Hotels

This section lists accommodations and dining available inside Grand Canyon National Park. Many other hotels and restaurants exist in the nearby communities of Tusayan, Williams, and Flagstaff, Arizona, and in Kanab, Utah. Rooms in Flagstaff, Williams, and Kanab -- all three of which are more than 50 miles from the park -- generally cost less than comparable ones inside the park. Tusayan, 1 mile from the park's south entrance, tends to be more expensive than the park. When planning a visit to Grand Canyon, I recommend reserving a place inside the park for at least 1 night. This lets you savor the twilight hours at the canyon without driving far in the dark.

If you're hoping to spend the night at or near the rim, be sure to call well in advance of your stay. During busy years, the lodges inside the park and in Tusayan frequently fill up, forcing would-be lodgers to backtrack away from the park.

If you tire of relatively new rooms with Southwestern motifs, a few historic hotels and lodges do remain. In the park, stay at Grand Canyon Lodge (your only option on the North Rim), the Bright Angel Lodge (a favorite among families, hikers, and history buffs), or the El Tovar Hotel (the park's most upscale inn). The park concessionaire must retain the historic character of these three accommodations -- unlike the other park lodging, which tends to be more institutional.

Reserving a Room Inside the Park

Lodging inside the park is handled by Xanterra South Rim LLC, P.O. Box 699, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023 (tel. 888/297-2757 or fax 303/297-3175; www.xanterra.com or www.grandcanyonlodges.com on the South Rim; www.grandcanyonnorthrim.com on the North Rim). Book well ahead: The most desirable rooms, such as rim cabins at Bright Angel, go a year in advance, and all Grand Canyon lodges sell out from mid-March to mid-October (in summer, you can often find a room more easily for late-August or early September). It is possible to reserve a room up to 13 months in advance (which you would need to do for Phantom Ranch). If you're flexible with dates and choices or travel in the fall or winter, you can usually find rooms 1 or 2 months in advance. Because Xanterra allows cancellations without penalty up to 48 hours in advance, you can sometimes grab a room at the last minute, even at the busiest times, by directly calling the Xanterra switchboard (tel. 928/638-2631). A few rooms become available each day, so you can also try calling or walking into and asking about any vacancies at the lodge of your choice. Check-out is at 11am, so the front desks will know by that time whether a room will be available.

Rates listed are for high season, which lasts March through October and includes holidays. Prices may fall substantially in the off-season. There is a tax of 6.517% added to the listed rates. Xanterra accepts American Express, Diner's Club, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa. Children under 16 stay free with their parents. Pets are not allowed in accommodations inside the park (although guide dogs are permitted), and there is no smoking at any of the lodges.

On the South Rim, the hotels themselves can be contacted through the same switchboard (tel. 928/638-2631 or fax 928/638-9247) and mailing address (P.O. Box 699, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023). The phone number for Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim is tel. 928/638-2611. The hotels do not have specific street addresses. When you enter the park, you will receive a map pinpointing their locations.

Most of the rooms in the park have relatively new furnishings, and all but a few have telephones and televisions. Only El Tovar and Yavapai East (at Yavapai Lodge) have air-conditioning (Maswik North will have A/C starting April 2006); Thunderbird and Kachina lodges have evaporative cooling systems. The only conspicuous difference in decor is at the El Tovar, which houses more upscale furniture. Other than that, the buildings themselves are what differ most within the park.