<\/p>\n
The nearly century-old\u00a0Ahwahnee, seen here in May 2026, is one of the National Park Service\u2019s premier hotels, having hosted such guests as Queen Elizabeth II and Presidents John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama.<\/p>\n
Kurtis Alexander\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Yosemite\u2019s famous Ahwahnee hotel recently rolled out a new, prix fixe menu<\/a>, touting such \u201crefined\u201d dishes as Tagin-infused watermelon and elk tenderloin, starting at $95 a head.<\/p>\n Yet, as the upscale hotel at the base of Half Dome seeks to elevate its dining experience\u00a0\u2014 and its prices\u00a0\u2014 the property is struggling to meet basic food safety standards, park documents show.<\/p>\n The National Park Service\u2019s annual review of Aramark, the company that runs the numerous hotels, restaurants and visitor enterprises at Yosemite National Park, rated the Ahwahnee\u2019s kitchen as \u201cunsatisfactory\u201d for food safety after inspections found repeat and unresolved violations.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The park service did not immediately provide the inspection reports to the Chronicle, but Aramark\u2019s annual review cited a lack of cleanliness, inadequate refrigeration, broken dishwashers and moldy storage units as problems across Aramark\u2019s dining operations. Employees, meanwhile, have noted the presence of rats in the Ahwahnee\u2019s food and beverage areas as well as dated kitchen facilities that make it harder to properly store, prepare and serve food.<\/p>\n Yosemite officials completed the 2025 review of Philadelphia-based Aramark last month. The evaluation was provided to the Chronicle this week in response to a public records request earlier this year.<\/p>\n The majestic dining room at the Ahwahnee hotel in Yosemite National Park is seen here in May 2026. The National Park Service\u00a0rated the\u00a0Ahwahnee\u2019s kitchen as \u201cunsatisfactory\u201d for food safety, as part of a 2025 review.<\/p>\n Kurtis Alexander\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n Food safety, according to the review, is not Aramark\u2019s only shortfall. The hospitality giant, which won the lucrative 15-year concessions contract at Yosemite in 2016, underperformed on several fronts, including maintenance of park buildings, providing adequate employee housing and securing food and trash from bears.<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Notably, Aramark\u2019s overall rating of \u201cmarginal,\u201d which is one step below \u201csatisfactory,\u201d reflects a pattern of sub-par performance. The prior year, Aramark received an \u201cunsatisfactory\u201d rating<\/a>, one step below \u201cmarginal,\u201d and the company hasn\u2019t had a \u201csatisfactory\u201d score since 2021.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n While Aramark\u2019s low scores are grounds for termination, according to the contract, park officials appear to have little interest in parting ways with the company.<\/p>\n In an April 16 letter from Yosemite Superintendent Ray McPadden to Aramark, which accompanies the annual review, park officials demand improvements, as they\u2019ve done for the past four years, but they also say they \u201cvalue our partnership\u201d and \u201clook forward to continuing our work together.\u201d<\/p>\n A park spokesperson said in a statement to the Chronicle that Aramark has shown progress since prior evaluations, demonstrating \u201cthe concessioner\u2019s ability to respond to NPS standards.\u201d<\/p>\n The 2025 review gave Aramark high marks in such categories as \u201crisk management,\u201d citing fire prevention work and pest control, and in \u201casset management,\u201d noting increased infrastructure investment.<\/p>\n \u201cNPS is actively working with the concessioner to address these (lingering) issues and ensure services at Yosemite meet the high expectations of the millions of visitors who experience this park each year,\u201d said park spokesperson Scott Carr.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Aramark declined to discuss its performance and instead sent an email noting the areas where it received favorable scores yet also recognizing problems.<\/p>\n \u201cThe National Park Service\u2019s 2025 Annual Operating Review reflects meaningful improvements made over the past year while identifying opportunities to further strengthen operations,\u201d the email, on behalf of Aramark Destinations, read. \u201cWe acknowledge there is still work to be done to achieve a satisfactory rating.