Grand Canyon Hotel

Looking for one that is right on or as near to the Canyon as possible. We wanted to stay at El Tovar, this would be for April and they are already booked for our dates. Any recommendations?

There are only a couple perched on the rim on that side. El Tovar is really nice - too bad you couldn't get in there. You might have trouble getting into the locations on the rim - when we went, we booked a full year in advance. We stayed in a cabin at Bright Angel and loved it! Our cabin had a fireplace (which we never ended up using) and was the end cabin so we had windows on the front and side. Open the shade and there, in all its glory, was the Canyon! I wasn't overly impressed with the exterior appearance of Kachina Lodge but it is right on the rim. That's essentially it for lodging right on the South Rim. There's at least one other spot within the park that is a ways back from the rim and other locations outside the park.

Yes it is too bad, we can't get in El Tovar. The only one available from the website Xanterra, is "Yavapai Lodge". Don't know too much about it, though. :cool:

I'm not familiar with that establishment either. There was a gift shop that we visited at another hotel on site which was a bit of a walk back from the rim but I don't think it was this resort.

We are probably going to have to go with some Best Western at the Grand Canyon or something like that. At least I am familiar with them as far as "chain" hotels but I would still want the closest even though we will have a car.

Well maybe we can at least get dinner at El Tovar. :(

Keep trying for the El Tovar. Call everyday because they always get cancellations. I called a year in advance and was told nothing was available then call back everyday and got a room on the 5th day. The El Tovar was wonderful and you can't beat the view. If I remember correctly the chains are right outside of the park.

Good idea to call, since I have been doing it over the internet only. :blush:

So we got in at the Kachina Lodge. Which is right next door to El Tovar. I may keep trying for El Tovar.

But Kachina has no dining, so the operator said I would have to eat at El Tovar. And she said we would get a room with a "view" (of the Canyon). :thumbsup:

Great! It's a very short walk from there to El Tovar. Dining options are very limited at the rim. We ate at El Tovar several times during our stay. There really isn't much to pick from. El Tovar was the best - both in terms of service and food. I also remember eating in another restuarant where the window by our table was essentially at ground level. While dining, we could see a skunk walking by our window at eye level. I can't remember the name but the food was good. (Skunks were pretty prevalent in the area. One night, on our way back to our cabin, one was walking down the path ahead of us. We didn't bother the critter and the critter didn't bother us!)

I don't know if the operator told you but it is a MUST to make all dining reservation at the El Tovar Restaurant (or most any other restaurants at the rim) in advance. We went in Oct which was a slower time and the restaurants were packed with long wait times. As Linda mentioned their are not alot of dining options and I had a hard time finding things that I couold eat, but I knew that going into the vacation.

Good luck. We were at Kachina this summer and I really enjoyed staying on the rim. We had a view and I really enjoyed it. The hotel layout and exterior are dated, but the location is very rewarding.
There are several other eating options than EL Tovar. That was the fancy one and I was not that impressed. We usually went to one of the other hotel restaurants or cafeterias.
We used the buses a lot, driving in that area is very difficult (or rather-parking again).