Thunderbird Lodge

This hotel has an excellent location and strong potential, but it is in need of a full renovation to match the price point. The property feels dated, with a musty atmosphere throughout, and although some updates have been made to the bedding, the mattresses and linens were not especially comfortable. The bathrooms are very small with limited counter space, a shower head that my 5’4 self reached and my 6’3 husband had to bend over to use, a door that hits right at the toilet and blocks the toilet paper when open (which you want because the bathroom is so small and dark), and the hairdryer was quite outdated. Accessibility could also be improved, as there are many stairs, limited parking, and no accommodations for guests with mobility needs. In addition, the Wi-Fi was very slow during my stay. With updates, this hotel could be a wonderful option, but at the current rates, it does not provide good value for the cost.

We stayed for 3 nights for a family trip. The rooms were ok, standard double queen, clean. The bathroom situation was a little tight with shower, toilet and sink all together making getting ready at the same time challenging. The fridge in the room was convenient but would have been nice to have a freezer section. Parking was also tight. The beds were fine. But really the view made up for any short comings in the room. Being close was wonderful! Being able to get an early start before the crowds joined in was perfect. We could get a rest in the heat of the day when it was busiest and to more in the evening when it was more comfortable and fewer people. All the staff were friendly and attentive. Great stay!

Our tour group stayed one night at this lodge. We were lucky our room faced the rim. Amenities in room were fine and so were the beds. Room included a coffee pot which we really like. Towels were fluffy. Our breakfast was included and the food and service was excellent.

We cant say enough about the location and we actually loved our 'partial view'. The room is dated which we knew ahead of time, but the walls were so dusty that we could write our names in them by the lamplight at night and the toilet barely flushed. We ended up using the toilet at the banquet down the hall (which was extremely clean and modern) because we did not want to see our own waste 2 or 3 times while we kept flushing. The fridge froze the fresh food we brought and the room coffee was, well, not equivalent to the room price. Honestly, the location is so amazing that we might stay again, but it is too bad that they can continue to collect because of the location without making the experience a bit more commensurate with the price.

Unforgettable stay right on the South Rim! Thunderbird Lodge is everything you'd hope for in a Grand Canyon experience... peaceful, convenient, and just steps from some of the most breathtaking views on Earth. The room was clean and comfortable, and we loved how close it was to the Rim Trail and main viewpoints. Waking up and having coffee while looking out over the canyon felt like a dream. The staff were kind and helpful, and check-in was easy. If you're visiting the South Rim, this is the perfect place to stay, simple, scenic, and absolutely worth it.

The service all around is impeccable. From the phone reservations, follow up questions and modifications, the tour check in process, Harvey house service staff and snack bar service staff. The location is of course unmatched. Rooms are nothing fancy with few amenities. But they’re clean and comfortable and serve the basic purpose of visiting the Grand Canyon and being right next to everything. We wouldn’t have seen the sunrise, the big horn sheep on the cliff side, or been able to coordinate 2 different itineraries for our group, without being on site.

I was pleasantly surprised by Thunderbird Lodge. I expected more of a roadside motel situation, but it was definitely nicer than I had hoped. Plenty of space for up to 4 people, though the person sleeping next to the window had to shimmy to the end of the bed to get out comfortably. Not a problem for us, but if you have 4 people who might have mobility limitations, that would be an issue. They could move the beds a little closer to the nightstand to make more space. It's an older building but more outlets near the bed would also be nice, as we all have phones, plus one person has a C-PAP device to plug in; I travel with a little extension cord so it worked out. The staff could take an extra minute to wipe down the sides of the refillable soap, shampoo, conditioner bottles though.

Thunderbird Lodge is in a spectacular location, with plenty of paved paths around the rim, as well as food and gift shop items. The motorcoach tour was excellent and allowed for multiple opportunities for viewing the canyon from different angles in addition to the local wildlife. Rooms were dated but that is to be expected for an historical sight. However, no complaints about cleanliness and amenities. Deedee at the activities counter and Rich who kindly helped us with our luggage to the second floor were excellent representatives for the property. If we ever have the chance to visit the Grand Canyon again, we will definitely be staying here! P.s. If you're going in July you may want to bring a small fan to supplement the air conditioning in the rooms.

