El Tovar

Top choice in Grand Canyon National Park South Rim


Perched on the Rim Trail at the canyon edge, the public spaces of this 1905 wooden lodge ooze old-world national-park glamour and charm. Unfortunately, the 78 rooms and suites do not consistently share the historic aesthetic; some are lovely, with four-poster beds or a spectacular balcony, but standard rooms rival roadside motels. Stay here for the service and location.

Rooms can be reserved by phone or online 15 months in advance; suites can be reserved by phone only.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Grand Canyon National Park South Rim attractions

1. El Tovar

Built in 1905 as a railroad hotel, El Tovar was designed by Charles Whittlesey as a blend of Swiss chalet and the more rustic style that would come to…

2. Grand Canyon Village Historic District

0.02 MILES

The South Rim's historic district is comprised of several early-20th-century national historic landmarks clustered along and around the rim between Hermit…

3. Hopi House

0.04 MILES

A beautiful Mary Colter–designed stone building, Hopi House has been offering high-quality American Indian jewelry, basketwork, pottery and other crafts…

4. Grand Canyon Train Depot

0.05 MILES

This train depot, designed by Francis Wilson and completed in 1910, was built nine years after the first train arrived in the Village from Williams. A…

5. Verkamp’s Visitor Center

0.09 MILES

The arrival of the railroad in 1901 opened up the canyon to more and more tourists, and in 1905 John G Verkamp opened the Mission-style Verkamp’s Curios…

6. Bright Angel Lodge

0.21 MILES

Commissioned by the Fred Harvey Company, designed by Mary Colter and completed in 1935, the log-and-stone Bright Angel Lodge offered canyon travelers…

7. Fred Harvey History Room

0.21 MILES

Fred Harvey's Harvey Company opened the first Harvey House in 1876 in Topeka, Kansas. In the following decades Harvey, in collaboration with the Atchison,…

8. Lookout Studio

0.3 MILES

Like Mary Colter's other canyon buildings, Lookout Studio was modeled after stone dwellings of the Southwest Pueblo American Indians. Made of rough-cut…