Lake Hotel (also called "Lake Yellowstone Hotel") is the oldest operating lodging facility in Yellowstone, America's first national park, established in 1872 during the administration of President Ulysses Grant. Construction on the hotel commenced in 1889, more than a dozen years before completion of the first phase of the park's more famous sister lodge,

Lake Hotel (also called "Lake Yellowstone Hotel") is the oldest operating lodging facility in Yellowstone, America's first national park, established in 1872 during the administration of President Ulysses Grant. Construction on the hotel commenced in 1889, more than a dozen years before completion of the first phase of the park's more famous sister lodge, Old Faithful Inn.

The Lake Hotel complex includes a two-story annex (once used as employee housing) plus 110 closely clustered cabin units in addition to the main hotel. The three- and four-story hotel received extensive renovations in the early 1990s when it was returned to its 1920s appearance. The hotel's outstanding feature is a bright and airy sunroom with comfortable wicker furniture. The sunroom serves as an ideal place to read, visit with other guests, enjoy a cocktail, or listen to the music of a pianist or string quartet that plays here most evenings. An equally inviting dining room with an appearance matching the sunroom is just off the lobby.

The main hotel has 158 rooms in long wings stretching down the east and west sides of the sunroom/registration area. The hotel sits parallel to Yellowstone Lake and many rooms on the front provide excellent lake views. Room sizes vary, but all have attractive furniture, heat, a telephone, and fully tiled bathrooms, but no air-conditioning or television. (Lack of televisions is a common trait in many national park lodging facilities.) The hotel has a single elevator located in the east wing, a consideration for guestrooms on an upper floor.

The best lake views are from rooms along the front side of the east wing, while rooms in the west wing tend to offer more space. Rooms in the front of the hotel rent for a slight premium compared to rooms in the back that provide views of the parking lot. The hotel setting is kind of odd in that virtually everyone parks their vehicle and enters from the back side. Many guests are unlikely to even see the building's attractive front side that faces the lake.

You may wonder why we selected Lake Hotel over park icon Old Faithful Inn as the place to stay in Yellowstone. In a word, peacefulness. Lake Hotel is situated in a beautiful but quiet section of a very busy park. The Old Faithful area is the focal point of Yellowstone, and nearly every visitor wants to experience Old Faithful Inn. Sightseers are constantly prowling the inn's impressive lobby and mezzanine. By comparison, most individuals at Lake Hotel are overnight guests. The hotel is within walking distance of the cafeteria at nearby Lake Lodge Cabins, another park lodging facility. A word of wisdom: Yellowstone is a huge park and visitors should consider staying in more than one hotel during a stay of more than two nights.

David L. Scott and Kay W. Scott are the authors of The Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges. For more information about national-park lodges, visit their website.