To stay at Thunderbird Lodge, you will pay a high price, but you'll be rewarded with epic views of the most iconic landscape in the US. We were just steps away from the South Rim where we were able to easily watch the sunrise and sunset. The proximity to the Bright Angel Trail and easy walk along the south rim made this a great place to stay.

Location is Incredible. The lodge is a minute walk from the edge of the canyon. Check-in is the lodge next door ( Bright Angel ) where the Harvey House Restaurant is as well. I don't think they have an elevator, we were on the first floor. I don't know if the TV worked as we spent our time hiking. There is a free shuttle system that is a 2 minute walk from the door. The parking situation is first come, first serve and you might have a bit of a hike as parking is free and not registered. There is a small fridge in the room. The shower head is shorter than I'm accustomed to and the furnishings are sufficient, but definitely on the basic side. You can get coffee packets from the front desk or from the staff. The Location is Win for this lodge.

Perfect place for a family to stay in a visit to Grand Canyon! We got lucky to get a room last minute on a day before New Year's. The staff were so friendly and welcoming. The room was warm and cozy with a balcony to a great view to the National Park. Parking was easy access and close to the room. The room was clean with amenities and a mini kitchen with all the supplies. We love it.

Most of the time people want a hotel room where every wish is granted. Perfect styling, the softest of beds, the most channels on the television, and the fanciest of bathrooms. You won't get that here at Thunderbird Lodge. What you will get instead is a comfortable bed to stay in after a long day exploring a natural world wonder. What you'll get is air conditioning that will be welcomed after sweating in the AZ heat whilst hiking all around the southern rim. What you'll get is a view outside your window you can't find anywhere else in the world. Thunderbird Lodge is literally steps away from the edge of the south rim of the Grand Canyon. You can walk out and be within the majesty of it within a minute. The room itself isn't meant to be glamorous. It is meant to be sustainable so you don't stay in the room when you have so much more to do outside of it. As long as you understand this you'll see the beauty of this fantastic hotel and why if you visit the Grand Canyon for more than a day this place is a god-send. Yes, it looks like a college dorm but trust me it'll be an inviting space with Wi-Fi that'll make streaming till you pass out a fantastic idea after a packed day at the Grand Canyon. Just make sure you bring lots of snacks with you before you get here as food is limited to 2 restaurants that often have reservations booked and a gift shop with only to-go quick foods like sandwiches, soda, and candy.

Clean, beds are comfy, and it is nice that the rim trail is just feet away, but it's not worth the price. If I could do it over, I'd stay outside the park and drive in. The "partial view" is a bit of a joke and I was pretty disappointed.

We have waited for this trip for our entire lives. My aunt has cancer and we are checking off our bucket list. We decided to go all out and stay in the Grand Canyon. We stayed at the thunder lodge. From the outside, the views are beautiful. When you get deep into the hotel... I'd rather sleep outside. 1: there is no designated parking for hotel guests. It's all combined with day trip park goers. Why is this bad? Bc you have to wait for hours for anyone to move. 2: upon arrival inside the room, our towels and bedding were heavily soiled! I mean the towel was so gross and nasty that it didn't move. It was stiff with nasty gross of I don't know what. 3: we had no coffee in the room. The machine was there, but they forgot coffee packets. 4: the entire park is understaffed. They are all crabby and tired. They were mean and not helpful. The visitor center was closed. 5: the female park ranger with blonde hair who drinks when she's clocked out and treats the visitors with extreme rudeness, well she needs a new career. We enquirer about the bus times and she said several smart A remarks to us as we were standing in pitch black darkness. If you're drink where you work, you should prob watch who you're telling your job description too. The pros: over look all the crappy things and admire the beautiful master piece of the Grand Canyon. Take it in and imagine it's evolvement. Eat at El Travor. It's more than the other restaurants, but totally worth the money! The only reason why this trip has 1 star is I got to see my family and I got to see the Grand Canyon. Nothing will ever ruin that for me.

