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hi again folks and thank you again for letting grandcanyon.com be your southwest vacation specialists! this is the second video in our series showing you the questions you most frequently ask about the grand canyon... ...the answers to those questions, plus the questions you really should be asking about the grand canyon. in our last video, we answered the #1 grand canyon vacation planning question: how to book a grand canyon mule ride... ...and what were more realistic and appropriate ways for your family to get to the bottom of the grand canyon. today, we're going to talk about what's probably the most important element of your grand canyon vacation... ...the one thing around which the rest of your plans will revolve, and evolve: grand canyon lodging. question #2: how can i book a grand canyon hotel room inside the park? here's the problem: almost everybody who visits the grand canyon wants to stay inside the park.
and grand canyon national park has a grand total of about 900 hotel rooms. on any given day in peak travel season, anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 people visit the park. naturally not everyone is going to stay overnight, but a good majority of them are. can 900 rooms accommodate them all? nope! so that ultimately means that grand canyon hotel rooms are booked up 6 months to 1 year in advance. so if your grand canyon vacation is, say, 3 months away, you're probably out of luck. and there are other considerations too... ...such as if you're traveling with kids, particularly in the summertime, you need to remember this: none of the in-park hotels have pools. a handful of rooms also don't have air conditioning. most of them do, but some of them still don't. it's not a problem in winter, spring or fall, but in summertime, that's a different story! so the question you should ask would sound more like this: where should i make my grand canyon hotel reservations...
...considering my budget, who i'm traveling with and when i'm traveilng? if your grand canyon vacation is less than 6 months away, your most realistic option is to look to the grand canyon's gateway communities... ...for your lodging. the nearest town to grand canyon south rim is tusayan, just outside the park's entrance. a mere 10 minutes from the canyon rim, tusayan offers 5 modern, family-friendly hotels. among grandcanyon.com's clients, the most popular of these are the best western premier grand canyon squire inn... ...the grand hotel, the canyon plaza (formerly quality inn), and the holiday inn express. all of these facilities are air-conditioned and offer amenities such as on-site shopping, dining, pools and jacuzzis. one of the values of staying at the best western premier grand canyon squire inn is that there are activities after the sun goes down. there's also the holiday inn express and the grand hotels, which have indoor heated pools which are open year-round.
guests staying at other hotels are welcome to come to the grand canyon squire and use their facilities. plus, tusayan is the site of the national geographic imax theatre, which shows the spectacular imax presentation... ..."grand canyon: the hidden secrets" year-round. this is within walking distance of all the tusayan grand canyon hotels. for availability and pricing in tusayan, visit www.grandcanyon.com and click on the link for grand canyon hotels. or simply call 1-800-916-8530 you should know that if you are traveling in peak season, which is march through october... grand canyon hotel rooms in tusayan will cost anywhere from $150-$250+ (us) per night. they also tend to fill 3-4 months in advance, so if your grand canyon vacation is less than 3 months away...
...or you're looking to save money on your hotel room, be prepared to do a little driving. the next nearest gateway community to the grand canyon is williams, arizona. located 60 miles south of grand canyon south rim... ...williams is a charming small town where the past comes alive in many different ways. here you can enjoy the sights of route 66, pioneer history and railroad memorabilia. popular activities for families staying in williams are the grand canyon railway, and the inner canyon jeep tour. the most popular hotels in williams booked on grandcanyon.com include: the grand canyon railway hotel, the williams grand canyon travelodge... ...the howard johnson express, the fairfield inn by marriott, the canyon country inn, the days inn, and the quality inn mountain ranch... amenities will differ from place to place, but if you're looking to keep your nightly hotel costs to under $150 per night... ...williams arizona is an excellent choice for you!.
for availability and pricing of hotels in williams visit www.grandcanyon.com and click on the link for williams hotels... ...or call 1-800-916-8530 another popular gateway community for grand canyon lodging is flagstaff, arizona. located 90 miles southeast of grand canyon south rim, flagstaff is northern arizona's largest city. situated at the foot of the majestic san francisco peaks, flagstaff has its own attractions that make a wonderful compliment to your grand canyon vacation... ...such as the museum of northern arizona, the lowell observatory, and the national monuments of walnut canyon, sunset crater and wupatki. flagstaff is also located at the center of a cluster of other attractions besides the grand canyon... ...such as lake powell, sedona, and the petrified forest, just to name a few. so many visitors, particularly those with a week or so to spend, might choose flagstaff as a "base camp"...
...from which to take day trips to these different areas. flagstaff has many hotels to choose from, both chain and family-owned. among grandcanyon.com customers, the most popular flagstaff hotels are: the embassy suites, the radisson woodlands hotel... ...flagstaff travelodge, the little america, america's best value inn, and the fairfield inn by marriott. prices range from discount to upscale and everything in between, but here's a word of advice for light sleepers: flagstaff parallels a train route and trains go by pretty much all night long, so it's definitely worth a phone call to make sure... ...that the hotel you choose is located away from the tracks. ***note: ordinances have since been passed to help abate train noise*** for availability and pricing of lodging in flagstaff, visit grandcanyon.com and click on the link for flagstaff hotels... lastly, another gateway community to consider is page (lake powell) arizona. located 2.5 hours' drive from grand canyon south or north rim, page is a town of 6,000 people situated atop a mesa...
...near the arizona/utah border. it is the gateway city to another attraction: lake powell. here again, if you plan on traveling a week or so around the southwest, page merits consideration for a few days of your time. like flagstaff, it is also located at the center of a "grand circle" of scenic attractions, such as zion, bryce canyon, paria canyon... ...monument valley, lees ferry, and the grand staircase/escalante national monument. page offers many fun and reasonably priced activities for your family, such as the colorado river discovery float trip... ...4x4 tours to fascinating slot canyons, scenic flights, and boat tours on lake powell. and if your kids want to play in the water... ...lake powell has plenty of it! there are about 20 hotels in page. most are discount to mid-range chain hotels... ...but there are a handful of higher-end properties, too. grandcanyon.com's most popular page hotels are: the courtyard by marriott, the lake powell resort, the quality inn, and the days inn.
for availability and pricing of hotels in page-lake powell, visit www.grandcanyon.com and click on the link for page hotels... or call 1-800-916-8530 now, if after hearing all that, you still want to try to get a room inside grand canyon national park, keep watching... ...and in just a moment we'll tell you how you can find out more about these hotels and get full contact information... ...in our complete grand canyon travel planner. thank you again for watching! we hope this video has helped you make some informed decisions about where to stay during your grand canyon vacation. keep watching your e-mail for more of these free informational videos. you'll receive a different one every day for the next 2 weeks. tomorrow, you'll find out why you may - or may not - get to go rafting in the grand canyon.... ...but the colorado river is definitely doable! see you then.
grandcanyon.com nationwide hotel hotline: 1-800-916-8530