On further thought, however, this locale seemed too remote from Ryan, and thus impractical as a tourist headquarters. After lengthy consideration of alternative locations at Ryan and Shoshone, it was finally decided that the small mound and former Indian ceremonial area at the mouth of Furnace Creek Wash would be an ideal site. Not only was a good fresh water supply available 6,000 feet up the wash at Travertine Springs, but, the view up and down the valley and of the surrounding mountains was breathtaking. The architect Albert C. Martin was hired to prepare plans for a Spanish-style building, and native Panamint Indians were immediately put to work manufacturing adobe bricks for its construction.

Construction of the hotel started in September 1926, and its official opening was held on February 1, 1927. However, the structure was only partially finished, and its number of rooms and furnishings soon proved completely inadequate. At that time the Inn consisted only of a main building housing a spacious lobby and pleasant dining room, with wings on either side containing bedrooms.  In the fall of 1927, five more terrace rooms on either side of the parking area were added and more construction would continue over the net decade.

The Pacific Coast Borax Company extensively promoted use of its own standard-gauge Tonopah & Tidewater and narrow-gauge Death Valley railroads to transport tourists to the site. At that time, tourists could purchase a package that included transportation, hotel accommodations for one night at Furnace Creek Inn, meals for two days, and bus tours to nearby attractions for $42.

Eleven-passenger Union Pacific tour bus.

Electric power was provided at the Inn in 1929 by a generator and water piped from  Travertine Springs watered the grounds, gardens, and a date palm grove. Domestic water came from Texas Spring to the northeast and was stored in a reservoir for use by both the Ranch and Inn.