The location of this place is pretty amazing. Since it is situated next to the canyon along with the Kachina Lodge, you can't go wrong when you book this place. Good luck if you can find parking though because spots are limited. If you do find parking, and you want to stay in the area, there are a number of shuttles that run around the clock and they will take you wherever you want to go to see the various South Rim viewpoints. Restaurants around town are sort of meh and a little pricey so don't expect to eat well. The lodge is near Mary Coulter's Studio Lookout which you have to check out. It looks small from the outside but it's a few levels and the views are pretty cool. Pack a little light because there is no elevator to help you get from the first to the second level. The TV in the room was a small 32" but you probably won't spend much time in the room except to recharge your batteries and get sleep in prep to get in your way the next day. The lodge is a bit overpriced at over 300 per night so maybe do some research before you book. This lodge has been around for decades so kudos to it and the surrounding lodges for keeping up with the times and continuing to provide a cool place to stay.

This lodge is pretty clean and you are on the entrance of the rim and a brisk walk to bright angel trail. Complementary body wash , shampoo and conditioner in case you came without. They smelled funky but it works if you came without. Would definitely stay again! Clovid update. Staff wears mask but guest do not so beware. And of course there are large gatherings everywhere .

Long story short your paying to be at the hotel closest to the rim. For 2 nights we paid over $650 for the partial canyon view - forgo that unless you have money to burn. If the price doesn't scare you away then here is the pros on the room itself, it was clean, seemed well maintained, AC worked well, the beds were comfy, had a nice desk and chair with tech plugins and the bathroom and shower were fine. The two downsides were the WiFi - almost non existent and although they had a fridge they had no microwave. We were here just after they opened from Covid so things were not operating at 100% but that's understandable. Best advice, stop in Williams AZ buy plenty of water ($7.50 for two cans - yes cans here) snacks and stuff to make your breakfast and lunch in the room. Did I mention bring plenty of water.

Don't Change a Thing. Thunderbird Lodge is a midcentury modern build, renovated inside in a style honouring it's origins. Decor is pared down to show off the _incredible_ view. The bathroom is large, with a tub/ shower combo. Solid and very quiet. I've heard the haters on TripAdvisor and beg to differ: this is a really nice hotel. We enjoyed the midcentury experience. Compared to the threadbare 1991 era decorated El Tovar room we ran from, the Thunderbird Lodge stay was absolutely topnotch.

OMG! It seems that bad service and cockroaches should be acceptable because of the scenery and location. The cafeteria has to be the most inefficient operation I have ever experienced. The lodge appears clean until you turn on a light in the middle of the night and see the insects scurry back to the baseboards. I called the desk to ask for a TP replenishment and waited two hours until I went to the office to get it myself. Pay a premium price for the location, but you may not actually want to stay. I realize that COVID restrictions have made some services "different", but there has been quite awhile to figure it out. It's now April of 2022 . . . It's no longer an excuse for bad service, cold food, roach infestations, and no toilet paper.

Clean motel style throwback room RIGHT ON THE RIM OF GRAND CANYON. I mean you step out the door and you get the million dollar view. Unfortunately, our room looked at the parking lot but just there to prep for the rim to river to rim hike just hanging our hat there for the night. Good beds, but the thermostat worked but seemed to hot. I guess fair price what ya gonna do it's a million dollar view. A bed and a toilet and shower are just that...no fuss no muss just clean.

Very clean, well maintained, not upscale for the price but nice and if you can afford it I suggest getting a Grand Canyon view room. My wife and I were treated to the site of canyon deer climbing out of the canyon and coming to sip sprinkler water right outside of our window. If you're only going to come to the Grand Canyon once then stay right on the canyon at this lodge. The places to get food shut down relatively early at night and the food that is available is kinda overpriced and not very good. The parking situation is park where you can so be forewarned. I stayed in rm 6213

Expect a Days Inn style room at Marriott!/Hilton prices. No elevator to 2nd floor so keep that in mind if there is someone who has needs. The room does have a digital safe, ironing board and a frig but no microwave. You are paying for convenience of being right at the canyon. Food and drink here are ball park prices so pack ahead of time. For example a pbj sandwich is $7. Yes the same sandwich you make at home! If your vegan they do have accommodations. So pack your friends and family in and bring sleeping bags to keep the cost down. And there is no pic or vid that can capture the shear majestic view of the Grand Canyon!

