Heike

We are a familiy of 4 looking for a cheaper motel than the Best Western, Holiday Inn or Thunderbird Lodge at Chinle. Via internet there is no possibility to get an other adress or telephone number of motels or inns there. Please tell me if you know an alternative to the 3 motels above. Greeting from Germany!

Bob Brown

Hello from Athens, GA, home of the University of Georgia. I checked the listings on the web also and as near as I can tell there are exactly 3 motels in Chinle. There is a bed and breakfast, but it is even more expensive than the motels!!!

My suggestion is that if you want to visit Canyon De Chelly, consider staying in Window Rock, Arizona, at the Navajo Nation Inn, 1-800-662-6189 or 520-871-4108. It is listed in the American Automobile Association guide with a 2-star rating. It will be clean and comfortable. Some of the 2-star motels are quite good; but there is a large variation in quality. (Some two star places have proven to be nicer than 3 star places in my experience.)

There simply is not much to choose from in that area, so the motels in Chinle take advantage of the situation and charge a lot of money for a motel room.

The trip to Chinle from Window Rock is long in terms of miles, but you can make the trip at a good rate of speed because there will not be heavy traffic.
I added up the miles on my map and came up with a figure of 71 from Window Rock to the Monument itself. The drive should take you about one hour and 15 minutes to one hour and 30 minutes.

I have toured Canyon de Chelly. It is interesting, but it is not one of those places I would go back to on a special visit. There are other places in that area to visit that are of equal attraction. Some people will say I am wrong, but compared with Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, and some of the National Monuments in southeast Utah, there are alternatives.

Karen

Don't know the prices you were quoted or the time of year you plan to visit, but I would say to stick with Thunderbird. The tours leave from there and are fabulous. I cannot imagine two more gorgeous places to visit than Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly and the tours are well worth it. As Bob said, there are very few motels and you have few choices, but I think it is worth it at any price. Just unlike anything you have ever seen.

Neal Sanders

Heike, I was at Canyon de Chelly last April and stayed at the Thunderbird Lodge.

There are only three motels in Chinle. The Best Western and Holiday Inn were both built in the last five years and so are in good condition. They also have pools, which is an added plus.

The Thunderbird Lodge is the "historic" property, though most rooms are in a motel-like annex added in the early 1970s. Trips do leave from the Thinderbird, though this is no real reaqson for staying there.

Bob Brown

There are motels in Kayenta, which is in Monument Valley. I doubt if motels there are much cheaper than the motels
in Chinle. If lower cost is the most vital objective, Window Rock and a near by small town called St. Michaels are your best bet. There is a Days Inn motel in St. Michaels which is a national chain of "budget" accommodations.

dbeeb

Heike,
I was in the Chinle/Canyon de Chelly area last May. Everyone else is correct in that the Best Western, Holiday Inn or Thunderbird Lodge at Chinle are the only places to stay in town.

I hope that this is just part of a larger intinerary. While Canyon de Chelly is very interesting, it as at most worth one full days visit and should not be a main destination. Remember that non-Navajo are only allowed into the valley on their own on one trail. However the guided tours in the rattle-trap trucks are fun and very informative.