Hotel near Grand Canyon Deceives Visitors from Outside the U.S.
Dec 7th, 2007, 05:13 PM
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Hotel near Grand Canyon Deceives Visitors from Outside the U.S.
I am writing to warn everyone that the Grand Hotel is NOT in Grand Canyon National Park but rather it is located outside the park in a commercial strip called Tuscayan. Other hotels and restaurants are also located in Tuscayan, which is fine, except that the Grand Hotel is pretending to be inside the national park boundaries by using "Grand Canyon Village" as the place name for its location on a web site popular with visitors from other countries who are thus deceived into thinking that staying at this hotel will mean they will be staying inside the national park.
I was made aware of this when, on the evening of Nov. 30, 2007, I was walking in the rain to Maswik Lodge inside the park when a young couple from France pulled up to the curb in their car (which they had rented in LA) and asked me for directions to the Grand Hotel. As it was my umpteenth trip to the canyon, I knew full well that there was nothing called the Grand Hotel inside the park so I took their reservation print-out and went inside Maswik Lodge to seek information to help them locate their destination. The woman at the reservation desk at Maswik Lodge said it was unbelievable how these people from other countries come to Maswik Lodge seeking directions to the Grand Hotel because right there on the computer printout where you would find the address for the hotel, it said "Grand Canyon Village" (which is INSIDE park boundaries) instead of "Tuscayan" (which is OUTSIDE park boundaries.)
I would speculate that these visitors from outside the U.S. wind up at Maswik seeking help finding the Grand Hotel because if you make a loop driving past the hotels on the South Rim, the last one you come to is Maswik Lodge. As a personal comment, I suspect that visitors from France and other European countries are also choosing to make reservations at the Grand Hotel because they expect it to be centrally located in the context of the place they are visiting as would be the case in Europe where a hotel named the "Grand Hotel" is a premiere hotel in t he middle of the destination, not at all what this hotel is out in the boonies.
As for the hotel itself, I have no comment because I haven't stayed there, but I will say this. If a hotel has to attract guests by pretending to be in a place it is not, I personally would not consider staying there.
Jane
I was made aware of this when, on the evening of Nov. 30, 2007, I was walking in the rain to Maswik Lodge inside the park when a young couple from France pulled up to the curb in their car (which they had rented in LA) and asked me for directions to the Grand Hotel. As it was my umpteenth trip to the canyon, I knew full well that there was nothing called the Grand Hotel inside the park so I took their reservation print-out and went inside Maswik Lodge to seek information to help them locate their destination. The woman at the reservation desk at Maswik Lodge said it was unbelievable how these people from other countries come to Maswik Lodge seeking directions to the Grand Hotel because right there on the computer printout where you would find the address for the hotel, it said "Grand Canyon Village" (which is INSIDE park boundaries) instead of "Tuscayan" (which is OUTSIDE park boundaries.)
I would speculate that these visitors from outside the U.S. wind up at Maswik seeking help finding the Grand Hotel because if you make a loop driving past the hotels on the South Rim, the last one you come to is Maswik Lodge. As a personal comment, I suspect that visitors from France and other European countries are also choosing to make reservations at the Grand Hotel because they expect it to be centrally located in the context of the place they are visiting as would be the case in Europe where a hotel named the "Grand Hotel" is a premiere hotel in t he middle of the destination, not at all what this hotel is out in the boonies.
As for the hotel itself, I have no comment because I haven't stayed there, but I will say this. If a hotel has to attract guests by pretending to be in a place it is not, I personally would not consider staying there.
Jane
Dec 7th, 2007, 05:28 PM
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So many hotels take wide berth in describing their location - reminds me of a joke I heard on an old Will& Grace re-run last night in which Grace was decoding ads for apartments. "Close to Chelsea - that means it's in New Jersey."
My guess is they get away with this because they don't get a lot of return business. It does suck, though. Illustrates why if I am concerned about location of my accommodation I do some online map work rather then go by the website description.
My guess is they get away with this because they don't get a lot of return business. It does suck, though. Illustrates why if I am concerned about location of my accommodation I do some online map work rather then go by the website description.
Dec 7th, 2007, 06:34 PM
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Is this the hotel you're talking about: http://the-grand-hotel-grand-canyon.pacificahost.com/
Just on that start page alone I see:
"The entrance to the Grand Canyon National Park is just one mile away, and the South Rim of the Canyon is just a short car ride away."
"Situated near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Tusayan, Arizona" (header, bold type)
"Location (header, bold type) The Grand Hotel is located on State Highway 64, in the village of Tusayan, just one mile from the South Rim entrance to Grand Canyon National Park."
