max10

Can someone tell me which South Rim lodging is better to stay at? Is two nights enough for Grand Canyon? I plan to go to Vegas on Nov 25 till Dec 2. Stay couple of nights in Vegas, GC, and one other national park. Any suggestion on the other national park? thank you for your help.

FlyingMaltese

We stayed at the El Tovar last year, and we loved it. It is right on the canyon, and everything is top-notch, including the linens and the beds.

As for another national park, I would consider Zion or Bryce. I went to both parks last year, and I cannot recommend one over the other. They are both spectacular. Zion is about a three hour drive to Vegas. Bryce is about two hours away from Zion.

max10

thanks for the quick response. Unfortunately, there's no room availability for the El Toro hotel. Only Maswik, thunderbird, Kachine, and Bright Angel left. Which one would you recommend? do you recommend driving from Vegas to Zion to Canyon to Vegas? Is two nights stay in each park is enough? thanks again.

gigib

Thunderbird, Kachina and Bright Angel have the best locations, they are right on the rim. Maswik is set in the forest a few minutes' walk away. Bright Angel is old and rustic, but very charming. Tbird and Kachina are more modern. All are pretty much in the same spot on the rim, excellent location.

2 nights at each park would be OK, but you may be short on time when you consider the driving. To go from GC to Zion, the quickest way is to go all the way back to Vegas, then drive north a couple of hours to Zion. There is a circular scenic route to the east that will take you through Bryce on the way to Zion, but driving this will take FOREVER.

PaulRabe

The key reason to stay within the NP is to be able to see a sunrise without rushing through the Park entrance. El Tovar is the best for this, because you can see the Canyon from many of rooms. Bright Angel is second best, because the rim is less than thirty seconds from your room. It is also the cheapest place to stay, BUT has a MAJOR (potential) problem: shared baths. If the amenities provided (or not provided) in Bright Angel are adequate for you, I'd recommend that as a place to stay.

Unless you are doing MAJOR hiking in the Canyon, two nights will be more than adequate.

The only reason I'd recommend Vegas to Zion to the Canyon is that doing so will allow your initial view of the Canyon to be at sunset, when it is at its best. It's a full day's drive between the Canyon and Zion, and, thus, in late November, you will arrive at your second park as the sun is setting.

max10

This is very infomative, thank you.
How does this sound?
Nov 25 - Vegas
Nov 26 - Vegas
Nov 27 - Zion
Nov 28 - either Zion or Vegas
Nov 29 - GC
NOv 30 - GC
Dec 1 -2 = stay in vegas and leave on Sat.

I didn't see any village where I can stay at Zion. what hotel do you recommend?

thanks.

Dohlice

We stayed at Maswick and it was nice. It's just a short stroll to the rim and that great cafeteria style restaurant is there. I would definitely go to Bryce rather than Zion. We stayed at Ruby's for Bryce, but it wasn't at all rustic so I wasn't thrilled. It's just outside the park though so it was very convenient. Probably really good if you go with kids.

laurieb_nyny

Zion has a National Park Lodge (nps.gov) & the town of Springdale, Utah is right outside the entrance.

wtm003

The Zion Lodge is the only lodging inside the park. Check the National Park Service website for info. We stayed outside the park in Springdale at the Desert Pearl Inn - loved it!

www.desertpearl.com

elnap29

South Rim Grand Canyon: Any lodging on the Rim is ideal. Rooms are just functional, but OK. You are there for the view and it is best to be able to walk out your door and be a few steps from the canyon rim. Maswik rooms are a distance from the rim, and we found out the hard way that the shuttle stop was a far distance from our room - a problem after finishing dinner after dark and then being unceremoniously dumped out of the shuttle in pitch-darkness, literally feeling our way through the forest to our room. Bring a flashlight!! Keep trying the reservation line to see if there are any cancellations.

Zion is magnificent! We enjoy staying inside the park at Zion Lodge for its proximity to trailheads. If you enjoy walking, you will enjoy this park immensely and 2 nights would be better than only 1. Zion is 2 hrs from Vegas. Vegas is 5 hrs. from South Rim GC. For us, 2 night was completely adequate at So. Rim Grand Canyon and we usually spend 5 nights at Zion. In fact, due to time of year and earlier darkness, I would recommend:
Nov.25 Las Vegas
Nov.26 Drive to Grand Canyon, arrive by 2PM, spend 1 night there and enjoy the park through daylight on the 27th.
Nov. 27, evening, drive out of the park for dinner (either toward Flagstaff or Williams) and spend the night more cheaply in one of those towns.
Nov.28- short, beautiful drive to Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon. Spend the night there.
Nov.29- head back to Las Vegas at your leisure, spend the night there.
Nov. 30, drive the 2 hrs to Zion. Spend 2 nights at Zion and on Dec 2 drive directly to Las Vegas airport and fly home.
Bryce is a great park but the weather might not allow you to enjoy it that time of year. If you don't want to add Sedona to your trip you can add the extra night to either Grand Canyon or Zion, but I would recommend maximum time in Zion.

