Grand Canyon Hotel Help

[Deb & Bill]

Thank you to all for your suggestions. We are looking at visiting the South Rim. We plan on driving from Vegas with a stop at the Hoover Dam. We are going June 2014 so we are able to book a year in advance.

Has anyone driven to Anaheim from the Grand Canyon? We know it is a long ride and are thinking about staying a night somewhere in between. Perhaps Palm Springs. Any suggestions we should consider?

We really appreciate all of the help.

We drove from Anaheim a few years ago and stopped at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on the way home. We stopped for the night in Henderson, NV, at the Green Valley Ranch Resort, Spa and Casino (we have casinos where we live and never visit them, so Las Vegas held no appeal to us). We also stopped at Hoover Dam on the way to Henderson (spent a hour or two there). We drove to the Grand Canyon after we left Henderson that morning and stayed at Yavapai Lodge (very basic but met our needs).

 

[jel0511]

Thank you to everyone. We will be booking it June 1st to get our pick. It looks like we are narrowed down to El Tovar or Kachina. Is one much better than the other? Not sure which way to lean on this one. We are only staying one night.

IMO you can't go wrong with El Tovar, it's a historic hotel and we had a GREAT experience there last summer. We also drove from the canyon to Anaheim and drove straight through, IMO there was no reason to stop anywhere. The drive took about 6 hours, but we stopped for lunch to break the drive up. We left after breakfast around 9, then got to DL around 4.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

We stayed in one of the Bright Angel cabins right on the South Rim . . .

1) Another vote.
. . . great views
. . . cute cabins
. . . kept clean ands in good shape
2) As for the Grand Canyon
. . . not many things in the world live up to their hype
. . . but, The Canyon does not disappoint
. . . ever
. . . always breath-taking

 

[Muddy Rivers]

Are there any significant differences between El Tovar and Kachina? The both look nice. So hard to choose one over the other.

 

[jel0511]

Are there any significant differences between El Tovar and Kachina? The both look nice. So hard to choose one over the other.

Go with El Tovar, it's National Historic Landmark.

 

[disneybound31]

Go with El Tovar, it's National Historic Landmark.

I disagree...El Tovar is beautiful to tour, but if you google for reviews and pictures you will find complaints about the noise, the views and the cost. It is a 30 second walk from Kachina to El Tovar. There is nothing missed by not sleeping there- we enjoyed a gorgeous breakfast there, enjoyed sitting on the wide porch swings (even used the wi-fi briefly to update my trip report and check in with family via FB and/or email)...they have a great lobby and store we were able to enjoy without staying there.

It is an historical landmark- but so are several of the other building and gift shops/hiking shops.

I would rather save several hundred $$ over a 2 or 3 night stay and enjoy far better views 2nd floor/canyon side at Kachina. You must ask for that type room when booking tho and book early as possible.

BTW, the check in desk at El Tovar IS the check-in desk for Kachina- El Tovar is also where you go if there are any problems/issues with your Kachina stay. They are connected in that respect.

 

[Muddy Rivers]

I disagree...El Tovar is beautiful to tour, but if you google for reviews and pictures you will find complaints about the noise, the views and the cost. It is a 30 second walk from Kachina to El Tovar. There is nothing missed by not sleeping there- we enjoyed a gorgeous breakfast there, enjoyed sitting on the wide porch swings (even used the wi-fi briefly to update my trip report and check in with family via FB and/or email)...they have a great lobby and store we were able to enjoy without staying there.

It is an historical landmark- but so are several of the other building and gift shops/hiking shops.

I would rather save several hundred $$ over a 2 or 3 night stay and enjoy far better views 2nd floor/canyon side at Kachina. You must ask for that type room when booking tho and book early as possible.

BTW, the check in desk at El Tovar IS the check-in desk for Kachina- El Tovar is also where you go if there are any problems/issues with your Kachina stay. They are connected in that respect.

Thank you all for your input. Has anyone else had any issues with noise or view in El Tovar?