El Tovar Hotel - Grand Canyon Village, Arizona

DallasS274

El Tovar is the classic 1905 hotel on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. This is National Park Service at its historic best. Location, Location! Rooms range in size from small to suites. Do your homework the website gives you information by room and price. If you are looking for the ultimate experience prepare to get up at midnight one year prior to your desired date and book online having done all your research first. We were able to stay in the Fred Harvey and Presidential Suites. Amazing fews and outdoor decks (furnished, but no shade). All rooms are classic in style and furnishing. Again it's about location and timing - get up early for a walk along the ridge trail right outside the back of the hotel - there are very few people around early morning - the masses arrive around 11 and stay until around 4. Mornings and evenings are your best time to enjoy the best views on the south rim all in walking distance and on the tour buses to various points. Book your dinner reservations when you book your room. Staffing can be limited so room service is sometimes cancelled. Don't whine if you booked the least expensive room and think it's overpriced (its expensive to keep up a 120 year old classic) - if you can't enjoy a turn of the century style room down a hall with original creaking wood floors and no elevator - book at one of the other rim hotels or outside the park.

SALOMON M.

An old hotel set in a fantastic setting, The Grand Canyon, with the worst guest services ever. The people working there feel that since you are in a hotel built in 1905 the paying guest must be treated with total disrespect! It’s not only that we got a room that did not come close to the pictures on their web page or in Expedia they still insulted us by telling us that we had to know the pictures were with wide angle lens’s and doctored but the room we got did not have the lounge chair or the dresser on the pictures we got for a standard queen bed room. We could not open our suitcase because the room was too small. This room would be a single room at best! We were harassed, and generally mistreated by all the 3 persons behind the reception desk. The age of the hotel does not give them the right to mistreat the paying guest. We tried to talk to a Manager but never were able to talk to one. To make things worse the air condition did not lower below 73 even though we had it set to 69 so we did not sleep. When we advised the front desk her answer was literally “many guests would be very satisfied with having 73 degrees”! To top it all off the bellman whom helped us take our bags to the 3rd floor got upset because we only gave him a $20 dollar tip!!! The way these persons treat the guest at this hotel does not reflect how people are outside of the hotel and of course we were at The Grand Canyon one of the wonders of the world. We were supposed to stay 2 nights but we left and are now in a wonderful hotel 20 minutes away with smiles and being treated how a paying guest should!!!

Pt D.

Overpriced, but location! Perfect spot to enjoy an idea of luxury. No car parking spots set out for guests- 1st come 1st serve/ shared with other park guests. Room was clean, air conditioner could wake the dead, but worked well. Staff was accommodating. Would recommend taking train up from Williams, then stay. Short staffed at dining room, so even with reservations, it was a circus at breakfast time / delayed to get seated.

Gina G.

My family and I just returned from a road trip in Arizona that included a two night stay at El Tovar. It was spectacular. If you are a history buff and appreciate a grand, old hotel, this is the place for you. Everything has been preserved (except the tastefully updated bathrooms) and as you walk through the front doors, you truly feel as though you've traveled back in time. The hotel is centrally located in Grand Canyon Village, right on the rim of the canyon. The service throughout was friendly, helpful and efficient. I would definitely put a stay here on your bucket list!

Also, my son has celiac and must maintain a strict gluten free diet. We ate at the El Tovar Dining Room, Arizona Steakhouse and Harvey Cafe and they all offered gluten free options.

sharontP5504XJ

I've stayed here before so this is my second stay and i have to say i am even more disappointed in this hotel than i ever thought i would be. firstly, the hotel reception is lacking in that they promised they would call me when the room was ready-the never did. then she lied and stated she texted me-i have no evidence of a text. secondly, my room was really lovely but my air conditioner would not reach optimal temperature EVER, but the a/c unit would shut off for no apparent reason. i needed two maintenance crews to come to my room as the first one emptied BLACK WATER from the unit- what on earth?-but that did not do anything for the functioning of the unit except to tell me these units are clearly not maintained correctly. how unhealthy is that? second time they came back and stated the a/c filter was very, very dirty and the first crew should have changed it out; yes, true they should have, but again-why are you assigning really nice rooms without properly maintaining the a/c units? i cannot even delve into the absolute health hazard these a/c units bring. after finally adjusting some inner controls on the wall panel, they got my a/c unit to actually reach optimal temperature of my choosing and it came on and went off correctly. i am from florida-i know my a/c units, maybe i should educate them on how to properly care for the air we are breathing while in the rooms. very, very disapointing. i was not in the basement rooms, i was upstairs, which was very nice, but my traveling friends were assigned to the basement rooms. dont you think that perhaps they would offer a discount if you are assigned to the basement? shaking my head........

John B.

We thoroughly enjoyed this classic hotel! The rustic lobby, with roaring fire, welcomed us in from the cold. Staff checked us in quickly. Our room with queen bed was just big enough - after all we were not there to stay inside, but to go out and enjoy the Grand Canyon. Most importantly, everything was immaculately clean, much better than the hotels we stayed at during the rest of our trip. The classic en suite bathroom was charming and spotless. We also enjoyed eating in the dining room - the staff was attentive and the food very good, and the tables near the windows had views of the canyon. I must say I was worried when booking at the El Tovar Hotel because of some mixed reviews online, but we found the hotel was wonderful in every way. We wanted the old-time classic charm, not some cookie-cutter chain hotel, and this hotel exceeded our expectations. We highly recommend this hotel.

Urban E. K. K.

After so many years we could finally stay here and we stayed in the Fred Harvey Suite! Wow wow wow ! Sure the room is old but it’s history is incredible ! The balcony is so huge ! The view is stunning.

Ate breakfast and dinner at the restaurant. Service was fast.
Had the super charcuterie board and Grand Canyon house wine in the cocktail lounge. Super view

Thomas B.

Located in the heart of the historic district of Grand Canyon Village, this hotel, opened in 1905 and was considered a game changer for the area. Today, besides the hotel itself, El Tovar has a wonderful dining room, gift shop, cocktail lounge, and beer garden. We did not stay here this time but have dined at their restaurant several times in the past. Make sure if you do dine there, ask in advance for a table near the windows for a beautiful view of the canyon while enjoying your meal.