OO

If Bright Angel is still available, I'd grab it! We stayed outside the park our first trip, Bright Angel the 2nd, and Yavapai the 3rd (only because Bright Angel wasn't available). I would never stay outside the park again and would take Bright Angel if available. It's in the midst of everything you need--dining and hiking, and rustic but very appropriate to its surroundings. Yavapai was fine, but a drive to everything including trailheads.

I love Zion. We've been twice, several day stay each time and will return. We love the varied and various hikes. Again, stayed outside the park once, Cliffrose and it was very nice, but staying inside the park was fabulous. Again, the accommodations are rustic but so fitting to the area and to see those cliff faces in the moonlight and early morning is a Wow experience.

Bryce is nice as well, amazing formations and colorations, but of the two parks, Zion is our favorite. There are some absolutely fabulous hikes if you enjoy that activity.

sharondi

I would recommend going to the GC first for 2 nights then onto Zion for a night. The drive from Springdale (Zion) to LVegas is really quick - we did it in just over 2.5 hrs, so it's easy to make an afternoon flight out of LV leaving Zion that morning. We never stay in LV - but we can get a nonstop flight from our east coast airport and be in Zion that night.
We love that! So if you were planning on spending your last night in LV, spend 2 in Zion. I love the town of Springdale and there are lots of nice accomodations.

FlyingMaltese

We stayed at Zion Lodge and loved it. We thought the food at Zion Lodge was better than the El Tovar.

Make sure that you arrive at Zion via the Mt. Carmel scenic highway. It is one of the prettiest roads in America. It is hard to describe. There are gorgeous sandstone mountains just towering over you along a windy road.

Re the El Tovar: Did you call Xanterra? Sometimes there is availability that they do not show on the website. I cannot comment on the other accomodations other than Bright Angel, Thunderbird and Kachina are right next to El Tovar and are convenient to view the canyon.

Also, I enjoyed the ride from GC to Zion. You go through some of the Navajo reservation, and then you go through an area called the Arizona Strip. You do go through some upper elevations, however. So, I would be wary of driving through snow.

There is a cute little town along the way called Kanab. It is nicknamed "little Hollywood" because of all the westerns that were filmed there.

Also, I would add another night in Zion so that you could see Bryce, which is two hours away from Zion. You might be lucky and see Bryce's hoodoos dusted with snow.

Dohlice

Wow, we had no trouble at the Maswick and didn’t need a shuttle to go anywhere. Just make sure you’re at one of the lodges in the park. You don’t want to make that looong drive into the park all the time. That was a great idea someone else mentioned about calling El Tovar. Make arrangements at one of the other places but keep calling El Tovar right up until the end. They get plenty of cancellations. You have to make reservations 1 yr in advance so people often reserve several dates and then cancel the others.

gcmaven

Definitely make your GC stay with enough time for a sunrise and sunset, but you'll want to go out to some of the viewpoints, and not experience those from the lodging at the rim. The view from there is pretty much due north, so not the best vantage for rise and set. And for a late Nov visit, when it gets dark around 5:15pm, you aren't going to be able to see the canyon from your room, even if you have one of three with a canyon view. Because you are probably going to be spending all of the daylight hours outside enjoying the park. So I wouldn't stress too much about where your room is. And you can enjoy the veranda, lounge, lobby, and restaurant at El Tovar without having a room there. Breakfast and lunch are first come, first serve, but if you want dinner it's a good idea to make a reservation. Hope this helps!

max10

Thank you everyone who had responded. I had a really great time in Grand Canyon. Stayed at the Bright Angel Lodge for two nights. Clean and comfortable room ($58 a night). Did the day mule ride trip. The mule trip was fantastic, went down 3000 feet. The whole trip took about 6 hours, my back was aching afterward. I definetly recommend the mule ride for people who never done it before.

MichelleY

Dear Max:

Thanks for reporting back!!

MY

sharondi

max10,
Did you end up going to Zion or Bryce?

max10

I did not go to Zion or Bryce. I drove straight to Las Vegas for my last two nights. When I was in GC, the weather was like 20 degrees and I did have a coat with me. I figure the weather would be the same in Zion so that's why I decided not to go.