"The Grand Hotel
State Highway 64
PO Box 3319
Grand Canyon, AZ 86023"
I looked up that zip code on the USPS site and it says:
86023:
GRAND CANYON, AZ
Not Acceptable:
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, AZ
TUSAYAN, AZ
Just on that start page alone I see:
"The entrance to the Grand Canyon National Park is just one mile away, and the South Rim of the Canyon is just a short car ride away."
"Situated near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Tusayan, Arizona" (header, bold type)
"Location (header, bold type) The Grand Hotel is located on State Highway 64, in the village of Tusayan, just one mile from the South Rim entrance to Grand Canyon National Park."
"The Grand Hotel
State Highway 64
PO Box 3319
Grand Canyon, AZ 86023"
I looked up that zip code on the USPS site and it says:
86023:
GRAND CANYON, AZ
Not Acceptable:
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, AZ
TUSAYAN, AZ
Dec 7th, 2007, 07:00 PM
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Hi Bluestar,
When the couple from France handed me their online reservation printout, the entire page was in French except for the name of the hotel and the address which was State Highway 64, Grand Canyon Village, AZ (and if the zip code was listed on their page, I did not notice it in the rain.) What I thought was really too much was the reference to "Grand Canyon Village" which is inside the park. There was no indication on the printout page that the hotel was outside the park in Tuscayan. I might add that they were a very young couple whose English was limited.
Seamus,
You make a good point about the ambiguity of location when it comes to hotels and the reference to the Chelsea - New Jersey joke IS funny. I found that in Phoenix there were hotels which had the word Airport at the end of the hotel name and all the word referred to was the fact that the hotel, which was nowhere near the airport, provided a shuttle to the airport for a fee.
When traveling, I often think to myself, "Thank goodness I am fluent in English!"
Jane
When the couple from France handed me their online reservation printout, the entire page was in French except for the name of the hotel and the address which was State Highway 64, Grand Canyon Village, AZ (and if the zip code was listed on their page, I did not notice it in the rain.) What I thought was really too much was the reference to "Grand Canyon Village" which is inside the park. There was no indication on the printout page that the hotel was outside the park in Tuscayan. I might add that they were a very young couple whose English was limited.
Seamus,
You make a good point about the ambiguity of location when it comes to hotels and the reference to the Chelsea - New Jersey joke IS funny. I found that in Phoenix there were hotels which had the word Airport at the end of the hotel name and all the word referred to was the fact that the hotel, which was nowhere near the airport, provided a shuttle to the airport for a fee.
When traveling, I often think to myself, "Thank goodness I am fluent in English!"
Jane
Dec 8th, 2007, 09:36 AM
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My philosophy professor used to say there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers, but in this case, I can't imagine ANYONE asking why I put this on the Europe post. Thank you, Ira, for your response!
The Grand Canyon might seem like a destination popular only with Americans, but the reality is that there are enormous numbers of people every time I go there who are from other countries. The Asians are often in groups because they speak no English at all, and their trip leaders are guiding them, but the Europeans are usually traveling as pairs or as small family groups, including honeymooners and backpackers. They speak English in varying degrees of proficiency. These are the folks who are vulnerable to misleading information.
Jane
The Grand Canyon might seem like a destination popular only with Americans, but the reality is that there are enormous numbers of people every time I go there who are from other countries. The Asians are often in groups because they speak no English at all, and their trip leaders are guiding them, but the Europeans are usually traveling as pairs or as small family groups, including honeymooners and backpackers. They speak English in varying degrees of proficiency. These are the folks who are vulnerable to misleading information.
Jane
Dec 8th, 2007, 09:51 AM
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canyonjane: But the VAST majority of folks planning a trip to the States will search/post on the United States Forum. They would not think of looking for info about an Arizona hotel on the Europe forum. So even w/ ira's explanation -- I don't understand why this is here . . .
Dec 8th, 2007, 09:57 AM
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On the hotels website there is nothing deceiving about location.
Perhaps next time you should do some research before publicly slamming a place of business. After all, many good people depend on the business for their weekly paycheck....something to think about.
Perhaps next time you should do some research before publicly slamming a place of business. After all, many good people depend on the business for their weekly paycheck....something to think about.
Dec 8th, 2007, 10:00 AM
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My FIRST thought was "why was this on the European forum?". THEN < i thought deeper and realized why!~~~ and so ,DITTO, IRA!
Perhaps it is on both, U.S. and Europe to cover all bases....I didn't check.
The TITLE, however, is very complete,! Anyone browsing the European forum would easily pick up on it.
Perhaps it is on both, U.S. and Europe to cover all bases....I didn't check.
The TITLE, however, is very complete,! Anyone browsing the European forum would easily pick up on it.
