Elmiller

Going to Southern Utah in June with three kids. Have one night in lodge but have reconsidered staying in hotel with pool...
Anyone stayed at Desert Pearl, Flanigans or Cliffrose with kids... Is two nights enough to take it all in????? Thanks

OliveOyl

We've stayed in Cliffrose with our kids...but they were in their 20's at the time. gt; The rooms were double doubles.

What age are your children? Our goal was to hike as much of Zion as we could, so for us, even 3 nights were not enough. If your kids are young, however, your goals are not going to be what ours were so two nights might be plenty to do the easier hikes and drive through leisurely (if you are there at a time when driving is still allowed).

I only vaguely recall there being a pool, and dont' think it was anything special, but we were there in late November, it snowed, and it was hardly pool weather. We were all taken by the small herds of deer that came through each evening, grazing out back. Cliffrose's grounds, which lead down to the river, are really beautiful, and the kids can get out and run if they still have energy left after a day hiking.

utahtea

My kids loved Zion at all ages. We went enought times as they were growing up. If you have more time to spend in Zion I would highly recommend it.

There's a lot for kids to do. There is the I-MAX Movie on Zion. The Virgin River is fun to play in and more fun to go tubing in. They don't allow tubing in the park anymore but there are places in town to rent the inter-tubes and they will drop you off and pick you up. No need for a pool

Utahtea

mdc2003

A friend and I stayed at Desert Pearl last year in June. It was a really neat place with a wonderful pool including a hot tub. The room had hard wood floors and I remember they had videos available at the front desk for viewing.

mahoneycutt

We stayed at the Cliffrose Inn. I thought the views were incredible. You can search the web for pictures. If I remember correctly, the Desert Pearl, Flanigans, and the Cliffrose were all in the same area.

I think you could spend weeks at Zion. We were there a whole day, and we had a good time (no kids).

Be sure to search Fodors as well.

Mike Honeycutt

Anya

We stayed at Best Western in Springdale and it was quite nice, spacious rooms and there was a pool. I'd recommend you stay both nights in one place. It's not really critical to stay in the park in my opinion. There is shuttle going to Zion and you have more choice of restaurants.

Sara

We stayed at Flanigans three years ago with our three kids, and thought it was a wonderful place. We had a suite with two bedrooms, large living room with pull out couch, kitchenette, and private patio, very reaonably priced; a decent breakfast buffet was included as well. Much better than the standard two connecting rooms we used everywhere else, and not any more expensive. They have a pretty nice pool and hot tub, too, with amazing scenery to look at while relaxing there.

gigib

Another plug for the Desert Pearl, ask for a room in the back overlooking the river. Your kids can play in it within sight of your balcony, there is a large lawn beside it, and the pool is great too! I think each room has a pullout sofa bed. My family loves the place. Plus, the kids can walk to Springdale with its tourist shops (there's a good one right across the road) - great pizza at Springdale Pizza & Pasta (I think that's the name, it's in the old church with the turquoise steeple). Ask about renting inner tubes to float down the river. Great fun, but it may be restricted now.

Eva

Gigib-Are the rooms that overlook the river that much better than the pool-view rooms? We have reservations for poolview in June. I can't remember if we got it because it was all they had or was significantly cheaper.

mahoneycutt

Gigib - you may be thinking of Zion Pizza and Noodle. We enjoyed it very much.

There is a nice gallery next door with some wonderful pictures of the area.

We visited Springdale in the off-season so it may be a horrible place during tourist season, but we have fond memories of the town.

By the way, several of the pictures on my website were taken from the deck outside our room at the Cliffrose Inn.

www.mikehoneycutt.com

Mike Honeycutt

Dayle

The wonderful photography gallery next to Zion Pizza & Noodle is that of Michael Fratelli,who I really admire. He photographs mostly the Four Corners region and is truly gifted. Be sure to check out his work!

JoeG

Elmiller,
Flanigan's is a good place to stay with kid's. It's close the Park entrance, has a pool and a decent restaurant. I would suggest taking a hike that starts out at a place called "the Grotto". From there you can hike to whatever elevation your group is capable of. Bring water!
JoeG

suzanne

I also recommend Cliffrose. It has acres of beautiful grounds, and the pool is set far back...so kids running around the pool screaming won't bother the guests in their rooms.

The views from Cliffrose are beautiful...every room has a balcony or patio with a view.

Another thing we liked were the fire grates. We roasted marshmallows right in the backyard!

The rooms themselves were pretty basic...but the location and the grounds and views made this a great place to stay.

gigib

To Eva: The riverview rooms are definitely better than poolview at the Desert Pearl, unless you have kids that you'd like to keep an eye on from your balcony. I don't remember the price differential, but the rooms out the back just look out on 50 feet of lawn, then river, then red canyon wall - really gorgeous. The river is shallow enough there in the summer for kids to play in safely.