Guest reviews El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon

by BGTravels2 Boca Raton, Florida

AMAZING stay at El Tovar Hotel

Stayed the night in the Zane Grey Suite! This hotel is beyond amazing! The history of the place is so cool, very well set up and decorated to commemorate the history! Wonderful service throughout the whole place! Zane Grey Suite had a balcony with a view of the canyon!!! The hotel is literally feet from the South Rim! Cannot go wrong staying here! If you can’t stay, have a delicious meal at the El Tovar dining room inside the hotel, again with an amazing view!

by Sara P Charlotte, North Carolina

Better than expected - COVID precautions were spot on!

Our family spent one night at El Tovar the day after Christmas. We had not stayed at the El Tovar since 2001 and after reading some of the negative reviews we were skeptical. It was much better than expected. We were traveling with our two teenagers so we booked a suite which was less expensive than booking two rooms (all 4 of us in one small room is too tight). The suite was ready when we arrived early (around 1:00pm), very clean and gave us little room to spread out. We had booked dinner reservations in advance and were very impressed with the COVID-19 protocols. Tables were very spaced out, servers wore masks, and guests wore masks as instructed except when at table. The service was great and the food while not amazing was very good. We did think it was very warm in our room (it was on the 3rd floor so all the heat rises) but instead of turning on AC we just opened the windows as it was very chilly at night so that worked. Breakfast the next morning was delicious! Overall the hotel is a little expensive but you are paying for the prime location at such a historic property. If you don't want to be right on the rim of the canyon, there are many other lodging options in the area.

by kuzy1961

Disappointed

stayed there one night. room without coffee staff. Air Conditioning so noise which is totally unacceptable. Dinner just OK..not more than that. good breakfast... pricey. coffee for 4 dollars not acceptable. Not recommended

by bfjLondon Larchmont, New York

It should be so much better...

We (two families, party of 9) just spent 2 nights in this beautiful hotel for Christmas. The location is perfect and the hotel is quite amazing. The lobby is a cosy and warm place, very well decorated for the season. So everything was starting so well but unfortunately the service and the food are not up to the standards of such a hotel. With the exception of a few very nice staff (such as the restaurant manager), everyone is either unhelpful or way too slow in reacting to their clients (basic) demands. No smile (even with a mask, it can show), no welcoming statement, no quick reaction showing they care. This is unfortunately true at the first desk in the lobby, at the check-in area, at the restaurant entrance or in the dining room. Everyone seems to be either too busy or simply not caring. The food is average but the prices are not. We have no problem paying high prices in a top hotel but it should come with nice ingredients, sophisticated menus (not a single xmas choice for xmas eve!) and the service in the dining area is so slow... This hotel must have such a monopoly that they forgot to care for clients, they simply made us feel for what we are : clients that are coming for one or two nights and probably not returning for another 10 years. They should have instead made us feel special and unique. I hope they can reflect on this and transform their clients experience for the future...

by kenb328 Prescott, Arizona

Terribly disappointing stay. Had very high hopes, but would not recommend.

We had very high hopes that our first stay at the El Tovar would be nice. Instead it was anything but restful. The rooms were NOT cleaned well with remaining greasy fingerprints and what appeared to be spilled drinks on the desk chair and lampshade. Pretty sad. Particularly with COVID-19 concerns. We could probably overlook the lack of cleanliness, but later we requested to change rooms right before bed due to the people on the floor above allowing their kids to run up and down the halls and jump off the bed. Ridiculous behavior! And this place is NOT inexpensive by any stretch. One would think that families that would spend over $400+ a night (and more for the 3rd floor suites. We were on the 2nd floor) would recognize they were not at home and respect other guests in a very old hotel. But the rude and inconsiderate guests aside, the staff accommodated our request to change rooms. Our next room (1st floor) was slightly better, but since this old hotel is one big wooden structure, every time the door to the outside and any hotel room door slammed shut (C'mon people! Close your doors quietly! It's an old hotel.) the "BOOM" reverberated throughout our room. Overall, this hotel is surprisingly VERY noisy! Not restful at all despite running the wall unit air conditioner/heater fan all night to drown out guest noise - mostly slamming doors. Finally, I love visiting and hiking in the the Grand Canyon and have visited and stayed several nights at other lodgings. But we thought we'd try the El Tovar this visit. NEVER AGAIN.