# Staying at Grand Canyon National Park



## dukebigtom (Oct 15, 2008)

I've read some info on threads here before about staying inside of Grand Canyon National Park and heard it suggested that if you are going to Vegas, it might be a good idea to extend your stay a couple of days and actually stay a couple of nights at Grand Canyon National Park rather than try to see the Grand Canyon as a day trip.

Can anyone supply info on how to go about staying in the park?  Website links, recommendations, etc.?  We'll be in Vegas in September 2009 and are considering doing this.  Hopefully since we are still 11 months out, we might be able to get reservations to stay in Grand Canyon National Park.

I look forward to hearing from you all.

BigTom


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## dms1709 (Oct 15, 2008)

If you want to stay in the Park, you need to call Xanterra Parks and Resorts Central Reservations at toll free within US, 888-29PARKS.  They will let you know what is available.  I called last week and got a room at El Tovar Hotel, for next week.  

Donna


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## applegirl (Oct 15, 2008)

El Tovar is certainly "the" place to stay but there is one other hotel right at the canyon, next door.  If these places are too pricey, you can also stay in a little town called Tusuyan, just a few minutes outside the park.  Very convenient.   There is a large hotel there called I think the Grand Canyon Hotel and resort.  It looks really nice though I've never stayed there. Another option which is what most fols do is to stay in the town of Williams, AZ on I-40. It has tons of hotels to choose from.  It is about 45 minutes from the park. A very easy drive.  Find the Williams website for info on all the hotels.

Best of luck!  It's certainly a trip worth your time.

Janna


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## Deb from NC (Oct 15, 2008)

We've stayed twice at the Best Western in Tusayan (link below).  It is very nice, and only about a 10 minute drive to Grand Canyon.

http://www.grandcanyonsquire.com/

However, if you can get into El Tovar, I would certainly make that my first choice.  Both times I tried to get in, I waited too long and there was no availability!

Deb


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## DaveNV (Oct 15, 2008)

I'd suggest going to the Xanterra website to check availability,  http://www.xanterra.com/

El Tovar is the classiest hotel at the South Rim, and would be my first choice, but there are others that each have their own appeal.  Bright Angel Lodge and Maswick Lodge are both close by.  Yavapai Lodge is located closer to GC Village, and is the largest inside the park.  It's more of a motel than a "lodge" and is centrally located.  We stayed overnight there, and it was fine, in a "motel" sort of way.

If you can't find what you want on the Xanterra website, calling Xanterra directly will give you access to things the website doesn't show.

Dave


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## Deb from NC (Oct 15, 2008)

Hey Dave,
Are you still at Arroyo Roble?  How do you like it?  We loved it...hope you are enjoying it too...
Deb


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## CharlesS (Oct 16, 2008)

BMWguynw said:


> El Tovar is the classiest hotel at the South Rim, and would be my first choice, but there are others that each have their own appeal.  Bright Angel Lodge and Maswick Lodge are both close by.  Yavapai Lodge is located closer to GC Village, and is the largest inside the park.  It's more of a motel than a "lodge" and is centrally located.  We stayed overnight there, and it was fine, in a "motel" sort of way.


Dave,

After timesharing for 10 years, I hate the thought of staying in a hotel or motel.  But sometimes that is the only choice.  Do any of these have rooms with views?  And if so, what does one have to do to insure that one gets a room with a view.

Thanks, Charles


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## PStreet1 (Oct 16, 2008)

Few rooms at El Tovar have views because the hotel is turned with only one end facing the canyon.  Kachina, right next door, and another one--name escapes me--are turned toward the canyon.  When you make the reservation in either of those they will ask you if you want the view side, which costs a little more, or the other side.  It's a 3 minute walk from either to El Tovar for meals if you want or there is a cafeteria within easy walking distance.

The rooms in El Tovar vary greatly.  I've stayed there three times and had an o.k. room, a substandard room, and a truly horrible room.  Unfortunately, you don't get a choice; it's luck of the draw.  The horrible room was below ground level and so small that we literally could not put an open suitcase any place but on the bed, so of course, that was a nuisance.  The bathroom was an added thought for the room and literally had room for a person to stand in front of the sink....period--and not a fat person either.  We did ask if there was any other room available: "no, that's the room you were assigned."  I recommend Kachina or the other one that is side by side with Kachina.  Bright Angel is a different complex.  They'll be able to tell you on the phone what each one is.


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## DaveNV (Oct 16, 2008)

Deb from NC said:


> Hey Dave,
> Are you still at Arroyo Roble?  How do you like it?  We loved it...hope you are enjoying it too...
> Deb



Hi Deb,  Yes, we're still here.  Great timeshare!  Nice, enormous unit, and it's working out fine.  They're renovating the unit next door - and it looks like they're getting some nice upgrades.  Makes for some fun neighbors - we even have a resident "pet" lizard we've named Lizzie who is hiding behind the sofa.  Fast little bugger!  Every time we try and catch it, the critter gets way.  Oh well...  

