and interior design The Ahwahnee is a Y-shaped building and has 97 hotel rooms, parlors, and suites, each accented with original Native American designs. 24 cottages bring the total number of rooms to 121. The hotel was designed by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood, who also designed Zion Lodge, Bryce Canyon Lodge, and Grand Canyon North Rim Lodge. It was made to feel rustic and match its surroundings, and the hotel is considered a masterpiece of "parkitecture". The hotel is situated below the Royal Arches rock formation in a meadow area that previously served as a village for the native Miwoks and later as a stables complex known as Kenneyville. The site was chosen for its exposure to the sun, which allows for natural heating, and for its views of several Yosemite icons, including Glacier Point, Half Dome, and Yosemite Falls. The original concept art for the hotel depicted a building that was far grander than what would eventually be constructed. Underwood's original design called for a massive six story structure, but Tresidder and the board requested a hotel with only 100 guest rooms that would feel more like a luxurious country home than a hotel. The design was changed several times and at one point the hotel was to be no larger than three stories high, but eventually a more expansive layout was selected to accommodate the 100 guest rooms along with several public spaces. The interior design of the hotel also underwent several changes. Artist and interior designer Henry Lovins originally suggested a "Mayan revival" theme with Hispano-Moresque influences. However, the husband and wife team of Arthur Upham Pope and Phyllis Ackerman was selected over Lovins. Drawing on their experience as art historians, Ackerman and Pope created a style that mixed Art Deco, Native American, Middle Eastern, and Arts and Crafts styles. The interior work was carried out by a number of artisans under their supervision. Much of the decoration originally used was Persian, and Ackerman and Pope would go on to become art consultants in Iran. Construction The hotel was constructed from of rough-cut granite, of steel, and of timber. The steel came from the Union Iron Works in San Francisco and the timber came from land owned by the Curry family. The apparent wood siding and structural timber on the hotel's exterior are actually formed from stained concrete poured into molds to simulate a wood pattern. Concrete