shower stall.
  
• Private bathrooms — Rooms with private bath have shower or claw-foot tub. Annex floor plan shows one bathroom between every two rooms; each room contains a door to the shared bathroom but Hotel locks one door to provide exclusive access to the other.
• Communal toilets — Main Building: restrooms upstairs and in adjoining building to the rear; Annex: one toilet per floor, additional restrooms in basement;
  
• Heating & Cooling — Electric heat in upstairs of Main Building, Moore Cottage, and Little White; radiator heat in other buildings turned on from 19:00-22:00; perhaps again in morning. No air conditioning other than small circulatory fans. Rooms in front of main building get very warm in afternoon and evening in summertime. Portable heaters available from Front Desk upon request.
  
• History — Clark Cottage named in honor of hotel founder Galen Clark, who called the Hotel Clark's Station. Moore Cottage named in honor of Galen Clark's partner, Edward Moore. Washburn Cottage named in honor of Henry Washburn, who bought out Clark and Moore and ran the Hotel with brothers John and Ed. Long White, (now Clark Cottage) constructed in 1876, represented the only building to survive the fire of 1878. Main Building constructed in 1879. Little White, constructed after the fire in 1884. Little Brown, (now Moore Cottage) constructed in 1894. Long Brown, (now Washburn Cottage) constructed c. 1899. Annex, long two story wooden structure that houses the majority of the rooms at the Wawona, constructed in 1918.
  

Wawona opinions, tips, suggestions, via TripAdvisor reviews:

• Showers and Baths — Shower curtain in private shower clings. Plenty of hot water and pressure. Use communal showers at night. Arrangement for 50% of rooms w/o baths far from satisfactory. Moore Cottage includes spacious room and bath.
• Food and Drink — Arrive early for dinner if busy (15-30 minute wait typical). Restaurant does a wonderful breakfast. Dress up for dinner (not jeans, anyway). Bring food in with coolers and store in room. Buy breakfast of coffee and muffins from Golf Shop.
• Rooms — Favorite building is Clark Cottage. You may find the lack of soundproofing in some rooms a drawback. DO NOT get a room in the main building, just too much people traffic. Instead get a room in the Annex (either room 129 or room 130). It's an end unit with no foot traffic in front of your bedroom window and away from the main road.
• Always stay at less busy times of the year (i.e. Fall, Winter & Spring) -- Summer is the busiest time
• "Think of it as very expensive camping." ^_^
• Alternatives outside the park —"We WAWON'TA be going back." x_x Tenaya Lodge (four miles outside the southern entrance), Yosemite View Lodge (two miles outside the western entrance).
  

Links:

• Map of the Wawona Hotel
• Dining Room Menus
• Images of the Wawona Hotel
• Unofficial Wawona Hotel Page
• Bio of Tom Bopp, Hotel pianist
• Architectural history of the Hotel, c. 1985
• Wawona claw-foot tub
• Wawona stage-coach driver
• Tom's piano

Check-in Checklist:

• Bath robes provided
  

Please feel free to use these notes as a starting point for your own research. Many thanks to Tom Bopp for contributing to the accuracy of this article.