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the contract with Yosemite, Aramark is responsible for maintaining and running about a dozen lodging sites, 20 restaurants and snack shops, a half dozen groceries and numerous niche services, from a ski slope to horse stables to a bus system. The operations generate well over $100 million a year, making it the biggest contract in the National Park Service. Yosemite retains a percentage of the proceeds.<\/p>\n The difficulty of carrying out such a wide range of responsibilities, park observers say, partly explains Aramark\u2019s poor performance as well as the park service\u2019s reluctance to oust the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone agrees Aramark has done a terrible job,\u201d said Don Neubacher, former Yosemite superintendent and currently a member of the executive council at the Coalition to Protect America\u2019s National Parks. \u201cThe question is: how do you move forward?\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Only two companies demonstrated that they could handle Yosemite\u2019s concessions contract when it was put to bid in 2014. Finding a new concessionaire wouldn\u2019t be easy, and such a change could prompt major disruptions at the park. Aramark\u2019s contract, meanwhile, is nearly two-thirds of the way through.<\/p>\n Some believe that staffing cuts and high turnover at the National Park Service under the Trump administration have exacerbated the problem by leaving fewer people in positions to address stubborn issues. The park service has been without a permanent director since January of 2025. The current superintendent at Yosemite started last year.<\/p>\n \u201cI do think the new superintendent has so many balls in the air,\u201d Neubacher said. \u201cWith Aramark, he\u2019s got a really tough situation. That doesn\u2019t mean Aramark shouldn\u2019t do better.\u201d<\/p>\n Aramark, which operates globally, runs concessions at sports stadiums, universities and conference centers as well as at several national parks. Two years ago, the company lost its contract at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon because of performance problems.<\/p>\n At Yosemite, the 2025 review says 35 food-safety inspections were conducted at food and beverage sites in the park, identifying several \u201cissues,\u201d including inoperable cooking and refrigeration equipment, dishwasher breakdowns, moldy walk-in coolers, soiled food preparation areas and irregular cleaning of kitchen facilities.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Yosemite Valley Lodge Base Camp Eatery joined the Ahwahnee kitchen in receiving the lowest food-safety score of \u201cunsatisfactory.\u201d<\/p>\n The reviewers wrote, \u201cpriority attention should be given to addressing deficiencies found in food safety reports, particularly unresolved items unable to be corrected at the time of inspection and repeat items.\u201d<\/p>\n Other problems identified at the Ahwahnee were elevator malfunctions, improper storage of trash and failure to install or replace fixtures, including vanity lights and mirrors.<\/p>\n While some of the critiques appear minor, the nearly century-old Ahwahnee is one of the National Park Service\u2019s premier lodging destinations, having hosted such guests as Queen Elizabeth II and several presidents, from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama.<\/p>\n A standard room during summer runs more than $500 a night, with more luxury accommodations going for over $1,000.<\/p>\n The new prix fixe menu in the hotel\u2019s dining room, introduced last month, offers a five-course menu for $95 or a seven-course menu for $125. Wine pairings are an additional $40.<\/p>\n Under Aramark\u2019s management, the Ahwahnee lost its prestigious four-diamond rating<\/a> from the travel and insurance company AAA in 2019. Past park service reviews of Aramark\u2019s operations at Yosemite have cited rodent infestations at the hotel and chunks of ceiling<\/a> falling on tables during meal time in the Ahwahnee dining room.<\/p>\n The hotel recently underwent a major seismic retrofit that upgraded the dining room windows and kitchen, among other areas.<\/p>\n Next year, the storied hotel will celebrate its 100th\u00a0anniversary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The nearly century-old\u00a0Ahwahnee, seen here in May 2026, is one of the National Park Service\u2019s premier hotels, having…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319245,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[413,412,101,103,102,104,106,105,2422,118],"class_list":["post-319244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-food","tag-restaurants","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-travel","tag-yosemite"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n