The view is stunning! You can walk to the Grand Canyon rim from the hotel and it takes about 3 min. The rooms itself are outdated, AC doesn't work, carpet is dirty with stains, room has a bad odor, found hair in shower. Very poorly maintained. If you stay it's only for the convinces of having the Grand Canyon close by.

Comfortable Beds; Many Luxury Touches; Super Clean; On Property We stayed one night in Nov 2017 [$240 on the street side]. Our night at this unpretentious lodge proved to be one of the most comfortable stays we had the whole trip! I was surprised to find so many luxury touches: granite tops on the desk, nightstands and in the bathroom, berber rug, an 'outlet central' on the desk with special plugs for different devices & custom tiles in the shower that highlight the unique animals that live in the Grand Canyon. Quick working, adjustable temperature and fan controls in the room & windows that open to enjoy the fresh air were other items I value that were present. Most importantly - the room & bathroom were incredibly clean and the beds were super-comfortable! The night we arrived we crossed paths with a Ringtail Cat (also one of the animal tiles) and encountered several deer. (A multi-point stag posed right outside our window & stood undetected by visitors walking past on the sidewalk.) In the morning we took a handful of steps to view the Canyon. (Which was a little un-nerving - no protection for the clumsy.) Also, we were a short 2-3 minute walk away from El Tovar restaurant. Parking was a serious problem - we lucked out during this off-season visit. Driving patterns were poorly defined & poorly explained; we spent a 1/2 hour driving the one way circle to get back to the Thunderbird after checking in at Bright Angel (which is past the Thunderbird). Our room was on the first floor but there were a few 4-6 step up/down combos to get to our room - a deterrent if mobility is an issue. The convenience & experiences gained of being on-property were well worth the cost; the comfortable beds, clean room & fancy touches made our stay here a real pleasure.

Boy, am I surprised this has not been review yet, the hotel was close to sold out but I am glad to do it. I feel slightly guilty as I only took pics of the view inside the room instead of the room itself... This place was much nicer than I expected!!! As far as the inside of the hotel room. Decent sized tv I watched (JI Jane my first night), small single cup kureg coffee marker with options of tea or coffee. A-ok bathroom and a firm bed. I actually got the perfect view room with just a small tree from the window unlike the others rooms which had medium sized trees obstructing a from a full panoramic view. Lucky me! Reason being for minus two stars was the noise. Ahhh the noise!!! There were people yelling from one room and kids laughing/screaming blasting TV from another. Threw out the night you could here the security woman walk the halls talking loudly on her walkie talking. It was a pain as I need serious sleep for the hike the following morning... Other than the noise the room more than exceeded my needs.

Nice lodge on canyon edge but we prefer Kachina (next door) for better views My husband and I stayed here two nights in August. Our stay was comfortable and well-located. A year earlier we stayed at another Xanterra lodge next door: Kachina. We stayed on the second floor at both Kachina and Thunderbird to get the canyon view. We prefer Kachina because it offers better views of the canyon. The view from Thunderbird's second floor first looks down on the flat roof of the first floor rooms, and then looks into the canyon. When we stayed on the second floor of Kachina, we did not have to look down on a flat roof but instead saw landscaping and then the canyon. Both lodges overlook a safe asphalt walkway along the canyon rim . Both Thunderbird and Kachina are close to the dining rooms at El Tovar Lodge and Bright Angel Lodge. Both lodges are close to some small museums and gift shops. (Maswick and Yavapai Lodges are still within Grand Canyon NP but farther from the canyon rim.) Another advantage of Kachina over Thunderbird is that Kachina has a comfortable sitting room on the first floor. Thunderbird has no common space, not even a lobby or front desk. Checkin for Thunderbird is next door at Xanterra's Bright Angel lodge. The El Tovar Lodge is iconic and is community gathering space due to its excellent dining room, patio bar (closed when we visited due to low staffing) and a couple gift shops. El Tovar can be noisy due to all the tourist traffic. El Tovar is a five minute walk from Thunderbird Lodge. Our Thunderbird room had a safe, a Mr. Coffee maker, a TV, a small refrigerator. I believe it had reading lights for each of the two queen beds but I am not certain. Not all restaurants were open because of reduced staffing related to Covid. I highly recommend making a dinner reservation at El Tovar months in advance. Since we failed to make dinner reservations, we showed up at El Tovar at 4:30 pm to get in the line for walk-in dining. We were seated almost immediately. (We did not want to take El Tovar's offered reservation of dinner at 8:00 pm)

if you want to pay $413 night to stay in a glorified motel, by all means go for it. This place is a scam.

