Any Grand Canyon trips we can use points for?

[JonHM]

In looking on the member's website, I didn't see any hotels that looked like they were near the Grand Canyon. There *was* a 9 day rafting trip listed, but when I clicked on it for more info, I just got an error. Then when I went to look for it in the main list, it wasn't there. Has anyone done any Grand Canyon related trips on points?

Thanks for your help!!

 

[Desperado]

I'd be interested in this too.

 

[DVC1996]

Nope. I looked into this prior to planning our trip this summer to Grand Canyon NP, Zion NP, and Bryce NP. The nearest place for an exchange would be in Las Vegas through II exchanges. If you do go to the Grand Canyon, please try to stay overnight in one of the park lodges such as El Tovar or Bright Angel at the South Rim OR The Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim. Just like staying in the resorts inside Disney World makes your trip so much more magical, the same holds true for staying in the national park lodges.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Location, location, location! Stay at Phantom Ranch!!! LOL...of course you either have to walk, raft or ride a mule to get there.

There are very few accomodations at the Grand Canyon. None of them are timeshares. On the south rim there are the hotels mentioned... If you see El Tovar you'll have a sense of deja vu...Wilderness Lodge was modelled after the style of the architect who designed El Tovar. I love staying at Bright Angel Lodge...but if you check the AAA guidebook you'll see it gets one star....no tv, it may or may not have a private bath and probably that private bath won't have a shower (it will have a tub). There is also a hotel on the North Rim...I think just one...and its closed half the year.

That said...I'm not sure I'd do a canyon (rafting) trip on points...unless you have a huge number of points you just don't know what to do with. I think cash would be the better part of valor in this instance.

You might try searching on the information provided to see if the website has moved.

 

[Lisa P.]

The closest timeshare to the Grand Canyon (south rim) is Fairfield Flagstaff. This is 2 hours away by car and only trades via RCI. Another 1/2 hour further south is Sedona, with quite a few timeshare properties in both RCI and II.

So if you are only looking to trade via II for a full week and if you plan to see a lot of other popular sights in Arizona as well (Sedona's red rocks, the Petrified Forest, the Painted Desert, etc), see if there are any Sedona resorts on the DVC II exchange list. Otherwise, Las Vegas is probably the closest II option. In that case, I'd second the idea of renting rooms very close to the Grand Canyon or inside the National Park. There are popular train/hotel packages too.

 

[DVC1996]

After reading the previous post, I now have a question. This pertains to II exchanges. Can we only exchange with the resorts listed in the Members Guidebook or can we make exchanges with others that aren't listed?

 

[Lisa P.]

Harriet, it's supposed to be only those listed. If you find a particular II resort that's not on the list, it may be worth your while to call Member Services and ask about it. They may be able to tell you a reason for the omission (poor reviews vs. brand new resort without reveiws) and perhaps make an exception if you feel strongly about it.

DVC seeks to reduce the chance that members will be disappointed by a trade down when exchanging, so they restrict exchange options. Some people find this frustrating and too limiting. Others find it helpful in identifying the better II resorts.