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LODGINGS
Furnace Creek Inn / 2.5*
ON HWY 190, I MILE SOUTH OF VISITOR CENTER, DEATH VALLEY;
760/786-2345 OR 800/236-7916
Seen against the violet-hued backdrop of Death Valley's surrounding mountain
ranges, the Medi-terranean/Arabian style Furnace Creek Inn rises three
to four stories up a slight hillside. Few resorts seem so suited to their
location: the inn's tile-roofed wings sprawl horizontally, linked
by arched loggias built of hand-laid desert stone and shaded a bit by
scattered towering palms. Opened in 1927 (after a first life as quarters
for borax miners), the inn has seen several remo-delings over the years.
Sig- nificant upgrades were made in the 1990s to the dining room—and
to its prices, which now hover in the very expensive range. The 66 rooms
range from small to quite large, and many, but not all, have been redecorated.
Even a trip to your room is a memo-rable experience: the natural hillside
forms one side of some of the corridors. Although the inn has lost a bit
of its Art Deco feel, this venerable hotel still offers the historic ambience
you might expect from a grand national park lodge. Remember, it can be
too hot here in summer even to brave a trip to the pool. In winter, the
Inn is so popular with foreign travelers that it can be booked solid weeks
in advance. $$$$ winter, $$$ summer; AE, DIS, MC, V; in-state checks
OK; www.furnacecreekresort.com; Hwy 127 to Shoshone, to Death Valley junction,
then left on Hwy 190 into the park. Av
Furnace Creek Ranch / 1*
ON HWY 190, I MILE SOUTH OF VISITOR CENTER, DEATH VALLEY;760/786-2345
OR 800/236-7916
Operated by the same owners as Furnace Creek Inn, the Ranch offers a
low-cost alternative to the Inn's outright luxury. Once a working alfalfa
ranch that harvested as many as nine crops a year to feed the borax-mine
livestock (those 20-mule teams got hungry!), the spread now hosts two-
story motellike units (224) with indoor and outdoor corridors, cabins
(27), a spring-fed swimming pool, a golf course, a museum of mining history,
a small grocery and camping goods store, horseback riding, and even an
airstrip if you care to fly here in your own plane. A coffee shop and
cafeteria/restaurant stay open all day, making this a low-cost home base
for a few days spent exploring the park. The swimming pool is its most
attractive feature: a steady supply from underground hot springs keeps
it topped up with 85-degree water. Locals call this their "cold water
supply"—there's no way to get anything cooler. $$; AE, DIS,
MC, V; in state checks OK; www.furnacecreekresort.com; Hwy 127 to Shoshone,
to Death Valley junction, then left on Hwy 190 into the park.
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