The Best Hotels Near the Grand Canyon for Every Traveler

While it was built in 1998, this lodge-inspired hotel has plenty of Old West spirit. It has a hulking stone fireplace in the lobby, horse-saddle seats at the Canyon Star Saloon and unique items in its gift shop. Pillowy mattresses top the beds in the ochre-toned, contemporary rooms. Its best feature, though? Its location. It’s only 1mi (1.6km) away from the Grand Canyon National Park, surrounded by the aromatic sprawl of the Kaibab National Forest. If you stay here, you’ll get a head start on the day trippers.

This rustic, homey lodge sits about as close to the canyon’s South Rim as you can get without falling in. Built in 1935, it’s a vision of country charm, with chunky limestone walls, tree-trunk beams and plenty of antique furniture. Rooms are cottage cozy, with tongue-and-groove paneling and beds half-recessed into lamplit nooks. Alternatively, you can hang your hat in one of the standalone cabins – two of which date back to the 1890s – that open directly onto the Bright Angel Trail.

Barely altered since it first opened in 1905, El Tovar Hotel is not just a local legend but also a National Historic Landmark – the lodging of choice of presidents and other prominent figures for decades. Everything about it hollers Golden Age bullishness, with pillars made of hand-hewn Oregon pine, cavernous stone fireplaces and stuffed hunting trophies of buffalo and elk adorning the walls. The 78 rooms are more demure, but you’ll find four-poster beds in some of the suites.

The Grand Canyon Plaza Hotel may be more modest than its counterparts, but it’s brought to life by contrasting colors and textures – the terracotta reds, chocolate browns and sandy taupes typical of the landscape, and the lush greenery that explodes from every corner. From the potted plants in the lobby to the full-grown, mature trees that create a canopy of green in the atrium dining area, you’ll feel as if you’ve stumbled upon an oasis in the heart of the arid Arizona desert.

Nestled among ponderosa pines at the fringe of Grand Canyon Village, this ’70s-built two-story lodge complex has a friendly, summer-camp charm. The 280 rooms are frill-free but comfortable and cozy, with folksy touches such as cowboy-scene lampshades and views of the forest where deer roam. There’s a cute little gift shop on-site, and when you’re ready to behold Arizona’s main event, you’re just a short walk from the Rim Trail and Bright Angel Trail.

The chocolate-bar look of the Thunderbird Lodge’s brutalist façade betrays nothing of the most beautiful canyon views you’ll find anywhere in the park. Sandwiched between two of the oldest hotels hereabouts – Bright Angel Lodge and El Tovar Hotel, right on the South Rim – this hideaway is a first-class location for a more affordable price. You’re within walking distance of Grand Canyon Village’s shops and restaurants and the historic Grand Canyon Railway.

Yavapai Lodge offers two accommodation options: rooms in Yavapai West, a mid-century building, and those in Yavapai East, housed in a more contemporary two-story block. The latter offers noticeably more spacious rooms, with more furnishings, too. Either way, you’re a stone’s throw from the village’s general store and close as you can get to the jaw-dropping Desert View Drive, which skirts the canyon’s South Rim.

If you’re looking for an immersive, back-to-nature experience – with a lick of luxury – this upscale glamping site should more than fit the bill. The stylish, spacious canvas tents are available in a range of sizes, from classic two-person Safari tents to Stargazers, with a night-sky-viewing window above the king-size bed. There are even sprawling four-person suites. You’ll be invited to join complimentary camp activities, such as guided walks and landscape-painting classes.