El Tovar Hotel – Sips, Sights, and a Grand Canyon State of Mind
There are hotel rooms with a view… and then there’s El Tovar.
Perched less than 30 yards from the edge of the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, this historic hotel isn’t just close to the action—it is the action. When we arrived, the temperature was a toasty 107 degrees, which made hiking feel a little… ambitious. But you know what it was perfect for? Day drinking.
Just outside the hotel, there’s a charming little beer and wine cart serving up cold wine and prickly pear wheat beers—an Arizona specialty that goes down very easy when you’re melting in the sun and staring out across one of the most awe-inspiring views on the planet. Even better? The prices were surprisingly reasonable. A rare and welcome combo when you’re sipping at the edge of the world.
The El Tovar Hotel itself is a piece of architectural history-rustic, elegant, and full of old-school national park charm. With only 70 rooms, it feels intimate despite the steady stream of canyon-bound visitors. Sure, we’ve stayed at more modern and stylish places in our travels, but when it comes to location, El Tovar is 100% unbeatable. You’re not “near” the Grand Canyon—you’re part of it.
After checking in, we rallied for a two-hour rim hike—just enough to feel like we earned our sunset dinner in the hotel’s dining room, which, like everything else here, came with a side of canyon views. The food was solid, the wine list respectable, and the setting? Utterly unforgettable.
The next morning, we headed back to Las Vegas for an early flight home, but not without soaking up one last moment of that silent, humbling, massive beauty the Grand Canyon does so well.
If you’re planning a trip and wondering whether the Grand Canyon lives up to the hype: it does. And even if you skip the serious hiking, grab a cold drink, find a shady spot, and just be still. There’s something powerful about doing absolutely nothing in a place this grand—and feeling like that’s exactly what you’re supposed to do.