Location 5/5 Hotel room 2/5 Hospitality 2/5 Food 2/5 Parking -10/5 It's right on the rim of one of world's greatest natural wonders! Location can't be any better. Hotel room is old, ugly paint job, Walmart furniture, so don't look for a 4 star experience. A lot of foreign student work on staff. They may think they are pretty nice to you, but you get more warmth at drive through window at Taco Bell. At at the Bright Angel Louge. Their long tradition did not help the food. Mine was bad, my girlfriend felt her food was horrible. And the parking. There is none. After circling the maze of narrow roads for 45 minutes after our 8 hour drive to the park, we parked on dirt, climbed over railroad track, a hill, and made it to the hotel room all angry. But I don't regret staying here. You can't beat the location!

Some may choose to not stay here - it's not cheap like a tent. But, to be able to stay in a wonderful lodge right on the edge of The Grand Canyon is an experience that can't be beat. The rooms have a rustic look, very much in tune with the South Rim. Ours was upstairs with a north facing view over the canyon! We chose the option to opt out of maid service. A nice idea to save water and power in the region. Parking is an issue, but we easily unloaded, then parked the car and rode the shuttles which stopped right by the hotel. Staying at The Thunderbird was very relaxing. Being able to wander along the rim before and after the crowd crunch was wonderful. Well worth the price of admission.

Yes, it's expensive. Yes, the room is very small. Yes, its location can't be beat. It's right the south rim. Can't get closer than that. We walked out there after dinner to do stars glazing. We woke up at 2am to go out and see the Milky way. Like the others said, think of high price tag as a entrance price to this marvelous NP. Parking is pretty limited, we got lucky and park in front of the building. We paid extra for partial view room, not worth the extra money. Can't see anything at night. Day time, mind as well just walk outside. My room overlooked the roof of the first floor and only saw a little bit of Grand Canyon. Save that money for something else.

I should start by saying that I didn't expect much from my accommodations at the Grand Canyon. After all, we are in the middle of the wilderness. With that context, I was impressed by the Thunderbird Lodge. The views of the canyon are expansive and inspired me to get out and experience it. The actual rooms are on the small side, aren't fancy and probably haven't been updated in decades...but you've got everything you need. The beds are quite comfortable, and the air conditioning in the hotel rooms is strong enough to withstand the scorching heat. I was pleased by the mini-fridge and Keurig coffee machine in the room. The availability of parking nearby is very limited, so you may have to drop your luggage and then park so you don't have to haul your luggage from too far away. Check-in at Thunderbird Lodge is located at Bright Angel Lodge, not too far away.

Our room overlooked the Grand Canyon. Who cared about anything else? Actually my wife did. Our room was just fine. Clean and comfortable. Did I mention we overlooked the Grand Canyon :-)

I stayed at the Thunderbird Lodge on a recent family trip to the Grand Canyon. The lodge was pretty pricey and we had to book well in advance, however the convenience of the lodge to the canyon is awesome! There are no canyon views from the lodge, however you can walk out of the lodge and be looking out into the canyon within 60 seconds (which is super convenient for watching sunrises and sunsets). Pros: -Stones throw from the Grand Canyon overlook -Next door to restaurants and shopping -Shuttle stop is right out front of the lodge -Family friendly -Neat and clean rooms -Well decorated (rooms give a mountain, 60's vibe) -Rooms offer recycling, coffee, mini fridge, desk, ample closet and drawer space Cons: -The parking situation is awful! There is no dedicated parking for those staying at the lodge, so you are left fighting the masses to try and get a parking spot. One evening we had to park our car so far away it was a 15 minute walk to the lodge. -A keycard is not required to enter the lodge through the side doors, so we saw a few people wondering the halls who didn't appear to be staying at the lodge. -The lodge is pricey, but we felt it was worth the price to stay right by the canyon.

