Canyon de Chelly-where to stay?
 

I would appreciate any advise for motels near Canyon de Chelly. There doesn't appear to be many.

Here's some advice -

Hotels in Chinle, AZ -
Best Western Inn 928-674-5875

Thunderbird Lodge 928-674-5841

Holiday Inn - 928-674-5000

Actually the Thunderbird Lodge is located in the park and the other two are just a miles away in the town of Chinle.

We camp so we haven't stayed in any of them.

Utahtea

The Holiday INn is greatNear the entrance to the park.Fine pool. Indian waitresses.Paul

We stayed at the Thunderbird lodge a few years ago. It was clean, spartan, nothing special but great location.

Had a nice giftshop with local crafts.

We really enjoyed the Holiday Inn - nice clean rooms, good restaurant, pool and FREE laundry machines. We got our tour into the Canyon from here. We would definitely go back.

We stayed at the Thunderbird also, a few years back. It's a good location if you want to be in the park, and similar to modest accommodations at the Grand Canyon (such as Maswik). We hired a Navajo guide, and we and 2 children had a 3 hour horseback ride through the canyon (guide required - paying for his ride required). We had an experience we will never forget - including the wonderful insight into the Navajo culture from our guide!

We stayed at the Thunderbird a few years ago ... very convenient, but pretty basic motel-type accomodations (a bit worn).

The Holiday Inn was only about a 1/4 mile from the Thunderbird ... I would have preferred to stay there. There was also a restaurant a the HI that was OK. There's not much else in the area.

Canyon de Chelly is wonderful to visit - almost a spiritual experience. We only did the half-day tour, but if you have time I would recommend a full day. Also, if you have time take the scenic drive along the brim of the canyon out to the last point overlooking Spider Rock. Plan on an extra 1-2 hours to do this depending on how many of the overlooks you want to stop at. When you get to the Spider Rock one, there's a short, easy path that you need to follow to get to the actual overlook -- definitely worth it if you have time.

Ditto to what Cher said about visiting Canyon de Chelly!

Utahtea

Cher (or anyone)

Regarding Thunderbird vs. Holiday Inn ~
Why would you have the Holiday Inn?

We always try to stay in the Nat'l Parks whenever possible although i understand that while Thunderbird is IN the park, it is not operated by the NP service. Also, reviews on tripadvisor are mixed for both, actually for all chinle properties. We really prefer location above all, and can do "worn" as long as it's clean.

Thoughts? Anyone? TIA.

Hi -- I understand your comments about staying in the lodges in the NP -- we always try to do that. However, Thunderbird Lodge in not inside Canyon de Chelly (which is not National Park land, but rather Navajo land -- you can only enter with a Navajo guide); it's right outside it. It's essentially an older, privately run motel. There's really no ambience although they have a nice gift shop that you don't need to stay there to visit. The accomodations were very basic. The place was clean, but seemed a bit worn.

The Holiday Inn is literally right down the same road, probably less than a 1/4 mile from the Thunderbird - there's really no advantage to the location of the TB Lodge to the HI. The Holiday Inn seemed to be a bit nicer.

Don't obsess too much over accomodations - they're all pretty basic without much ambience. The main experience is the Canyon.

That last paragraph is SO true.

Thanks cher and starrsville.
Either of you know if any properties have balconies, with or without a view?

No, but if you check out their websites you may find the answer. My best guess for "basic" hotels in that geographic area - no.

Hello - I was just in Chinle last week for two nights. Our first night we had planned to camp in the Cottonwood campground there, but much to our dismay when we got there, the grounds were infested with ants and we were tired from having hiked and camped at Chaco Canyon before we got there. We decided to treat ourselves to a night in a hotel. Since I already had a room booked at the Thunderbird for the next night, we tried there first - no vacancy. Then went to the Holiday Inn - no vacancy. Our last choice and only viable option left was the Best Western, which is a few miles away near the center of town. Even though we were disappointed that it was farther away from Canyon de Chelly, it actually turned out great. It was the cheapest place to stay, there is an indoor pool, sauna, and jacuzzi (which felt great after a long day hiking in the sun), and the Junction Restaurant was far superior to the restaurant at the Holiday Inn (we at ate both). I know that there aren't many options in Chinle to eat, but I would recommend Junction over Garcia's. It may look like a run-down diner, but the quality of the food was better and half the price. Our second night in Chinle we stayed at the Thunderbird Lodge becuase I had already booked a room there, but in all honesty, we wish we had been able to stay at the Best Western again.

