We basically planned our week-long vacation on the availability of two rooms at the El Tovar. I had read that you needed to book a year in advance and that is pretty close to the truth. We booked in early October for an early June stay and there was only one night available, so we took it!

The hotel is 103 years old and is gracious in the way only an old park lodge can be. The rooms are lovely (and updated); the people at the reception desk helpful and welcoming. We lucked out and got one of the three rooms (as far as I could tell) with a balcony.

It was such a treat to be able to walk right out the front of the hotel and go peek over the canyon rim.

Stay here - but remember to book EARLY.

I cannot say enough about how wonderful this hotel was!! Granted it is an older hotel but the rooms were completely updated and comfy! My kids (14 and 10) loved it and since it was right on the rim, you couldn't get any better scenery! Parking can be a challenge and make sure you save your National Park receipt so you don't have to pay to get back in but I would go back in a heartbeat!

My wife and I stayed here during the last week in May when we came to the Grand Canyon for the first time. The hotel was very nice, and we felt lived up to it's history/reputation. We had a so-so experience staying years ago in a "historical hotel" in Charlottetown, PEI but thankfully the El Tovar was nothing like that.

The bed (single queen) was nice and comfortable and the room was fine for the one night we were there. There was ample closet storage, along with a small refridgerator; as well as a coffee machine in the room.

We didn't get to try it (because we were going on the mule ride and had to get there early) but the hotel offered coffee and tea on the 2nd floor interior balcony that we were told is "the best". Maybe next time!

The staff were excellent, even helped us get a room for a 2nd night (unfortunately in a diiferent property on the Park grounds as the Tovar was full) and gave some nice suggestions on things to do while there.

We enjoyed our one night's stay at El Tovar after being in Kachina for one night since the properties were full and I couldn't get 2 consecutive nights in one place. Despite our being on the property next door, we still had to wait until 3:58pm to check in . We sat on the porch enjoying the views while our room was readied and our baggage was stored, so it wasn't a hard wait and it was fun to chat with others who had made the trek to the floor of the Canyon and back. To our delight, they needed our 2 queen beds room so we were upgraded to a suite which was FABULOUS! Did we feel special or what? Dinner in the dining room was fair but the atmosphere was great. Then, we saw 2 elk that evening grazing on the front lawn of the lodge which was a grand finish to a glorious day.