In Jerome, we had a couple of meals, The Haunted Hamburger is great. We went in a bunch of shops, and went here https://goldkingmineghosttown.com/
It's not as much the money as it is being hesitant to pay for a hotel that gets worse reviews than the one we can stay at for free. Mostly, it appears Maswik Lodge isn't in a great location as far as the in park hotels go.
It appears we could get one night at Thunderbird Lodge. What did you think about it? Was it walkable to any other hotels for more food options? That's one thing we loved about Yellowstone. Also, did they have an elevator? I tried a Google search, but nothing came up. I can't climb steps, so I can't take a chance on being assigned a second floor room without an elevator. If you don't remember, we'll try calling later.
ETA: After I booked two nights, I saw they don't have an elevator. That may be a problem.We'll have to call to see if they can guarantee ground floor.
Thanks for the feedback. Haunted Hamburger looks fun. Great view! I'll check out the gold mine link. We tend to take "food" vacations too.
National park hotels definitely charge a premium for the location. We expect that. I just didn't see the value in Maswik, but I could be wrong. I also found it odd that Maswik was available every night, but I had to stalk the site daily to find any other hotel. We're okay with Thunderbird Lodge, but I'll keep looking to see if anything else becomes available simply due to the elevator situation.The thing about national parks is that there are a lot of basic accomodations that are are there on the premise that the public should be able to afford it. Like I said - I stayed at the Maswik quad cabins years ago, although those are gone. The location wasn't that close to the rim, but it wasn't bad really.
As far as Thuinderbird Lodge goes, it's somewhat controversial. It looks OK, but it was built in a similar style as the Mission 66 program to build lots of newer buildings for the National Park Service by 1966. And lots of them were built in a more contemporary style than what had been "National Park rustic" for years. The criticism would be that it kind of looks out of place - like a commercial motel was dropped into a national park.
Those towns are new to me. I'll look into them. Thanks
I'm hoping we're going to be amazed by Sedona. Our hotel there is the most expensive of the trip. It's more per night than the Grand Canyon hotel we booked. Fortunately, we're using points there. I can't imagine paying $443 per night (rewards member - book early rate) for a Best Western.
Thanks for the warning. We'll be flying in & renting a car. I'm really hesitant to get a Jeep though. In Montana, our only choices were Jeeps & trucks. We took a Jeep. I had a really hard time getting in & out of it to the point that I just skipped some things rather than climb in & out yet again. Hopefully, we can find an alternative solution.Definitely rent a jeep for Monument Valley. The road around really ruined my own car's wheel alignment that I just had done before the trip. The mechanic tried to sell me a lifetime wheel alignment package too. But I turned it down. I thought, how many times am I going to need a wheel alignment?
Sounds like a neat place. We'll make a note to at least drive by there to see, if I can do the walk. There are a couple of restaurants in that area that we find interesting.
112, ehh .... that's your average summer day!I remember being in Scottsdale one day when it was 112°. I thought to myself, "There are limits to the 'It's a dry heat' theory."But of course, it still was better than 112° with higher humidity would have been.
Try the hottest day on record, 6/26/90 clocking in at 126. I remember it vividly because it was the day after I got my drivers license and I went to the movies with my friends only to come out to a puddle of radiator fluid leaking due to the excessive heat. Even my car said this heat is too much. 
Unfortunately, when I clicked to see what was available, it was a room with no view & no elevator access. After seeing the no elevator note, DH decided to call Thunderbird Lodge to request a ground floor room for the reservation we already have booked.It's been 100 in steamy South Florida lately. Our AC is giving up.112, ehh .... that's your average summer day!
And you got that right, I will take oven 112 dry oven heat versus 90 high humidity swamp heat any day!!
UCK! You have my sympathies. Miserable. Your poor AC is tired.It's been 100 in steamy South Florida lately. Our AC is giving up.
I can totally relate to that. I was born & raised & have a home in the mtns. of North Carolina. Growing up I couldn't wait to move near the ocean. I finally did & still live here. I still love the ocean, but I had to be gone from NC a long time, before I learned to appreciate the beauty of the mountains. I'm really excited to see Arizona. It's totally different from anything I've seen in person.
I'm still debating whether I should keep stalking the Grand Canyon hotel site or stick with what we have. Do you think any of the other hotels have a better location? In case you haven't noticed I second guess everything.
That's a bummer. We had already eliminated it for this trip. We just don't have enough days for everything we wanted to see. That makes me feel better about eliminating it. I'm sorry it was a letdown for you though.
Lol. We're actually thinking it will be chilly for us in October.
