El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon Village

After reading the reviews on this site we were concerned about about staying at the El Tovar. From the first phone call booking the room to the check out, EVERYONE was VERY POLITE, very eager to help and very warm and welcoming. It was a delight to stay there. The restaurant was excellant and the service superior. I wish we could have stayed longer.

I've stayed at the so-called cabins from hell a few years ago. The hotel was booked so I made the mistake of staying there. The staff was extremely rude. When they gave me the key and I walked in I thought there would be cameras and TV crew jump out and say: Surprise your in the reality television show: "Your worst nightmare come true" really don't stay

Incredible view! I liked that the tour buses don't park at the hotel. It feels like a resort, not a tourist trap. The rooms were comfortable and charming, not high-tech. All the meals were top-notch. Highly recommend it. The perfect place to start your tour of the Grand Canyon!

I love the learning about the history of the Grand Canyon - and this hotel is a big part of it. If you can't stay here, it is worth it just to walk through the lobby or have lunch in the restaurant.

12/2005...My husband and I are over in Sedona Arizona now and just came from El Tovar yesterday. We were heartbroken to leave the place. We had a corner room with a double or a queen. Our room was amazing, but if it wasn't the corner room it might have been a little small. The bathroom was beautiful with brand new Kohler fixtures throughout and a wonderful shower head that my husband was crazy about. We even had windows in our bathroom. We didn't have a view of the canyon, but we really never spent any time in the room anyway. I was scared to stay here and even called my travel agent back to see if I should book somewhere else based on some of the reviews that I read on websites. I thought that the service there was wonderful. Everyone was very accomodating and they even let us check out late. Keep in mind that this is only days before Christmas. One thing that I do agree with was that the Dining room was very unimpressive for dinner. Breakfast there on the other hand is amazing. It is one of the best breakfasts that I ever had. For dinner eat at the Arizona room which is at the Bright Angel lodge around the corner. The hotel always had a warm, crackling fireplace going and my husband and I brought board games out to the fireplace and brought drinks out as well. The hotel has the best views of the South Rim out of all the other places to stay, and we can't wait to go back. We were so sad to leave...but Sedona is beautiful as well. One last thing...chech in isn't until 4 pm and check out it 11 am, so plan accordingly. Overall a wonderful place to stay.

We waited for 4 months last year to get on the list for a room at the Lodge. The wait was worth it! We are from Miami and have some of the greatest hotels and beaches in the world - but the El Tovar is not the Ritz. Do not expect a glitzy hotel in this 100 year old charmer - you are paying for a history lesson with a view that few hotels can claim. I walked 50 feet outside my room last year early in the morning on freshly fallen snow to the edge of the canyon and one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Go with a good attitude and you will not be disappointed!

I actually rented one of the 4 suites for my stay. Half the light bulbs were out. The hanger on the bathroom door wasn't screwed in. Some other fixtures didn't work. The furniture looked like it had been there since 1908 with no maintenance. On the positive side is the location, and charm of the place. I will certainly never pay for a suite again.

I just spent my honeymoon there. If your looking for an old fashion mountain "lodge" the El Tovar is it! It even looks to be right out of a movie. The restaurant is excellent, rooms are quaint and if you're lucky you will wake up to deer grazing on the grass out side the main porch. Would recommend to anyone and a great getaway- as well as a romantic one!

Because it's in a butiful setting and it's nice for familys, luxary, the beds are to DIE for and it is a very kid friendly setting! We highly recomend for weddings and for fun! Exalent pool great food and nice area.

For our honeymoon we went to Sedona then continued on to the Grand Canyon and Williams before returning home. We had advised the El Tovar six months ahead of time that this was a special occasion and would like the best room available. The room they gave us was the smallest room I have ever seen. The bed was maybe full size at best. My husband and I had to sleep spooned to fit. The TV stand and armoire was on top of the bed. The water in the disgustingly old tub had rust in it. The view from our window was of the service loading dock and dumpsters where the constant noise of breaking glass and backup alarms from trucks greeted us morning noon and night! Our luggage didn't even fit in the room; we had to keep the majority of it in the car. When I went to the front desk in tears and asking if there was any other room available, they were callous and rude. Never once did they apologize or even offer maybe to comp a dinner in their overpriced restaurant to try to take the sting of complete disappointment out of the situation. Finally anger kicked in and we informed them that we would only be staying one night and had to speak with the manager and a corporate officer on the phone to get our money back for the advance reservation. We stayed at a Holiday Inn suite just outside of the park and they treated us like royalty. They even gave us free dinner tickets to a hotel across the street that had a dinner presentation of Indian dancing performed by local tribes. Then we quickly went back to the beautiful Canyon Villa Inn bed & breakfast in Sedona to salvage our honeymoon. The El Tovar is a nice hotel to walk thru, sit on the porch or walk along the edge of the Grand Canyon. Please do not waste your hard earned money on staying there overnight, unless maybe you've been camping in the area and the weather is awful, the roads are washed out and if you don't seek immediate shelter you will die. Maybe even that is not bad enough conditions to warrant an evening at this hotel.