The Grand Canyon – 6 Excellent Roadside Hotels Over the Abyss
The logistical base of the Grand Canyon National Park is the Grand Canyon Village north of the town of Williams on Interstate I-40. In the village, there are lodges with views of the rim, a large visitor center, an RV park, and camping. To reach the park, you need to travel quite a distance from Las Vegas or Phoenix, Arizona, and it is definitely recommended to find accommodation close to the park. There are many accommodations and motels from the major chains in the towns of Tusayan and Grand Canyon Junction right at the national park exit.
So before you rush to find a flight to Phoenix or Las Vegas, want to get to know the Grand Canyon National Park a bit?
For the complete guide to visiting Grand Canyon National Park, click here…
Looking to book your Grand Canyon accommodation already? Click here to check availability and prices for hotels and motels near Grand Canyon Village…
Hotels and Motels in Tusayan
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Grand Canyon, an IHG Hotel
The Holiday Inn Express Grand Canyon in Tusayan is a roadside hotel meeting the exact standards of the hotel giant IHG. It's a basic, comfortable three-star hotel just a 15-minute drive from Grand Canyon Village and near the shuttles departing for the park from Tusayan. The hotel offers large rooms with two queen beds, very comfortable for families, a basic and good breakfast, and even a small indoor pool and jacuzzi for those wanting to unwind after hiking.
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The Grand Hotel at the Grand Canyon
The Grand Hotel is located right across from the Holiday Inn Express in the center of Tusayan. This is a four-star lodge hotel that combines an advanced hotel experience with a particularly fun rural vacation. The hotel boasts many public areas for guest enjoyment, large rooms suitable for families with children, and especially an excellent culinary level, including a restaurant and not just breakfast.
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Squire Resort at the Grand Canyon, BW Signature Collection
The Squire Resort was formerly a Best Western facility and completes the Tusayan triangle along with the Holiday Inn Express and the Grand Hotel. It is the largest hotel in Tusayan and also aims to provide a bit of a vacation vibe for those who visit it. The hotel has a cute outdoor pool with surrounding areas, an indoor pool complex, some gardens, and some public areas. It offers large and comfortable rooms for families and a good breakfast restaurant that is also open during the day as a restaurant.
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Hotels and Motels in Williams and Flagstaff
Little America Hotel Flagstaff
The Little America is a large motel disguised as a resort hotel right next to Highway 40, just an hour and a half drive from the Grand Canyon Village. The hotel is located on the outskirts of Flagstaff. This is a really good and fun hotel, with large rooms designed in a rustic style (as urban designers think rustic looks), a big restaurant, plenty of inviting public areas, a large and enjoyable pool area, and all the perks except for proximity to the Grand Canyon.
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Drury Inn & Suites Flagstaff
This three-star hotel from the quality Drury chain is located a short walk from the Flagstaff train station (though you’ll likely arrive by car) right in the heart of the small town. The hotel overlooks Route 66, the legendary road that crosses Arizona. This is a three-star hotel/motel, just like they write in the book – spotless, precise, fun, and especially inviting. The hotel features a small, really good restaurant, a small gym, and medium-sized rooms that are really comfortable and clean.
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Hampton Inn By Hilton Williams
The Hampton Inn is an excellent roadside hotel from the major international Hilton motel brand. The hotel is located slightly north of downtown Williams, right on Highway 40 and just a two-minute drive from the turnoff towards the Grand Canyon (a little over an hour's drive to the Grand Canyon Village). It's a classic and comfortable motel with large rooms featuring two beds, a basic breakfast, a small gym, a convenience store, and plenty of parking.
Click here to book a room at the Hampton Inn By Hilton Williams…
5 Tips from Guy for a Perfect Stay in Grand Canyon National Park
The Grand Canyon is an almost perfect American concept of a wild nature experience with stunning landscapes that are hard to believe exist on Earth. Along the entire Colorado River basin, there is an unimaginable abundance of national parks with some of the most iconic natural formations of the Wild West. The Grand Canyon surpasses them all with its extremely grand view of the river carved more than a kilometer deep from the cliff edges.
The Grand Canyon is a vast natural area that's longer than the length of Switzerland. Trips to the Grand Canyon often feature viewing points right above the abyss where you can see the Colorado River carving between one to two kilometers deep at the bottom of the chasm. The Grand Canyon National Park is the main attraction (though the Skywalk at Grand Canyon West is more popular but smaller). From Grand Canyon Village, trails and roads lead to the edge of the abyss and hiking paths descend to the Colorado River down the cliffs.
Guy’s Tips
- Staying in Grand Canyon Village – The hotels and lodges within the park offer the Grand Canyon experience in the most spectacular way. Near the Grand Canyon Railway, some lodges like Thunderbird Lodge, Kachina Lodge, and El Tovar Hotel, a three-star hotel, are located. The view from the hotel and lodge rooms is a wild canyon experience at its finest.
- Stay in Tusayan, just outside the park – Staying in Tusayan is budget-friendly and super convenient. The town's motels include well-known brands like the Holiday Inn Express by IHG and others. These are very comfortable places to stay in the wild American nature, with a proper breakfast and a few dining options like McDonald's. Tusayan is situated a very short drive from the canyon rim, the Grand Canyon Village, and facilities at Grand Canyon Junction, just a bit further south towards Williams. The whole of Tusayan is a hub of motels and is the ideal place to stay for those visiting the park who don't want to stay in the Village (mainly due to cost and availability issues).
- Staying in Williams and Flagstaff – These two large towns outside the park along I-40, both Flagstaff and Williams serve as convenient bases for visiting the Grand Canyon, just an hour to an hour and a quarter drive from the Grand Canyon Village. They are true American frontier towns, offering everything from supermarkets to restaurants, shops, and of course, plenty of motels and hotels. During peak season, when there's no room left in Tusayan or the park lodges, Flagstaff or Williams are the places to stay.
- Staying at Grand Canyon West – For those planning to visit the unique Skywalk attraction coming from Las Vegas, it makes for a day trip from the city with the natural choice for accommodation being the hotels on the Strip, about a two-hour drive from the site.
- When to visit the Grand Canyon? – The Grand Canyon experiences very extreme continental weather conditions, with significant temperature differences between day and night, as well as between winter and summer days. The best seasons to visit the Grand Canyon are spring and fall, when the weather is relatively mild, usually pleasant, and almost rain-free. Summer weather at the Grand Canyon can get really hot, with some days reaching extreme desert conditions with high temperatures and significant dryness. In contrast, winter weather can be quite cold to freezing and is often very dry with snow accumulations.