To be honest they would have gotten a four star as for a hotel in a national park it was very nice. There was one major problem though the maid service from the night before had left medication on the floor of the room. My six year old found it and put it on the bed. As much as it looked like candy I was surprised. I called the night manager when it was found, he had 0 to say about it other than basically a "glad your son didn't take it". I asked him to have the general manager of the property call me so I could give them the medication first thing in the morning. All I got was a phone call from Holly that said "Thank you for letting me know I will let the GM know. I already let the maids supervisor know. She didn't want the medication etc, and when I went to the front desk it was clear that she truly didn't care and didn't want it to go any higher than her.

This hotel offers a simple accommodation, a decent clean room with basic amenities, furniture and somewhat clean towels and linens. Huge improvement is needed on the way finding, in-room WiFi and check in process. We arrived at 6pm and it was already dark that we could not find signage for reception. We had to walk around for a good 15 mins to find where the reception building was... a complete opportunity missed for a good arrival experience. The parking is also confusing, we had to assume the parking location was for the hotel.. again no apparent signage. No sight of staffs on site at our building for inquiries. All stars are for the location as you cannot beat the view out to the canyon from your room as it is RIGHT there.

Thunderbird is a two star hotel, but the beautiful views of the canyon and the central location in the south rim village bump this establishment up to a three star ranking on Yelp. Room Quality: The rooms are nice rooms, some with views or partial views of the canyon, for reasonable prices. It's a bit rustic and dated, a lot of brown. Looks like it hasn't been updated since the 90's. Room Amenities: A/C, TV / standard cable, wifi, mini fridge, in room coffee maker. Already mentioned the views. Location: The hotel has a fantastic location, nestled among many of the south rim local amenities. Parking: WARNING: not a lot of parking. You may have to drive around a little bit. *Note - CHECK IN COUNTER IS AT THE BRIGHT ANGEL LODGE

You only get one chance to make a first impression... Unfortunately, our first impression as provided by the staff member we encountered at guest registration, was extremely poor. She alone was enough for me to take away a star from my rating. From the outside, the lodge is deceptive - think 1980s college dorm. The rooms themselves are small, but nicely appointed. They appear to have been recently refurbished. Beds were surprisingly comfortable. Housekeeping was friendly and conscientious. And, you can't beat the view.

The hotel looked like a college dorm from the outside, and it's actually tricky to find since the sign is small and hard to see when driving. It's adjacent to Bright Angel Lodge, which happens to be in Google Maps. Parking is available on either side of the hotel, or you can parallel park along the front. Note check in, gift shops, tour desk, restaurants, lounges, public restrooms, etc are all in Bright Angel Lodge. Rooms were clean and spacious. Bathrooms fully stocked with ginger lemongrass soap, body wash, and shampoo. Flat screen TV with limited channels and free wifi. Beds were really soft and comfortable, but I prefer a firmer pillow. The rooms were mostly quiet (don't hear neighbors), but there's a sporadic dripping sound that comes from somewhere. We would consider staying here again. Note all the hotels along the South Rim are managed by Xanterra, so the quality ought to be the same. We chose Thunderbird since it seems to be newer than the others. Plus, it's so easy to walk to the other historical hotels like El Tovar or Bright Angel.

We planned an entire trip to Arizona around the availability of a room at the Thunderbird Lodge, shelling out nearly as much as our airfare as for one night, no canyon view. Was it worth it? YES: we stayed in the dang Grand Canyon!!! Just a quick walk down the hall and out the door and there it is, glorious and beautiful! Particularly wonderful for stargazers and sunrise-watchers like us to experience. We liked the classy 60's vibe of the lodge and rooms; don't know how spoiled you must be to complain that the rooms are dated or need renovation. They are comfortable and provide many amenities, and encourage environmental stewardship via recycling and providing basics like shampoo & soap in pumps - no tiny, wasteful plastic bottles to half-use and then throw out, hurray! K-pod and half & half in the room meant coffee and tea for me to watch the canyon by. NO: it is just a room. I mean, it's pretty expensive for just a room (no view, at that!). But I'm sure the sticker-shock will not last nearly as long as my memories of seeing the Milky Way, or being able to plunge back into my warm bed after watching the 5:45 am sunrise. Other: we parked in Lot C upon arrival - it is bedlam trying to find parking around 3 pm check-in time. We were able to easily find a much closer parking spot after dark, when the day tourists took off. If you are able-bodied and budget-conscious, note that the Maswik Lodge is actually pretty close, and offers more affordable dining options than you'll find next door at the Bright Angel. Also - my ancient iPhone was never able to hook onto the internet, which is free to guests but described as limited; aka hit or miss. It didn't really matter to me as I didn't travel to the Grand Canyon just to look at my phone.

