Hotel Del Portal was an early first-class hotel at El Portal, California, just outside Yosemite National Park, built by a Yosemite Valley Railroad subsidiary as an elegant stop for rail passengers arriving from Merced. Begun in 1907 and completed in 1908, it set a high standard of comfort during a period when visitors typically reached Yosemite by train and continued by stage. Its importance declined as automobiles replaced horses, wagons, and railhead travel into the park. In October 1917, while leased and operated by the Desmond Park Service, the hotel was destroyed by fire. Its brief existence reflects the transition in Yosemite tourism from rail-and-stage travel to the automobile era.