Grand Loop Hotels
On our grand loop road trip adventure, we stayed in 3 hotels located in or near Arches National Park, Zion National Park, and The Grand Canyon. All of our hotels were picked based on the 3 Cs; were they - cheap, clean, and convenient. Below are our honest reviews of all three hotels!
Arches National Park - Big Horn Lodge
If you have read my review of The Badlands Inn, Big Horn Lodge was almost identical to that! It wasn't a 5 star hotel, but it was exactly what we were looking for. We spent 2 nights here and had no issues with it. It was clean and cheap at only $140 a night. It is also conveniently located in Moab, Utah just 11 minutes from the entrance of Arches National Park. Moab is a great town to stay in. There are many shops and restaurants to visit at night and plenty to see and do. If you are an off roading enthusiast (like Sam!) then you will love both the town of Moab, and the parking lot of this hotel! There are many off roading lovers that stay at this hotel, as shown by the number of off roading vehicles in the parking lot!
 |
| Limited view of the hotel and parking lot |
 |
| Just one of the many off roading vehicles in the parking lot! |
Pros
- Cheap
- Clean
- Great location
- Free parking
- Free Wi-Fi
- Near many restaurants and shops
Cons:
- Very simple place, nothing fancy
- Located on a busy road, can be a little loud
Overall, we were pleased with this hotel and would recommend it to anyone who just needs a simple place to stay!
Zion National Park - Flanigans Inn
When visiting Zion National Park, we found it very difficult to find a cheap hotel anywhere near the park. So we splurged and stayed at Flanigans Inn for 2 nights and it was worth every cent!!
Pros:
LOCATION
The best part about Flanigans Inn was the convenience of the location. It was close to everything you could possibly need. This is very important when visiting Zion, as driving is not permitted inside the park and it is a hassle to drive anywhere near the park. Everything is basically on 1 road and the traffic can be pretty bad, so walking or biking is the best way to get around. Luckily for us, Flanigans is just a 5 minute walk to the entrance of the park. While most people have to drive and find parking or take a shuttle to the entrance, we were able to just walk! This saved us a ton of time and energy and this alone made it worth the money. It is also conveniently located next to Zion Adventure Company, which meets all of your renting needs! We rented bikes and dry gear from them and it was wonderful to be able to pick it up right next door! Finally, it is located next to numerous restaurants of all kinds. We were able to walk right down the street for a bite to eat or some tasty ice cream and desserts!
LUXERIOUS
Flanigans was a beautiful place to stay and the rooms felt elegant and spacious. We had 2 very comfortable queen beds, a small couch and chair, free working Wi-Fi, and a bathroom for $220 a night. The rooms feel more like cabins, as everyone has their own outside entrance with a small porch area. The entire place is also very well landscaped with a lot of greenery, pretty flowers, and a stunning view of the mountains. It also has a pool and hot tub, which is a huge perk regardless on when you visit. Since the weather was chillier when we visited, we enjoyed the hot tub after the long Narrows hike through the cold water. It felt amazing to just soak our sore feet!
FOOD
FRIENDLY STAFF
The staff here is wonderful! They are very helpful if you have any questions about the park. They are able to provide directions and suggestions and they helped us out a lot! We were also able to talk with the owner and he was very friendly and originally from Minnesota! We always love meeting a fellow midwestern! He also told us a better route to go home so we could stop at Monument Valley!
Honestly I don't have any cons for this hotel! We loved our stay here! We highly recommend staying at Flanigans if you can!
The Grand Canyon - Yavapai Lodge
Since we were only in the Grand Canyon for 2 nights, we wanted something close to the park to maximize our time. So we chose to stay at Yavapai Lodge, which is located right inside the park. We stayed here for 2 nights for about $213 a night.
Yavapai Lodge has a main building with the front desk/check in, a cafeteria, and a small gift shop. The rest of the lodge is split up into multiple buildings that you have to drive to after you check in. There are 2 parts you can stay in, Yavapai Lodge East and Yavapai Lodge West. The east rooms are newer 2 story buildings with air conditioning. The West rooms are one story and good for people with mobility issues. However, they are older and do not have air conditioning. We chose to stay in the newer east rooms. We didn't have any issues with the room apart from the fact that there was no Wi-Fi. It was a very basic room, but it was clean and comfortable. I do not however, think that it was worth $213 a night. I would have been more willing to pay $213 for a hotel further away that was a little nicer.
Yavapai Lodge has a cafeteria and it is the only place to eat for miles. So there is really no choice but to eat here and therefore the place is very crowded. We found the food to be the equivalent of a school lunch, but for the price of a nice restaurant. We only ate here once because it was not worth the money or time to go back. The cafeteria is also the only place with Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi did not work at all and we were never able to get our phones to connect. We just expected more from the cafeteria and were pretty disappointed.
Pros:
- Located right inside the park
- Clean room
- Free parking
Cons:
- No Wi-Fi
- Horrible food
- Expensive for what you get
- Crowded
Overall, this was a clean and convenient hotel with a few downsides. However, it was not worth the price we paid for it. Therefore, we would give it only 2 out of 5 stars for the overall quality of our stay.
Final Thoughts
Hotels on the grand loop can be very pricey, so make sure you book your hotels in advance! Overall, we didn't have any major issues and as a whole we were pleased with our hotels!
No comments:
Post a Comment