When it comes to planning a Grand
Canyon vacation, you will be presented with a list
of options for places to stay. For those who love
the great outdoors, Grand
Canyon camping may be the option of choice.
Others could be visiting other parts of Arizona, such
as Sedona, Phoenix
or Flagstaff and will choose to book their accommodations
outside of the Grand Canyon
area. This is also true for those who decide to
plan a Grand Canyon tour
from Las
Vegas, which is just 275 miles away from the park’s
southern entrance. However, many people make the
Grand Canyon their main target when traveling to the Southwest,
and as such, they decide to stay closer to the park.
Outside of Grand Canyon National Park there are plenty
of choices for Grand
Canyon hotels which can be found within a mile of
the park’s entrance, or in the nearby town of Williams.
From Williams, visitors often arrive at the park by way
of the historic Grand Canyon Railway. But, there
are a select bunch of visitors who will decide that staying
within Grand Canyon National Park is the best, and only
way to go. For Grand Canyon hotelsfound within the
park, you will have your choice of eight unique lodges,
all of which are operated by Grand Canyon National Park.
Most visitors who come to the Grand Canyon will choose to stay at, or near, the park’s South Rim. Here, you will find more in the way of travel services and facilities than you will at the park’s North Rim. You will also find a grouping of Grand Canyon National Park lodging choices here, some that are situated along the canyon rim. Among the Grand Canyon hotels found on the South Rim are the Bright Angel Lodge, the Thunderbird Lodge, the Kachina Lodge and El Tovar Lodge. El Tovar Lodge, considered by many to be the premier choice among the Grand Canyon lodging options, first opened in 1905 and received its latest renovations in 2005. A National Historic Landmark, El Tovar Lodge is keenly situated right on the canyon rim within comfortable reach of the many South Rim travel facilities. Rustic, yet elegant, the most surprising thing about El Tovar Lodge may just be the price. For its location and amenities, you might expect to pay a lot more. Especially in the summer, you’ll have to book well in advance if you want to secure one of the lodge’s 78 rooms, some of which have views of the Grand Canyon, and this is true with all the Grand Canyon lodging options. All rooms and suites here feature cable t.v., a telephone, air-conditioning and full bathrooms. Lodge facilities include a restaurant and bar, both of which serve up great food in a welcome atmosphere.
Another National Historic Landmark among the Grand Canyon National Park lodging selections is the Bright Angel Lodge. Designed in 1935, by Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, the Bright Angel Lodge has long been a center of South Rim activity, still serving as the hub for the famed Grand Canyon mule rides. Guests here will appreciate the family-friendly restaurant, where breakfast, lunch and dinner can be enjoyed. If Southwest cuisine is what you’re in the mood for, then you might duck into the Arizona Room. At the Bright Angel Lodge, you can arrange all your travel and tour needs at the lobby’s activities desk, or peruse the hotel’s gift shop during down time. At this wonderful choice for Grand Canyon lodging, you can select from the lodge rooms, which are void of televisions and sometimes private bathrooms, or opt for the highly recommended rim cabins, which do have television and private baths. Between Bright Angel Lodge and El Tovar, you’ll find more South Rim Grand Canyon National Park lodging at the Kachina Lodge and the Thunderbird Lodge. These lodges are more contemporary and can be a wonderful choice for families.
For Grand Canyon National Park lodging options that
find you a bit more removed from the canyon rim, you can
find accommodations a the Maswik Lodge, the Yavapai Lodge
and Phantom Ranch. The Maswik Lodge offers year-round
motel-style rooms that feature full bathrooms and cable
television. In the summer, you can try to rent one
of the lodge’s rustic cabins. One of the more
modern Grand Canyon National Park lodging selections,
Maswik Lodge takes up a couple of acres of prime ponderosa
pine forest a quarter-mile from the canyon’s rim.
At Maswik, you will find a cafeteria, a sports bar, a
curio shop and an activities desk. About a half-mile
from the canyon’s rim is where you will find the
Yavapai Lodge, which is the largest of the Grand Canyon
lodging facilities. Set in a wooded area, the Yavapai
Lodge offers up 198 rooms with air-conditioning and 160
rooms without it. The Yavapai Lodge features hotel
facilities that are akin to Maswik Lodge, and it is conveniently
located within walking distance of the South Rim’s
Market Plaza. While all these lodges are great and
affordable options, none is cheaper than Phantom Ranch,
which has dormitory-style rooms and 11 rustic cabins found
inside the canyon’s rim. The only Grand Canyon
lodging option found within the canyon, you’ll want
to book as far in advance as possible here for meals at
the Phantom Ranch Canteen and for rooms. Phantom
Ranch is a hugely popular refuge for those who are Grand
Canyon hiking, and for those booking Grand
Canyon mule rides and Grand
Canyon rafting trips. Open year-round, Phantom
Ranch was completed in 1922, and was also designed by
Mary E. J. Colter. If you are looking for Grand
Canyon hotels on the less-visited North Rim, there is
the historic Grand Canyon
Lodge.