Arrived here at night did see much until we looked up the skies. What an amazing view of the stars. Waking up in the morning was another surprise. We woke up to the breathtaking view of the grand canyon. I highly recommend this place. The rooms are perfect. There were no elevators so be prepared to carry your luggage up the stairs.

Thunderbird Lodge the room was small and ok but the view on the other side of our room (not our room) O.M.G. I would love to wake up to the view of the grand canyon every morning. BUTTTT... it was sold out you have to book a season ahead of time if you want those rooms. We had a view of the street BUTTTT... I was sooOoOOOoO EXCITED because I looked outside our bedroom window and you can see tonssss of Mule Deer eating the grass right outside our window. My daughter had the perfect view and it was safe for us to watch them that close. :-) I was so happy! That made my night.

Nice spacious and comfortable rooms. There was no replenishment of toilet paper or towels, and no coffee maker or microwave in the room.

While everything even near the Grand Canyon is expensive, this place was literally worth it. While the room and hotel itself was nothing to be excited about, the closeness to the canyon was unbeatable. We came up here for a weekend in June and it was prime tourist season. Parking is a little tricky as there isn't really a lot and you have to drive around for a bit till you find something. The rooms themselves are small and inconsequential. Old decor, older facilities in general, but clean and comfortable enough. The nice thing about this place is how close it is to everything. Just a minute or two and you have a couple different restaurants to choose from, gift shops to check out, the trail looping around the south rim of the canyon and going over to the visitors center is right out front. Oh yeah and then there's this amazing Grand Canyon view literally a minutes walk from your door. Not to mention, the elk out here are fearless! I've never been so close to these massive animals as the morning I went out for the sunrise and they were eating the grass outside my room door..pretty cool. If you are looking to hike this is also located right near the bright angel trailhead. Price- expensive; accommodations- minimally acceptable; location- outstanding!

I stayed here the night after a two day R2R hike and thought it was great. I had a canyon view room which I highly recommend. Room was clean and had an incredible view. My biggest complaint is that there was a problem with the toilet. I sat down just before the person on the other side sat down and it was sort of like a teeter totter effect, which was weird. The food options are limited due to Covid. For my purposes, the room was excellent though. Close to the trail head, gorgeous view. I literally just sat up in my bed and watched the sun rise over the canyon. The air in the room was a bit thick and caused me to have a stuffy nose. Luckily the windows open, which fixed that problem. It was actually wonderful to open the windows to the Grand Canyon air. You can hear the people outside but I didn't mind it. Would definitely stay here again. Only docked a star for the toilet situation, thin walls, slightly stuffy air, and lack of enough food/coffee options without waiting in a super long line.

Room with a view! Clean room recently refurbished on upper floor. Floor is creaky near door and bathroom (downstairs neighbors, Sorry!). K-cup coffee maker (Bring your own K-cups with you if you want a more robust blend. I like Peet's!) Flat-screen television, but I never used it because I had the Grand Canyon to watch!! Weatherstripping is not great on metal door but the baseboard heater works well near bed(s). In-room safe holds laptop/cameras/etc. In-room frig. Check-in at Bright Angel Lodge. Central location to the South Rim and many amenities. Check-in is 4pm, but I got in a bit earlier so it doesn't hurt to ask. I came up from Williams,AZ on the Grand Canyon Railway and luggage was in my room by the time I had checked in.

Do not stay here unless you bring your own meals. I'm paying over $300 a night to stay here and living on trail mix in my room because the only restaurants to eat are all booked and do not allow carry out. Sure, it's the Grand Canyon, but I should be able to eat for 300+ a night.