Dec 8th, 2007, 10:05 AM
#11
but - no one would browse the Europe forum looking for this sort of info. Totally useless IMHO
I do agree w/ AA and bluestar. The hotel's website is not the least bit deceiving re its location . . . .
I do agree w/ AA and bluestar. The hotel's website is not the least bit deceiving re its location . . . .
Dec 8th, 2007, 10:19 AM
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The hotel's website is in English only -- there is no French page (and my browser is set to default to French). So if the misleading print-out Jane saw was in French, the faulty info may have been provided by a third party, such as some French booking service. That happens all the time; Orbitz gave my father the wrong info for a hotel in Prague before-- the map link on Orbitz showed the hotel as being close to Wenceslas Square, when in fact it was way out in the suburbs.
Dec 8th, 2007, 10:32 AM
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Here's something definitive: Xanterra Parks & Resorts has contracted with the NPS to operate hotels, restaurants, sightseeing tours, retail shops, a service station, and other visitor services. Xanterra Parks & Resorts currently operates all lodges within Grand Canyon National Park and continues to create and maintain pleasant visitor facilities at the park. The company's mission is to maintain the famous Fred Harvey tradition of service and to maximize the visitor experience, while protecting the Grand Canyon as a national treasure. For more details, contact Xanterra Parks & Resorts at P.O. Box 699, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023; (928) 638-2631 or visit the Web site at www.grandcanyonlodges.com.
We stayed once at el Tovar, the big hotel on the South Rim and another time at Kachina Lodge (in a nicely equipped Cabin). Both times we got our reservations thru the Fred Harvey organization, now Xanterra Parks & Resorts. It's a lot less expensive if you book in advance, even if you arrive before your scheduled date: (i.e., if you are in their computer system you get the advance booking rate).
We stayed once at el Tovar, the big hotel on the South Rim and another time at Kachina Lodge (in a nicely equipped Cabin). Both times we got our reservations thru the Fred Harvey organization, now Xanterra Parks & Resorts. It's a lot less expensive if you book in advance, even if you arrive before your scheduled date: (i.e., if you are in their computer system you get the advance booking rate).
Dec 8th, 2007, 10:36 AM
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Even Europeans looking for information about the Grand Canyon would look in the US forum, not this one. You don't look in the forum for the place you're FROM; you look in the forum for the place you're GOING.
What you're doing is the equivalent of posting a warning about a hotel in London on the US forum. Wrong!
What you're doing is the equivalent of posting a warning about a hotel in London on the US forum. Wrong!
Dec 8th, 2007, 10:47 AM
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After reading this post,I'm now off to the U.S. forum to see any warnings that Europeans may have posted about hotels in Paris, Rome, Venice, Prague...etc....because after all, when I go to Europe I always search through the U. S. forum...don't you all????
Come on, canyonjane, admit it, you made a mistake, this should have been posted on the U.S. forum. And also, I agree with others...the hotel's website is not deceiving at all...just because people don't do their homework and check things out thoroughly doesn't mean that the hotel is deceiving.
People should responsibility for their own mistakes, of course, we don't know that this young couple didn't take responsibility.
Come on, canyonjane, admit it, you made a mistake, this should have been posted on the U.S. forum. And also, I agree with others...the hotel's website is not deceiving at all...just because people don't do their homework and check things out thoroughly doesn't mean that the hotel is deceiving.
People should responsibility for their own mistakes, of course, we don't know that this young couple didn't take responsibility.
Dec 8th, 2007, 11:17 AM
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snippityjane writes
"I can't imagine ANYONE asking why I put this on the Europe post."
I agree with the others. Info about European destinations is posted on the European board. US destinations on the US board. I've never seen warnings about a London hotel posted on the US board.
"I can't imagine ANYONE asking why I put this on the Europe post."
I agree with the others. Info about European destinations is posted on the European board. US destinations on the US board. I've never seen warnings about a London hotel posted on the US board.
Dec 8th, 2007, 11:43 AM
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There are so many people with so many problems on the planet. ;-) Mine is, "How do I fit 48 kilos of chinese clothes, bought in the USA into my closet when I've still only so little space left there. (No, don't tell me to throw someting old away, I paid a lot of money for those turkish sweaters!!). 
Dec 8th, 2007, 11:43 AM
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To me, many have missed the point.
Unfortunately, any European couple who know so little English that they rely on a foreign booking service, will not be reading Fodor's period.
Not the Europe site or the USA site.
I'm afraid good intentions, but to no avail.
Unfortunately, any European couple who know so little English that they rely on a foreign booking service, will not be reading Fodor's period.
Not the Europe site or the USA site.
I'm afraid good intentions, but to no avail.