Sedona is as interesting as ever, and still filled with very "eclectic" residents.   Fall weather is here, and the changing leaves are creating incredible colors in Oak Creek Canyon.  Definitely a very special place.

My only complaint about Arroyo Roble is parking - the inconsiderate other guests park so sloppily, they take up more than one space in the limited parking area.  Makes it a challenge to find enough room to park without banging doors or squeezing in and out of the car.

Great timeshare, and highly recommended.

Dave


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## DaveNV (Oct 16, 2008)

CharlesS said:


> Dave,
> 
> After timesharing for 10 years, I hate the thought of staying in a hotel or motel.  But sometimes that is the only choice.  Do any of these have rooms with views?  And if so, what does one have to do to insure that one gets a room with a view.
> 
> Thanks, Charles



Charles, I'd do as Pat suggests, and contact the lodges individually.  It wasn't an issue for me, because once the sun goes down, it's so dark, you can't see into the canyon anyway.  And next morning, you'd be up and out of the room pretty quickly anyway.  So to my way of thinking, how much view you have isn't really all that important.

If view IS that important to you, maybe you should explore options at the Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim instead.  It sits right on the edge of the canyon, and you can't help but have good views from every window.  I don't know if they have guest rooms with views, but it can't hurt to ask.

Biggest thing about GC accommodations is to reserve well in advance.  The night we stayed at Yavapai Lodge they said every room in all lodges in the park were booked.  On a weeknight in October, they were surprised.

Good luck!

Dave


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## JeanneB (Oct 16, 2008)

We stayed at Kachina for one night last summer and was pleasantly surprised, our view was fantastic and we were up early in the a.m. watching the elk grazing out in front of the hotel...our overnight stay inside the Grand Canyon was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.  I was so glad we didn't stay in Tusayan which is something I considered initially, or make it just a day trip.

The room wasn't anything fancy, your basic hotel room but the view made it all worth it and the window was huge so we would open it to get an even better view.  I'd post a picture but my photo hosting site isn't cooperating tonight.

ADDED PICTURE OF THE VIEW FROM OUR ROOM AT KACHINA...


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## CharlesS (Oct 17, 2008)

*Thanks*



PStreet1 said:


> Kachina, right next door, and another one--name escapes me--are turned toward the canyon.


Pat and others:

Thanks for the first hand info.  Always better than a brochure or talking with an employee.

Charles


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## Larry (Oct 17, 2008)

JeanneB said:


> We stayed at Kachina for one night last summer and was pleasantly surprised, our view was fantastic and we were up early in the a.m. watching the elk grazing out in front of the hotel...our overnight stay inside the Grand Canyon was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.  I was so glad we didn't stay in Tusayan which is something I considered initially, or make it just a day trip.
> 
> The room wasn't anything fancy, your basic hotel room but the view made it all worth it and the window was huge so we would open it to get an even better view.  I'd post a picture but my photo hosting site isn't cooperating tonight.



Same here stayed at Kachina one night but could not get a room with a view but we were steps away from our room and out the side door to the fantastic views in about 2 minutes flat. Price was right, room was clean and comfortable but certainly not fancy. We stayed at the Westin Kierland in Scottsdale the rest of the time so once we got back we had the luxury 1BR suite with hot tub in the room, granite countertops in the kitchen and fireplace in the living room. 

Wait I almost forgot about the matching bathrobes and heavenly bed at Westin so one night at Kachina wasn't that bad for our 7 night vacation.

I am soooo--- glad we stayed the night just for the sunsets and sunrise that we would have missed out on with a day trip from Scottsdale.


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## dukebigtom (Oct 17, 2008)

*Thank you all*

Great info.  Thanks to all who spoke up.  Can't wait to try using some of this info.

BigTom


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## melody (Oct 18, 2008)

We are going to Las Vegas for 5 days in the first week of November. We were planning a day trip to Grand Canyon, after reading posts on this board, I changed my mind to stay one night in the park. When I called to make the reservation, was told the only availability would be Kachina and Maswik, neither of them has views of canyon. I already read good comments about Kachina, how about Maswik? Maswik is $100 dollar less.


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## Red Rox (Oct 22, 2008)

Don't worry about having a view from your room at the GCNP. If you happen to get one it's a bonus. But you won't be in your room that much and it will mostly just be to sleep anyway. However the location of the hotel is important. First of all, you want to be inside the park so you can walk to the rim and the shuttles and the attractions. Maswick and Yavapai lodges are about 1/4 mile walk to the rim. All of the other park lodges are right on the rim, so they tend to book first. If you have a choice between Kachina and Maswick, take Kachina for the location. If the $100 price difference is important, then Maswick is still just fine as it is INSIDE the park.


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