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All reviews el tovar third floor dining room presidential suite grand canyon south rim fred harvey in advance cocktail lounge historic lodge rooms are small parking lot standard room national park once in a lifetime canyon view dinner reservations
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Reviewed 9 July 2014

We spent two nights at the hotel, which was great to be in the middle of the village especially after most people had gone home. It was lovely to stay somewhere where the original features were enhanced by only useful modern conveniences. It was so different from most modern hotels, the level of service was splendid, and the food was extremely good. The only gripe would be as the rooms are original size, the beds are rather small for most modern tastes but there is little to be done about that.

Date of stay: July 2014
Trip type: Travelled with family
3  Thank AnneB286
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 9 July 2014

First of all lets get the niggles out of the way. It's a short list. Parking is a pain of you arrive near sunset. The hotel does not have a dedicated car park and we had to park a 15 min walk away. Not a big issue but having driven 9 hours from salt lake it felt like one at the time! Having said this the hotel pointed us to a little known car park behind the visitors centre next to the hotel that is well hidden and we used for the rest of our stay.

The WiFi is very bad! Again not an issue apart from the fact that as you travel you use the www as an invaluable resource and it is sort of important these days to any traveller.

The rooms are quite small and the air on is loud! The plumbing is a bit dated.

So why, do you ask did my wife and I rate this as a very good experience? We'll its boils down to a three things.

1. The staff are brilliant. All of them! At reception, in the bar and especially in the resturant. They are helpful, courteous, informative and highly professional. Loved Cynthia and
Tricia in the bar but unfair to pont anyone out to be honest.

2. We ate in the restaurant on three occasions for dinner and 3 for breakfast. We could not fault the service, the quality of the food or the fantastic atmosphere generate by this very special setting. Excellent value for money as we'll given the location.

3. Lastly, and I hinted at it above, there is the location and the sense of history that the El Tovar gives you. The hotel sits just metres from the amazing Grand Canyon and with its old work charm is unque among al of the accommodation options available.

So take some advice, if you are visiting the Grand Canyon and are prepared to spend a little and put up with a few niggles, then do stay at the El Tovar!

Room tip: Ask for a rom overlooking the Canyon. Obvious really!
Date of stay: July 2014
  • Trip type: Travelled as a couple
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Service
4  Thank 427PeterH427
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 9 July 2014 via mobile

This hotel made my Grand Canyon visit. I loved the true historical nature of it, from the old logs, porches with rockers, rustic/elegant decor to the formal service you receive from front desk to the dining room. We had dinner & breakfast in the main dining room that was decently priced, with an interesting menu and great food. The rooms were well appointed and our bed/linens comfy. The location cannot be beat for a night or two on S. Rim. If you're driving all the way up there and can get over the price, stay a night...way worth it. It just help to set the mood and settle you into the canyon vibe.

Date of stay: June 2014
2  Thank clouise988
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 8 July 2014

We only stayed one night at the hotel but enjoyed our stay. I gave it a "4" rating but it is based on what else is available in/near GCNP. My rating is relative to those other hotels not the whole as a whole. El Tovar is not luxurious but I found it lovely and in a perfect location. It is a historic hotel and you see and feel it when there. I think they have done well preserving the history and avoiding too many modernizations except what is needed. Check in was quick and easy. Our room overlooked the front of the hotel. It wasn't large but even with 2 beds it was roomy enough. The bathroom was large especially in relation to the room. The room was well equipped with a nice TV, clock, frig, keurig coffee maker, and hairdryer. A/C worked fine. I wouldn't say it was an arctic blast but cooled the room enough. Closet space was minimal as was space to put the suitcases. Beds were comfortable and the room was clean. The bathroom was retro was its black and white tiles and old fashion tub. It reminded me of bathrooms of my childhood 40-50 years ago. I liked the looks although it needs more places to hang clothes when changing/showering and a little better place for your toiletries - always a problem when you have a pedestal sink. I found the hotel and even the room charming. My daughter and I played a few games they had in the common space above the lobby as we took a break before dinner. We loved our dinner at the restaurant that night. Staff was pretty friendly (more later on this). I loved the rocking chairs on the front veranda. I loved the location right on the rim. Awesome. I took a quick morning walk before the rest of the family woke. It was so nice seeing the sun rise and being on the rim before the day crowds arrive. That's one of the best parts of staying along the rim. The El Tovar is also by the Indian dancing and close to the Bright Angel and its trail. The only reason I did not give it a "5" is because of the lack of "storage" in the bathroom (just add a couple of hooks and a glass shelf with a chrome edge/rail so things don't fall off and you still maintain the retro look) and a staff issue. Everyone was nice but we were a bit PO'd at housekeeping. We asked for a late check-out (which meant only 1 add'l hr til noon). We wanted to take a quick shower and change clothes after a dusty morning mule ride. The front desk was helpful and managed to get it for us but it wasn't easy. You could tell by the phone conversation with housekeeping it was a HUGE deal. So given the late check out we put a do not disturb on the door. Our mule trip ran long so by the time we arrived back at the hotel it was 11:45. My husband wanted to ask the desk it we could have til 12:15p since it was just he that would shower and my daughter and I would just change clothes and wash faces. Front desk had to call housekeeping once again. An argument ensued between the two on the phone and the desk person relayed that housekeeping said they'd already cleaned the room. Total BS or if true really bad form. First it wasn't even check out time for us because we still had 15 minutes and second we had put a do not disturb sign on the door. We surmised housekeeping was just being a pain and lied to avoid any wrinkle in their schedule - who cares about the customer, housekeeping sure doesn't and this is after at 4:30pm we had to wait a few minutes at check-in for housekeeping to finish up readying our room. A raspberry to housekeeping. A thumbs up to the front desk that tried their best. The desk staffer feeling bad about the whole thing told us about a bathroom we could use which was a single so we could take our time and have more privacy. That was nice and worked out ok. I'd give the front desk service, dining room staff and shop staff a "4.5" and housekeeping a "2" (room itself was clean so a 4 attitude of housekeeping management a 1) so overall I have to give service a 3. We have now seen the Grand Canyon and probably won't return but if we did we would definitely stay at El Tovar for all the positives truly outweighed the negative of the hotel's "housekeeping" dept.

Date of stay: June 2014
  • Trip type: Travelled with family
    • Value
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
2  Thank akgirl51997
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 8 July 2014

I just returned from a great stay at El Tovar. It is a rustic but elegant historic hotel. Our room, the Mary Coulter suite, was comfortable and clean and has an amazing balcony overlooking the canyon. What set my experience apart was the customer service. I left my drivers license and credit card in my room and drove to Vegas before I realized it. Everyone I spoke with at El Tovar was professional and seemed to genuinely care about my situation. I got my license and credit card back in time to catch my flight home. I am so grateful!

Date of stay: July 2014
  • Trip type: Travelled with family
    • Value
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
2  Thank Laura S
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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