Wyndham Grand Desert Resort Questions

[suzanne]

I just reserved 2 weeks in a 2 bedroom unit at this resort for early September 2015. Was wondering what floor unit location I should ask for to have a better view of the surrounding area?

We don't plan to rent a car for the trip. Instead there is a day long bus tour that goes to The Grand Canyon that we are looking at taking and a bus tour of Hoover Damn followed by a boat ride on Lake Mead. Neither is very expensive and would be easier on DH than renting a car and driving that far. Has anyone done these tours that can give me some info on how good they are?

The rest of our time will be spent just relaxing and sightseeing on the strip. We don't gamble so not concerned about the casinos. I do want to try some night photography of the neon lights and fountains at some of the casinos.

If anyone has other points of interest that we should see please let me know.

Suzanne

 

[Dori]

We did the bus tour to Grand Canyon, and it was a very long day. If you decide to rent a car for a day, go out to Red Rock Canyon. It is less than an hour drive from Las Vegas, and it is very beautiful. Valley of Fire is another nearby place to visit. Have a wonderful time!

Dori

 

[suzanne]

Thank you Dori for your help. The website says 12 hours for the day trip to the Grand Canyon. It means a very long day for us but DH said he would rather do the tour bus than rent a car and drive that far.

Was the tour enjoyable? Did you get to see much of the Canyon?

I think a side trip to the Valley of Fire or the Red Rocks sounds great. I will try to talk DH into renting a car for a day or two to go to them since they are not that long a drive.

Thanks again for your help.

Suzanne

 

[Dori]

You are actually at the canyon for a fairly short time. I think it was about an hour and a half. We ate our boxed lunch (part of the tour) there.

We had the misfortune to be there while California was experiencing some terrible fires, so there was a haze blanketing the canyon.

Dori

 

[uscav8r]

Suzanne, the Grand Canyon is an amazing site/area to behold. Might I suggest that if you are staying 2 whole weeks at WGD, that you consider taking one or two nights "away" at one of the National Park lodges right near the Canyon rim? It does add cost to your trip, but GCNP is not to be missed in one's lifetime.

Last year we were staying at Wyndham Flagstaff and then spent one night midweek at the El Tovar, the historical hotel right off the Canyon Rim. We spent the entire next day taking the rim bus to all the major vistas, then drove back to Flagstaff. Since Las Vegas is a longer drive, I would not do this for any less than 2 night stay.

The El Tovar is pricey (but worth it IMHO), but there are several other more affordable NP lodge options, as well as some hotels/motels right outside the park entrance.

Just leave your stuff in the room at WGD and take a couple of lighter overnight bags on your side trip! Plus you can hit Hoover Dam on the way there or back.

Best of luck to you and your vacation planning.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Karen G]

Suzanne, the Grand Canyon is an amazing site/area to behold. Might I suggest that if you are staying 2 whole weeks at WGD, that you consider taking one or two nights "away" at one of the National Park lodges right near the Canyon rim? It does add cost to your trip, but GCNP is not to be missed in one's lifetime.

I concur that it would be well worth your time to spend one night since you'll be here for two weeks. But, I would suggest an alternate trip. Think about going to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The drive up there would be much more scenic, in my opinion, as you would be driving through the Virgin River Gorge and St. George, UT. It's about the same distance from Las Vegas as going to the South Rim and it's on the interstate freeway most of the way.

There is the National Park Lodge within the park, but when we went there we stayed in the cute little town of Kanab, UT. It's about an hour from the entrance to the park. We had lunch at the lodge in the park and did a few easy walks to various lookout spots to see the canyon. It was very enjoyable and not a bad drive at all.

The North Rim closes around mid-October so September would be a wonderful time to see it.

 

[suzanne]

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions. I would love to stay overnight at the Grand Canyon but since we will be doing a bus tour that's not going to be possible. The long drive up and back is just too much for DH. He is still going thru chemo and tires to easily for him to drive that far.

Suzanne

 

[MarkO7111]

This is not cheap but I am sure there are others for less

This company gets you to the Grand canyon with an over night.

http://www.grandcanyontourcompany.com/nightbus.htm