The 3/5 is based on the fact it's in the park and you can see the canyon from your window. But these rooms are so old and dated. The bathroom is so tiny. The hallways have a weird smell. Everything about it screams "please update me!" It really should be a 2/5. I know we're paying the price for being able to stay at the canyon and easily do the trails but considering the price I expected more. Oh and don't expect any amenities. But all that said it was convenient for walking the trails, and catching the shuttles. We also saw so much wildlife walking around just outside our window (baby elk?). And the view was great.

Overall, a pretty decent hotel and definitely can not complain about the location- as long as you get a room facing the canyon. The view from the window is great, however I am not sure how good it would be if you were to get a room on the other side of the building (facing the parking lot). You also can get to the rim trail very easily as it is literally right in back of the lodge. However, there are a few things to complain about. Our safe was broken and we had to get someone to fix it, which took a little while. Not mad about this one or anything though because it probably was just a coincidence / accident. In general there’s not a lot of room in the bathroom or the room itself. For a family of 4, it was pretty tough to get luggage fit in different places in the room. Bathroom is small and sort of packed-in. Also, getting up to the second floor is tough with luggage. I didn’t see any elevators except for a really small service one. So expect to haul your luggage up a staircase if you don’t want to go in that tiny elevator and are on the second floor. Overall, pretty decent hotel. The location definitely made the stay worthwhile.

This is a standard national park hotel where you pay Ritz Carlton prices for a Best Western experience. And you have to book a year in advance (or keep checking for cancellations). Once you get over that, it's a fine motel, and met expectations. It's a 5-minute walk along the rim to the Bright Angel trail, and close to the El Tovar Hotel (which currently is the only place to get decent food). We had a canyon-side room, but I found it was not worth it. First, the windows don't extend far enough down to provide a view from inside the room - you have to walk to the window. And there's no balcony, so it's not like you can sit outside with your morning coffee and enjoy the view. If you're driving, take a folding chair so you can just go downstairs and hang out along the rim's edge. There are also rock walls we sat on for dinner one evening. Food warning - if you are going this year, be aware that there is NO FOOD. Stop at Publix in Flagstaff and get a cooler and lots of food. We knew some facilities were closed, but were still shocked at the lack of selection. One night we walked down to Maswick, which is operating on a skeleton basis, and only had 3 options (1 of which was gone at 7pm) + 2 sandwich options. The snack bar/ice cream place between Bright Angel and Kachina had the same prepackaged sandwich options. One night we splurged and got takeout from El Tovar (if you want to eat there, book a month ahead). We kept smelling steak and pancakes coming from the Bright Angel Lodge - it was like they had secret food in there for guests!?! Maybe they had room service?? So not fair. Shuttle service warning - If you are going this summer, be aware that the shuttle service is drastically limited. Check out the website in advance so you can plan your hikes, etc, accordingly.

Unfortunately the options are limited for overnight stays at the Canyon rim. We chose Kachina lodge due to the better reviews but we were disappointed. The room smelled very musty as did the hallways (I felt like I would smell like that after spending the night in the room). The bathroom was extremely small, could barely turn around in it. That being said it was one night so it was ok but it was definitely overpriced. The cost of the room was not much less per night than our next stay at a luxury resort in Scottsdale and the accommodations are not even close in comparison. We did have dinner and breakfast at El Tovar and they were both fantastic.

Tip: Book early! When I was researching three months ago, there was only one more available stay for June, so I snagged it. If you want more choices, book more than one year in advance. Although expensive ($400 per night for a room with 4 people in 2 queen beds), I am glad that I chose to stay here. From the first-floor window of my hotel room, I can see the Grand Canyon. I got to see three sunrises and three sunsets as well as two deer here. Each day, I was able to wake up around 4 or 5 am and do what I wanted to do at the Grand Canyon that day before the day-trippers got here and it got too hot. Also, we had a faulty shower handle, so we called the front desk. They were very prompt in sending someone out, offered us another room, and when we declined, they took care of the problem within the hour. We were happy about that.