Grand Canyon Accommodations
 

Please advise on the El Tovar Lodge as to the three suites with views of the Canyon. Also, aren't there any other rooms in the hotel with view of the Canyon?

Which other accommodations are the best to reserve right near the Canyon along the South Rim?

Also, for 60+ couple not in the best fitness, what amount of time is best to stay to enjoy the Canyon?

The best ones to reserve are the ones you can get your hands on. Beggars can't be choosers. Seriously. The El Tovar as only about 80 rooms and they will sell out 1yr in advance.

Bright Angel has more rooms and is also right on the rim. Ditto for Kachina and Thunderbird lodges.

The order I've listed is the order of popularity. Personally I think the need for a canyon view room is overrated. Rooms tend to be quite small and basic, so I like to spend most of my non-sleeping time in public areas.

Everywhere you go all day long you see the canyon. The pleasure of being at the canyon is getting out and about, even if it's just for a coffee & bagel to go in the morning, sitting under a tree in the afternoon shade reading a book, standing at the rim watching the condors soar, or strolling with an ice-cream cone after dinner.

I'm not sure what the big deal is about a Canyon view.

The angle is also important.

I went over to Hopi point and the Canyon turned orange as the sun set.

The next morning I got up before sunrise and walked along the rim watching the sun come up and light up various portions of the Canyon.

I stayed in a cabin at Bright Angek about 40 yards from the rim.

When it's dark it's dark and you can't see anything.

We stayed in Kachina Lodge and as was stated, the rooms are very basic. It doesn't matter if you can see the canyon from your room because you'll probably only be in the room to sleep and shower.
We were very close to the rim which made it great to just walk out and enjoy the views.
We had several meals at El Tovar and they were wonderful.

"Canyon view" at Bright Angel means every tourist in the world is right outside your window yacking - and likely blocking your view of the Rim. Less so with El Tovar, but you want the panoraminc view one can only get by being outside.

As to second question - 60+ couple with limited fitness. Most people who see and enjoy the Grand Canyon are not hikers. There is no need to kill yourself with a below the Rim hike. Walk to rim, take some photos, see it from different angles and times of day. Hop on shuttle bus that has a dozen or so stops along Rim, walk about 200 yards to overlook, repeat above activites. Great and memorable views accessible to all.

We found 2 nights/one day were fine.

We stayed in Flagstaff and drove to the canyon for the day. Had lunch there and drove to the major viewing spots. It was quite congested in October.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn and it was a good place to stay - had a good breakfast buffet.

One day is long enough unless you are hiking etc.

I would stay longer than 2 nights one day--maybe 3 nights. We stayed 4 nights so my husband and kids would have time to hike down to Phantom Ranch. I wasn't in good enough shape to do this but enjoyed taking the shuttle and doing lots of short, easy hikes

Definitely try to get up for a sunrise at least one morning. In general the early morning hours are a great time to enjoy GC village and the rim trail w/o hordes of other people.

You might want to consider a mule ride if you are not in good enough shape to hike down below the rim. (I know many people enjoy these trips and they are very safe--I would be terrified at thought of taking one myself)

If you don't stay at El Tovar, try to have a meal there

The ranger programs are numerous and interesting.

If you can, try to use the east entrance at least once and visit the area between GC village and the Desert View Watchtower. It has some great views and is less crowded than other parts of the south rim

We are a 60's couple . . we stayed two full days ( three nites ) and that was about right for us.

If you can get into el Tovar keep trying, We called twice a day for four days prior to arriving and on the fourth day they had a cancelation that was just right for us.

Rich

I believe the suites with the canyon views are the Fred Harvey suite and the Mary Colter suite.

According to the reservations website, none of the regular rooms, even the "deluxe" rooms, have canyon views. I believe this is due to the orientation of the wings in which the rooms lie---even the one closer to the canyon is at an angle, so the views are not direct.

We did have a partial canyon view from one of our rooms there (it was a deluxe king) but we did not request that. And while you "could" see the canyon from the room, I would much rather see it right from the rim.

Kachina Lodge and Thunderbird Lodge both face the rim directly, so there are are rooms with "partial view". These are listed that way on the website, and you pay $10 more for these rooms. These lodges are not as nice as El Tovar.

I wouldn't fuss too much over a view room. All you have to do is walk outside and you are right on the rim, with endless views over the canyon.

Hi Princess!

We spent one night at El Tovar last July. It was a standard room, so no canyon view.

The room was small, but nicely appointed. They did a nice job of keeping with the period decor, but with modern fixtures. The only negative was a lack of parking in the hotel lot.

We arrived at Desert View before noon, and spent midday stopping at the various outlooks and features on the way to the hotel. It worked out well-we did a leisurely check-in, sat on a swing on the hotel's porch soaking in the view, then walked down to Bright Angel for dinner. From there, we rode the shuttle out to Hopi Point to watch the sunset. It made for a relaxed and pleasant day.

For us, the nicest part of staying at El Tovar was how much more peaceful things were after most of the park guests had left for the day. It was nice sitting and looking at the canyon without a crush of people around-more serene and personal.

What about those tiny cabins that are near the rim? What are they like inside, and how do they cost out?

Those tiny cabins that are near the rim are part of Bright Angel. You can see the prices at the Xanterra (the GC concessionaire) website

https://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/br...lodge-408.html

Prices are about $150/night. They will likely sell out 1yr in advance.