We just returned home from a three day trip to Tombstone. Day one was spent visiting the usual tourist traps, ending with a beer at the Crystal Palace. What an incredible place!!! Upon entering we met the lady miner that does "lap dances" during the feature shows. What a hoot... Then we bellied up to the bar and were met by one of the most friendly bartenders we have ever come across. The bar itself is something that should be marked as a "Must see" while in Tombstone. Half way through our drink we met the local artist Mark Brown. We purchaced three of his pieces that were absolutely amazing. ( While we sat there he did some impromptu drawings on bar napkins and gave them to us.) All of the staff are just wonderful. I can't imagine dealing with tourists all day long- day in and day out- and still being in character and having a smile on your face.
Day two was spent in the usual tourist fashion- this time stopping for lunch at the Crystal Palace. Again, the same impression. Great wait staff and excellent bartenders.
I simply can't believe the poor review since we had two excellent encounters. We will be back. If you go and see Mark Brown tell him "Larry & Terry" sent ya!!

We stopped at the Crystal Palace for a drink and a look around. I have to say that the wooden bar itself was very, very impressive! The problem was that it was so dark inside you could hardly see it. We had to buy a post card to be able to appreciate its beauty. The rest of the decor, however, was sadly lacking. When you see such a beautiful old bar you would expect the rest of the place to be just as interesting, but the walls were barren. There was only one interesting display cabinet and it was all the way at the back of the bar. It was a real let down. The place really needed more light and decorations. It is obviously not trying to impress the tourists, even though it sits on the main drag of Tombstone. People come there to see an old west theme, and unfortunately Big Nose Kate's across the street does a much better job of creating an old west atmosphere. The Crystal Palace has tremendous potential if someone would just put a little thought into dressing up the place.

We stopped in the Crystal our first night in town to have a beer and listen to the band. The band was great, but we didn't stay long. The crowd was mostly locals and we didn't feel too welcome. We wanted to see it again in the daylight & gave it another chance the next afternoon around lunch time. Since we weren't there to eat, we felt the wait staff were a little put out by us coming through to look at the beautiful history. If you are in town, I would definately pop in to check it out, becasue it is truly beautiful. I just didn't get a very positive vibe on my visits.

My fiance and I are from California we went on a road trip to tombstone in a Harley, I didn't know much about the history in Tombstone. Ended up staying another night and loved it. it's really amazing definitely recommend everyone to go check it out! The people in town are really friendly the actors are awesome specially the people in The "Crystal palace saloon," that gave me so much advice and made me realize I was about to make the biggest mistake of my life. I just want to say thanks RJ for your compliments and the cowboy that kept me company.

Love `Janeth `