We have arrived from Tusayan, where we stayed for a couple of nights at the Holiday Inn Hotel. It’s only a short distance away and we have arrived too early to check into the Kachina Lodge. Check-in is at 4pm and it’s only around 11am. However the young man checked our reservation and suggested we return around 2pm to see if the room was available.
- When we did return at around 2.30pm the room still wasn’t ready so we sat in the lobby with a number of other people who were also waiting to check in. The young lady behind the counter said she would list us as being in the hotel so that housekeeping would move our room up the list of rooms to be serviced.
- Check in for the Kachina Lodge is done through the El Tovar Hotel. The El Tovar is an historic hotel and the lobby reflects this with its dark wood theme and deer head decorations.
- Once we received our room keys we had to go back to our car and drive around to the Kachina Lodge. We were warned that parking may be sparse and were considering keeping our car space outside the El Tovar but luckily when we got to the Kachina Lodge we found a space right by the entrance. If you are arriving at a busy time of the year you may find it difficult to find parking so keep this in mind.
- Our room is #6313 and is situated on the bottom floor of the hotel on the Canyon side.
- Kachina advertises their rooms as having partial Canyon views but we found that the only thing obstructing the full view of the Canyon were a few trees.
- We were probably about 30 feet from the Canyon edge.
- The room is similar to all the others we have been staying in.
- There are 2 double beds, which are comfortable.
- Each bed had two pillows and one of the pillow slips had black stains which were ingrained, and although the pillow slip had been laundered the stains made it look very unappealing.
- The décor is restful with nicely presented artwork and attractive wooden lamps.
- There is a TV cabinet with a 26in (68cm) TV and a table with one chair, large clock radio, and the usual bedside telephone.
- Lighting in the room is okay although as with most hotels we have stayed at in the US, there is minimal ceiling lighting and instead the room is lit by a series of lamps. As a result the room is not well lit, but once the blinds are opened there is plenty of light.
- The bathroom isn’t huge but there’s enough room to move around easily. The shower is over the bath. It’s nice having the bath, means I can thaw out with a nice hot soak at the end of a cold winters day ‘touristing’.
- The ‘Ecossential’ brand toiletries smell almost good enough to eat, they have a rich, tangerine citrus aroma.
- The room is very clean and comfortable to be in.
- Unfortunately there is no internet in the rooms which meant we were unable to keep up with our business commitments. The internet in the Bright Angel Lodge lobby area costs $2.00 for 7 mins which is just enough time to send a couple of emails.
This hotel is expensive for what you get, but you need to keep in mind that you are paying mainly for being right on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. And that in itself makes staying on the rim of the Grand Canyon well worth while.
Our Rating of the Kachina Lodge Grand Canyon:
- Checking in and out 3/5
- Room 3/5
- Position 5/5
- Price 3.5/5
- Cleanliness 4/5
Note: This review has been updated since it was first posted in Mar 2008.
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