F10 LATIMES.COM/TRAVEL

tive booking.

In Death Valley, a machine

answered my call and was no

help. I called back five minutes

later, a hostess answered and

booked me for 7:30 p.m. on the

night I needed.

Advantage:Death Valley

CHECKING IN

On arrival day, I called the Ah-

wahnee at 7 a.m. to ask for an

early check-in. They said they

would try, no promises. When I

arrived at 2 p.m. — two hours

early — they had a room for me.

They assigned me a second-

floor room at the end of the hall

with windows on two walls.

On arrival day in Death

Valley, I called the inn at 7 a.m.

to ask for an early check-in.

Sure, they said. I arrived about

90 minutes ahead of the 4 p.m.

check-in time, and they pointed

me toward a third-floor room.

Advantage:A tie

GUEST ROOMS

My Ahwahnee room greeted me

with earth tones, a love seat, a

chair and botanical prints. No

desk. The bathroom was small,

but it featured a yellow rubber

duck wearing a ranger hat. Nice

touch. The room key was an

actual key, brass and stamped

Do Not Duplicate. It didn’t say

Ahwahnee, perhaps because

people would take it as a sou-

ROOM BOOKING

In Yosemite, I rented a king-bed

room at the Ahwahnee for $386

a night, plus $50.69 in taxes.

Rates usually start at $376 a

night, with several suites from

$900 to $1,100 a night. I paid $10

above the minimum to get a

corner room with a view of red-

woods.

In Death Valley, I rented a

king-bed room at the inn for the

lowest available rate — $499 a

night, plus a resort fee of $28

and $59.88 in taxes. You can find

a room at the inn for as little as

$350, but that would be in the

middle of summer. Even book-

ing far in advance, the best

winter rate you can find is about

$424. For the inn’s most expen-

sive units — the 22 recently

added free-standing casitas —

winter rates start at about $550

a night.

Advantage: The Ahwahnee

DINING ROOM

RESERVATION

I called both properties three

days ahead. The Ahwahnee

reservationist came up empty.

Nothing available on my night. I

tried again through opentable-

.com. Nothing. So I made a

booking elsewhere. A day later, I

tried a different Ahwahnee

phone number and got a cheer-

ful callback. A table at 6 p.m.?

Sure! So I canceled the alterna-

venir. Still, a missed opportunity

to do something creative.

I took 100 steps in white

socks, and the soles remained

clean. There were lots of outlets

in the bedroom: six standard

outlets, plus three USB ports.

“Limited Wi-Fi” proved work-

able. The thermostat looked old

and was difficult to read and

operate.

The room’s phone still had

the hotel’s abandoned Majestic

name on it — a notable goof. One

door had flaking white paint.

Outside my room, someone had

tracked and crunched dead

leaves on the hall carpet. They

were still there six hours later.

My room at the Inn at Death

Valley offered more earth tones

and a Mission Revival feel. There

was a marble-top desk and a

lamp with a bright red base. The

key was a card with a colorful

image of the park. Medium-sized

bathroom. Smallish bedroom.

The soles of my white socks

were still clean after 100 steps.

The electrical outlets in my

bedroom: seven conventional,

four USB. Workable Wi-Fi. There

were difficult-to-understand

light switches at the door. The

thermostat was easy to under-

stand and operate. It looked

new. Here too, the room phone

had the hotel’s old name on it.

Advantage:The Inn at Death

Valley in a close call.

POSH PARK

RETREATS

ALIFORNIANS TEND TO HOLD

these truths as self-evident: Half Dome is

made of granite. Yosemite Falls is made of

plummeting water. And the Ahwahnee,

grande dame of Yosemite National Park

since 1927, is the most luxurious and belov-

ed national park lodging we have in the state. ¶ But is it? And is it

worth $376 a night? ¶ In the last two years, the Ahwahnee has re-

gained its name after a trademark dispute but lost its four-diamond

Automobile Club rating. It has also had an intestinal virus among

guests and become a point of friction between the National Park

Service and its concessionaire, Aramark Corp. ¶ Meanwhile in

Death Valley National Park, another luxurious lodge, also built in

1927, has changed names and received an expensive renovation and

expansion. It used to be called the Inn at Furnace Creek. It’s now

called the Inn at Death Valley. ¶ Both of these lodges are splurges,

the place you go for a birthday, honeymoon, anniversary or the op-

tioning of a screenplay. ¶ This got me wondering about splurge-

worthiness. As someone who has been a professional hotel guest for

most of the last 25 years, where would I prefer to sleep? ¶ In Febru-

ary, I spent a day and a night at each hotel as an unannounced, pay-

ing guest, watching, listening, eating, drinking and making requests

— many requests — of the front desks. It was slow season in Yosemi-

te, busy season in Death Valley. ¶ Here’s what happened.

C

THE AHWAHNEE IN YOSEMITE AND THE INN AT DEATH VALLEY ARE

A SPLURGE. ARE THEY WORTH IT? HERE’S MY HEAD-TO-HEAD TEST

BY CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS