Accommodations
Seven lodges dot the park landscape, including one at the bottom of the canyon, all at various price points and service levels. Camping or RVing is an option, too, and highly recommended for those who want the full experience. This is how the canyon’s earliest settlers lived: rustically, adventurously, in makeshift tents and abodes.
 
Four hotels are consistently the most coveted for their location smack dab on the rim: El Tovar, Bright Angel, Kachina and Thunderbird lodges. Stay at any one of these, and you can get out of bed, walk outside and plant your toes on the edge of the stomach-flipping crevice.

Bright Angel is popular with hikers. Many stay there before setting off on mules or on foot down to the Colorado River. Kachina and Thunderbird are budget-conscious options, built in the 1970s with small, dorm-like guest rooms. But the nicest place to stay by far remains El Tovar.

It was the first hotel constructed on the rim, and its architecture stands out like a cactus flower. That’s because architects outside of Arizona decided it should look like a Swiss lodge, and they designed it without seeing the construction site. As a result, most of the rooms face east and west, with no view of the main attraction to the north. Some of the rooms are subterranean, with partial views of a parking lot.

For this reason, savvy guests make reservations more than a year in advance to snatch up a desirable room, or they visit in the off-season. A handful of suites face the canyon, and three have decks overlooking the natural wonder. Imagine sipping coffee in a bathrobe, staring out at a living postcard, and you’ll understand why these guests are the happiest.
 
All the park hotels are operated by Xanterra, which gave El Tovar a $4.6 million touch-up in 2005. It replaced the carpet in the lobby, which still feels like a Swiss hunting lodge, with dark brown beams and mounted animal heads. It also replaced soft goods in the guest rooms, retiled the bathrooms and installed beautiful, vintage-inspired pedestal sinks.

Sales director Bruce Brossman explains that back when the hotel was built in 1905, tourists came to the canyon to see the canyon, not to hang out in a hotel room. As a result, little thought was given to indoor amenities. Now, national parks and their vendors find themselves torn between two ideals: preserving a natural wonder and giving today’s travelers what they want. It’s clearly a balancing act for El Tovar. As a result, the hotel is not the nicest one you’ll ever stay at, but it’s not the most rustic, either.

Another challenge for El Tovar is labor. All Arizona hotels are struggling to find workers, and convincing them to live in such a remote locale is even more difficult. The ever-revolving staff makes service a little unpredictable.

The best solution? Get outside and experience the canyon the way it was meant to be. The best part about your trip will be the activities, and there are plenty to choose from.