We enjoyed the Thunderbird Lodge at The Grand Canyon

After reading the mixed reviews of the Thunderbird Lodge, I arrived May 1, 2005 and I did not know what to expect. Check in was quick and the room was clean, new-looking, and tastefully decorated. The room was a little on the small side but was large enough and had a fridge, ironing board, and coffee pot.

We were unable to book a canyon view room. Parking is very scarce but we were lucky enough to find a parking space next to the lodge and we didn’t move our car the rest of the time we were there! We had dinner at the Arizona Room and it was good. It was crowded at the South Rim during the day but I was on the rim early in the morning and there were very few people out there with me. It was great to be able to just walk out of the motel room and be right on the nearly deserted rim.

I highly recommend the Desert View drive. My favorite view of the Grand Canyon is Lipan Point and it is close to the East entrance. There were no crowds like the South Rim and the views were as good if not better than the South rim.

We arrived early at the South Rim and there was no wait to enter the park. We decided to leave the park for lunch and then had a 10-15 minute wait to re-enter the park. When we left the East entrance at mid-day, we noticed there was no wait to enter the park.