Bracebridge Dinner at Yosemite

Even a cynic like me cannot but be charmed by the Yosemite Majestic Hotel (formerly the Ahwahnee) decorated for Christmas. When the hotel opened its doors in 1927, Donald Tressider (president of the Yosemite Park and Curry Company) invited guests saying “This year with its first Christmas fire burning upon the hearth at The Ahwahnee, we hope that the spirit of the olden Christmas may find here an abiding place…”

To that end, and to encourage visitation to the new hotel, Tressider developed and hosted the first Bracebridge Dinner at Yosemite National Park. The Christmas dinner and pageant were based loosely on author Washington Irving’s story “A Christmas at Bracebridge Hall.” Decorations, food and performers transported guests at the sumptuous dinner back to 18^th century England. Since 1927, the Bracebridge Dinner has been an annual tradition at the The Ahwahnee Hotel. Tressider and his wife, Mary Curry Tressider, played squire and lady Bracebridge. The pageant continued to include Yosemite fixtures such as Ansel Adams and Ted and Jeanette Spencer (the design and architecture power couple behind the hotel).

The Bracebridge dinner was cancelled during WWII when the hotel was converted into a Naval hospital. The dinner resumed after the war’s end and grew to 7 Christmas time performances each year. For many years, tickets were available by lottery only. Today if you want to attend the magical Bracebridge dinner, you can simply purchase tickets online.

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Room 110 is situated at the back of the hotel in the Annex building on the lower floor. This cozy room features a queen bed, with a large private bathroom containing a tub/shower. This room accommodates two guests. This is a pet-friendly room.

Accessibility Features: Entry door is 32” wide; there is an outlet within 4’ of the telephone jack; the door lock is located 44” from the floor; there is more than 36” of room to the right side of the bed; hangers are located 53” off the ground. Currently, the door handle is a historic twist knob, but we are working with our locksmith to replace this with a levered handle that can easily be operated with one hand and without tight grasping, pinching or twisting the wrist.

The bathroom has room to do a t-turn; the toilet seat is 18” off the ground and has a grab bar located behind the toilet; the wash basin is 30” off the ground with insulated pipes; the wash basin faucet is easy to operate with one hand without tight grasping, pinching or twisting of the wrist; the towel racks are 46” off the floor; the bathroom floors are slip resistant. There are no grab bars on an adjacent wall in the bathroom for the toilet as there is not an adjacent wall to place them on.

The tub has faucet controls positioned at the center of the end wall and open side of the tub; faucet can easily be turned on and off with one hand without tight grasping, pinching or twisting the wrist; there is a grab bar at the foot of the tub and at the head of the tub; and there are two 40” grab bars alongside the tub to serve for low and high needs. The fixtures in the bathtub are historic and therefore we do not have a 60” hand held shower wand.

Due to the historic nature of our property, our rooms are fairly small, therefore we are unable to provide 36” around both sides and the foot of the bed. However, we do provide full clearance between the door and the right side of the bed.

You can book this room online or please call us 24 hours/7 days a week at 209-962-4000 or email us at guestservices@groveland.com and we would be happy to find the room that most meets your needs.