As others mentioned, you are staying here for the location. Rooms are basic. A/C was rather weak but everything was clean. The point of staying here is to maximize your time in the park and literally open your door and see the Grand Canyon. Definitely not a 5 star hotel but for most who are out exploring all day, this is sufficient. There is a really small coffee maker that makes one cup of coffee at a time and a mini fridge in the room. There was a food truck that we got breakfast from with some limited choices. We ate at El Tovar twice for dinner and once for breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed it all (kids ages 12 & 10 as well). If you properly set your expectations that you are here for the view and easy access to the park, then you will be pleased. We would stay again.

To get the full experience of the Grand Canyon you've got to see it all times of the day, the best way to do this is to stay at one of the parks onsite hotels or lodges. We stayed at Thunderbird lodge with a partial view of the canyon. Even though the room is dated (we knew this going in) I would still recommend it and stay here again...after a long day of walking the rim, the room was close and convenient (parking is tricky, get a spot early). As we walked to dinner at El Tovar (again get reservations early, it also books up quickly, ps in park dining is never fantastic set reasonable expectations, lol) we had a close encounter with elk, and on our way back from dinner with the sun setting over the canyon we saw elk once more as well as mule deer directly outside the lodge. The next morning we watched the sun rise over the canyon then walked for coffee in the quiet of the morning on the south rim trail...that is what you are paying for, those experiences. While the room is a bit dated and bare necessity getting to enjoy the canyon in those moments is invaluable.

We spent one night in the Thunderbird Lodge and found it to be modern and comfortable. It's right next to the Bright Angel Lodge with a gift shop, fast food type deli, and a saloon. Our check in went quickly and the bellman helped drag our bags to our room efficiently. We had a big screen T.V. and small fridge in the room as we settled in for the night. The rim of the Canyon is right out the door with stunning views from the walking path between lodges. Doesn't get any better than that! We scored a parking spot right in front of the lodge which was a miracle according to the staff. You don't want to move the car to go to the rest of the village or you'll be out of luck until late in the day when people staying in town move on. This was disappointing as we wanted to visit the food court and shops a mile away. We made dinner reservations several months in advance at the El Tovar dining room down the street. It's the classiest, most expensive lodge on the South Rim. We were looking forward to a fine dining experience but they are still very restrictive in their operation due to Covid. A bare table with nothing but a white cloth, spread out tables, and seated in a smaller room rather than the main dining room detracted from our dining pleasure. The waitstaff was very professional and friendly with timely service. But the atmosphere was much too quiet and bland for us to fully enjoy our $200 meal to the fullest. Still an enjoyable visit to the Grand Canyon, albeit a very expensive one night stand.

We decided to book a get away here on a whim for Valentines day. The park was cold and air was crisp - the hotel room was warm and the views of the canyon were stunning. We got to see snow fall & melt, all in two days. There are shops nearby to get coffee and food, plenty of modern amenities in the middle of a historic location. I've visited the canyon previously and stayed outside of the park and I can say with certainty, the convenience of being inside of the park is worth the additional hotel room rates if you can swing it.

The lodges are a great location to visit the Grand Canyon. The rooms are dated but the beds were comfortable and welcoming after hiking and walking. We were visiting in early May and only one full-service restaurant was open apparently because GCNP was not able to hire enough peole to work in the other restaurants. We drove to Tusayan ( 10 minutes away) and there were several restaurants to choose from with lots of staff. The convience of the location outweighed everything else.