kansasmom

Well, the title pretty much says it. We're going to the Grand Canyon at the end of July. We need a big enough room for two adults and two teenagers, and when I called months ago already, Yavapai East was the only one available. It doesn't sound bad, but are there advantages in trying to get one of the other hotels? I've heard that you can keep calling, but which one should I even try for?

J62

Yavapai East is ok. The rooms there are a little larger than some of the older lodges, with 2 queen beds and room for a rollaway. It is nice to have a room closer to the rim (El Tovar, Bright Angel, Kachina/Thunderbird) but not necessary.

The shuttle bus to the rim area was convenient, and early/late in the day we could simply drive right up behind Bright Angel and park within 50' of the rim. Day trippers were only there from about 10am to 5pm.

When planning for a trip last year I found that there was very little availability for the following summer so I booked Y.E. There is no incentive for anybody to cancel a room this far in advance - you can cancel up to 3 days beforehand with no penalty.

We found that around May or June selected rooms at the other lodges started to open up as people firmed up their June/July plans.

Upon arrival in early July we found that we could have simply walked up that day and gotten a room in any of the lodges except El Tovar. There were no 2Q rooms available so we kept Yavapai East.

My recommendation is to be happy with what you have. Come April/May start to occasionally check for rooms at the 4 rim lodges I listed above, and if you see a 2Q room there grab it. Then, about 7 days before you arrive check back more frequently.

emalloy

J62 has it right, and when you check you will get better information if you use the 800 number and call rather than just the web page as it gets updated less frequently.

kansasmom

Thanks...good advice!

K_Bot

Not surprised at all to hear that the park is already down to slim pickings in July. In-park Grand Canyon hotel rooms, especially at the rimside hotels, tend to book months in advance. If you have your heart set on staying inside the park, then by all means hang on to those reservations at Yavapai. Keep calling Xanterra to see if there have been cancellations at one of the rimside hotels. If you want to have 4 people in one room, Kachina or Thunderbird would be best, or one of the deluxe rooms w/2 queens at the El Tovar (standard rooms are too small for a family IMO).

In light of the fact that you're traveling with teenagers, though, I must tell you that the in-park hotels are all going to be fairly "basic." A lot of the amenities that people take for granted at modern hotels, such as pools, workout rooms, in-room internet access, etc., are not going to be available inside the park. If you're OK with that, great, if not (and I know a lot of kids don't consider vacation "vacation" without being able to swim), you might consider moving to one of the hotels in Tusayan, a small community located just outside the park gates at the South Rim. There are 5 hotels in that area, all of which are just a 10 minute drive from the canyon rim: a Best Western property, a Holiday Inn Express, the Grand Hotel, the Red Feather Lodge and the Canyon Plaza (formerly a Quality Inn). All of these facilities have pools, jacuzzis, internet access (some only in deluxe rooms) plus continental breakfast is incluced in all of their rates. The RF, BW and CP all have outdoor pools; HIX and Grand have indoor. The Best Western also has an on-site play center with a 6-lane bowling alley, video arcade and pool tables.

Just something to consider.