Ahwahnee Hotel

If you want to stay in Yosemite and I would recommend you experience this at least once, then you have your choice from a whole host of campgrounds, a lodge, which fills up quickly, The Ahwahnee.
So, by process of elimination we booked to stay here at a cost of £250/$400 a night. The hotel is old by USA standards and has some great features but is trading solely on its location and reputation.
We arrived to find 1 valet, 1 bellboy and the longest check in of our California trip. However, the lack of staff is not down to the employees (who are doing their best) but to the management who are seemingly cutting corners wherever possible.
Our room had a king size bed, seating area, small bathroom, walk in closet but a great view of Yosemite Falls. It had been decorated quite traditionally at one time but was now shabby and in need of redecoration.
We had a nice drink in the bar, a cigarette on a lovely patio but beware - you must wear bite cream at all times. We sat out without it for about 5 mins (no exaggeration) and each got about 10 bites!
We also ate in the restaurant and enjoyed wonderful food so the chefs were obviously of a high calibre but the front of house greeters and servers were not very happy.
The visit is incredibly worthwhile though as the Valley is the most beautiful scenery we have ever seen (including the stunning Canadian Rockies, European Alps, etc.)
And Spring sees the animals come out of hibernation - we saw a bear and her cub in the river, a wild fox, marmosets, squirrels, countless smaller animals and birds.
At this time also, the flowers are in abundance and the waterfalls at their most dramatic as there was still snow at some levels which was starting melt.