We stayed at the Thunderbird. Wish we had read a thread like this one, which is right on. The T-Bird is very basic (no pool or other facilities). While they say it's located in the park, it's not like it's that much nearer any of the areas you will be visiting. You don't need to stay there to use their restaraunt or gift shops, which are recommended if you stay for any length of time. Our preference would be the HI, BW and TB in that order.

Hummmm...the Thunderbird Lodge says it's in Canyon de Chelly National Monument and you enter the park before you reach the lodge!

http://www.nps.gov/cach/pphtml/lodging.html

http://www.tbirdlodge.com/

http://www.nps.gov/applications/park...s/CACHmap1.pdf

Now, the lodge is NOT in the canyon. You can drive the north and south scenic rim drives that are within Canyon de Chelly National Monument. You can do the one hike into the canyon to Whitehouse Ruins, but to enter the canyon anywhere else you need a Navajo guide.

None of the lodging in the area will have a view of the canyon.

Utahtea

Got it. In other words, while technically in the nat'l park, thunderbird is a far cry from el tovar, paradise inn or even the new(er) motel style rooms in yosemite or sequoia np.

Instead i'm remembering the low rise barrack style groupings in glacier np and crater lake np, among others.

Thanks guys, this helps alot.

So far advice sounds good...we stayed at Holiday Inn and did the halfday into the canyon last March. Motel and food fine. Be aware that the jeep rides are pretty bouncy, but definitely a wonderful experience. It is also good just to get a taste of Navajoland.
I'd say the eating places mentioned (carlyshells & others) were OK, nothing special.

ozarksbill

We really enjoyed the 1/2 day tour with tour guide "David" who leads tours with the tours that leaves from the T-Bird gift shop(you don't need to be staying at their lodge to take their tours, just purchase the tickets at the gift shop). David is a native from around there and has been leading tours with them for years.

We also did our 1/2 day tour thought the Thunderbird Lodge and David was our guide too. He did an excellent job.

Utahtea

Just an FYI -

Stayed at the Holiday Inn in Chinle the other night and we were very happy with our choice. Asked for a pool view room -- the pool is CLOSED for the summer. However, we did overlook a little red cliff!

Did the 1/2 day tour in the canyon -- WOW. WAY cool. Do it if you can. As utahtea said, we wished we could have done the full day tour.

Also checked out Thunderbird Inn -- we were all happy we stayed at the Holiday Inn. Had lunch in the Thunderbird cafe -- not bad! Garcia's in Holiday Inn is better though.

Full report when we get home! :)

We just got back and stayed at the Best Western. The rooms were ok. We had to be moved to another room when our bathtub drain wouldn't drain. Gift shop was nothing to look at. The Holiday Inn looked the nicest. Both are close to the Canyon, and your only third choice in the Thunderbird.

We just returned as well. We stayed at the Holiday Inn, which appeared to have been recently recarpeted and was just fine for us. I didn't see the rooms at Thunderbird, but the physical setting was the best of the 3 hotels. We ate at all three hotel restaurants. The Holiday Inn is the nicest, with candlelit tables and dinnertime entertainment. Junction at Best Western is a family-style restaurant and we liked dining there as well. I had the posole stew with mutton, which was excellent. Thunderbird is a cafeteria-style restaurant with expensive rugs for sale lining the walls. Beware that a la carte items add up quickly. We found breakfast in particular quite expensive and much better value can be had at the other restaurants.

I stayed at the Thunderbird Lodge when I went. I got a discount because I am a government employee - I don't think it would have been worth the hefty $130 per night price without that discount (I got in for $99). They also warned of thefts and to not leave anything in the car. But I found it nice for the price and convenient. No major problems and the hotel was quiet.

We have reservations at the Thunderbird Lodge for a few weeks from now. The previous poster has me worried now, though. Were the warnings about thefts only about thefts from cars or also from rooms?

Are you there, Argi? Hope you can clarify. Thanks!

jeg - Visitors to Canyon de Chelly are warned about theft from their cars, especially when leaving it parked at different view points. Sadly, you will understand when you get there. At almost every stop along the North and South rims, there will be Indians hawking cheap goods out of their cars and loitering around the parking lots. It is recommended that you keep all valuables out of sight when leaving your car. You don't need to worry about theft from your room at the Thunderbird. Don't let this sully your trip though - it is a beautiful and spiritual place!

The thefts were from cars. I have to say though I always travel alone and Canyon de Chelly was the only place where I felt uncomfortable. Mainly because many native americans would set up at the overlooks to sell things and that made me uncomfortable. But I ended up going on the truncated full day tour the next day (truncated due to rain) and it was the most enjoyable thing I did on my trip. So I think the area itself has crime problems ... not just the hotel. They did not say anything about break-ins at rooms ... just cars.

Sadly, you will notice that one of the newest and largest buildings in town is the Chinle Youth Correction center, surrounded by razor wire. One of the local mini-marts allowed not more than five youths in at a time, and backpacks were not allowed. Billboards in the area of the Navajo Nation warn of extreme dental decay amongst other maladies attributed to methamphetamine usage. There is a heavy police presence throughout the reservation, in fact I have never seen so many police vehicles. There was a big methamphetamine bust when we visited. Alcohol is prohibited on the reservation and you will not be served alcohol at restaurant, although you will beer cans and broken bottles littered on the side of the road. We did see one vehicle on the reservation with a broken-out rear window, but don't know for sure the cause.

It all seemed sad to me. It reminded me of that old commercial where an Indian is shedding a tear. Heck, I wanted to shed a tear. Everyone we met was incredibly kind and generous.

It seemed very sad that there appears to be problems with crime, youths, and drugs. It is strange to be in such a rural setting, where horses roam free, but sense an urban aura of criminal activity. I'm sure local residents have a better understanding than I do.

topping for tropicalbreeze

This post has hung around for so long that I decided to add my story of stayng at the Thunderbird Lodge while visiting Canyon de Chelly. We landed there one night with no reservations and got the last room. We had the great idea of staying in an authentic hogan while in this area, and had it all set up through the internet and phone calls with a guy named Will Tsotse. We had visions of traditional Navajo stories around a campfire etc...When we arrived at the appointed place, (and believe me just to get there was a story too long to tell here), we found a trailer in which we assumed our host lived and 2 hogans. Scenic, it wasn't. We were told that the man to whom we had paid our money (the aforementioned Will), had "gone over the mountain" and wasn't due back until the next day. This old woman told us that our name didn't even appear on the reservation list, but that she could have her nephew throw a mattress into the back of a truck and take us to another hogan they had about 8 miles away. Well, we felt as though we were already in the middle of nowhere and there was no way we were going further to sleep on a dirty mattress on a dirt floor. In fact at the mention of this, our two little girls started to cry. It was quite a scene! Although we were pretty sure that all of the hotels in Chinle were full, we pulled into the Thunderbird Lodge around 8PM, got the last room and did the dance of joy. We never did get our $130 back.

Wow, Suki! What a story. The hogan idea appealed to me but we didn't have enough time. Now, I am very very glad! :-)

I'm staying at the Best Western next month. I'll report in. Staying at the Wigwam the next night - can't wait for that experience! :-)

starrsville, we stayed at the Wigwam a few summers ago and had a really nice time. We met my niece and her husband there, and had my two daughters with us. The pool area was nice, and they had live entertainment at least a few nights while we were there. Enjoy yourself!

Suki: Your story sounds like something that could have happened to me. When we arrived in Chinle after driving from Durango at speeds that dropped to 20 mph over some mountain passes, my spouse started to cry. My family was incredulous as to where I had dragged them. Chinle itself is not beg on curb appeal; I enjoyed it like I enjoy a documentary movie or nonfiction book, and those are my preferences. The next day, after horseback riding and experiencing the beauty and silence of the canyon, they were all enjoying themselves. In fact, the family wants to rerturn for a longer horseback trip up the canyon!

binthair, did you horseback in the canyon de chelly? if you, who did you use? also, suki we were considreing this hogan, i had seen in 'hidden sw' book, but not this time and maybe next either :) we did see 'el rancho hotel', in gallups, for the next night. any thoughts from anyone else? it is an old route 66 landmark, but i question the place, had many rooms available and no credit card reserve. tahnks for the help and insights

I've often wondered if folks who have actually stayed at Will Tsotse's place would have good things to say. Maybe some day one will find their way to Fodor's and let us know. Based on my experience though, I would not recommend it.

Binthair, we all enjoyed our time at the canyon as well. Maybe we will return one day and do the horse tour.

Just a note regarding the Will Tsosie hogan-stay - when I was looking into booking nights for our trip to Canyon de Chelly this past May, I had called the number for the Coyote Pass Hogan which I found in the RoughGuide to the SW, with no luck. Number was disconnected. Then I found another number online and tried that. I got someone from a health services center who told me that the Coyoto Pass Hogan had gone out of business. I guess that's no surprise considering people's experiences.

This takes me back to our trip a few years ago in September. We camped in the park, and it was very windy all night. We walked down trail to White Horse ruins, unworldly beautiful, and got the impression that the canyon was formed by windblown sand. A Navajo shepherdess and her sheep and goats tinkled by, ignoring the trail.

The approach through Chinle is daunting, though. Tony Hillerman novels are a fun preparation for this country.

Great idea to read TH novels before the trip. I read one years ago. Time to go to the library!