Loved something's ... Something's not so much. Loved: views, scenery, wildlife, Keurig & K cups, shower products, employees are friendly Not so much: I found it to be dirty (coffee cups, sheets)

Family of four here on a bucket list road trip. Staying on the rim is something special and thus the super high price for an average room. We paid $215 for two queens (no rim view) on a weekday the week before Christmas. However, this is a nice clean place to stay. Pillow are hard and the sheets are scratchy. We've definitely stayed at hotels with more comfortable bedding. Bathroom is kind of small but clean and has everything you need plus a heat lamp. Small fridge, microwave, Keurig, and safe in the room. Check in at the Bright Angel Lodge and walk one building east to the rooms. Parking is limited here and you're lucky if you find a spot close by. The draw to this place is you walk out the building and the Canyon is RIGHT there! We would probably stay here again especially if the El Tovar is booked up as it was this time.

This place is getting 4 stars for the view alone. Holy cripes. The canyon was less than 50 yards from the back of our room. We reserved a "partial view" room and realized that the partial view was just because there is no way to see ALL of the canyon from one place. This was also one of the few rooms that had a back door right onto the canyon. The bad: There are no luggage carts. We keep kosher, so we had a kitchen with us. It was a lot of schlepping. Also, it was winter. Cold outside. We did not want our travel water to freeze in the car. We had to schlep that in too... 16 gallons plus 2.5 cases of water bottles. That is a lot. Thankfully, we were on the first floor. Otherwise, there would have been a lot more stairs involved. Parking is pretty tricky. They do not have enough spots for all of the cars there. The room was ok. Not great. Not bad. But waking up, opening the curtains and watching the sunrise while sipping a mimosa... That was phenomenal!

We're getting ready to check out soon, so I figured that I'd write a review while still being here! First off, this is a place in which you should NOT judge a book by its cover. Maybe it's because I'm spoiled from Las Vegas hotels... but from the outside, this place did not give off a warm cozy lodge feel like some of the other around. Once we checked in to our room though... GAME CHANGER! Totally nice and cozy seeming. The rooms have brick walls, so you're unlikely to hear your neighbors. There are also rooms with stellar grand canyon views.... I mean, extraordinarily stellar. The beds are super comfortable and everything appeared very clean. All the staff we have encountered have been extremely pleasant. I traveled with a group who had rented out the 2nd floor banquet room... all of the servers involved were super nice and attentive! Again, that view! If youare staying here and the 2nd floor banquet room is open, I highly suggest going up there to take a look at one of the best veiws!

Personally, I prefer to stay on the rim when visiting Grand Canyon. There are a number of hotels, lodges and cabins to choose from - but all are run by Xanterra, who runs them all with excellence. I previously stayed in one of the Bright Angel Cabins but since they're fairly hard to get - I settled for the Thunderbird Lodge. It's situated in a utilitarian building, reminiscent of a college dorm room. But don't let the looks fool you - the rooms are quality. New furnishings New comfortable beds and nice bedding A room safe Flat screen (don't expect a full cable tv channel selection) Mini refrigerator Kurig Coffee maker with a nice little selection of coffees New, spotless bathrooms Recycling bin in the room If you're visiting to enjoy the outdoors, Thunderbird will be more than comfortable to return to at the end of the day. As for noise, request a room facing the parking lot. If you need a view - you might have to deal with noise from people outside. However, since the lodge is pretty much on the edge of the rim, one can just walk outside to get the view... I addressed the noise issue because I feel it is important to be fair when reviewing - and the first review here knocked of 2 stars due to the noise, which in my opinion is somewhat ridiculous - because the hotel is on the rim of the Grand Canyon -one of the most popular tourist spots in the world and so noise is to be expected during tourist hours (basically daylight). Once night falls, it's silent. I would suggest to my fellow reviewer that if it's peace and quiet they want - then hike down to the river and spend the time there. It's plenty silent...

We stayed one night at Thunderbird Lodge room 6250 June of 2019, about $250 per night. Pros: Location was amazing. The hotel is within a stones throw from the rim. Service at check-in, located next door at the Bright Angel Lodge was great. Cons: Our room was located on the second floor, parking lot side close to what might be an HVAC unit for the building, which cycled off and on all day and night. We could stand in the bathroom and feel the vibrations from this thing running and you can definitely hear it in bed. We had the AC set at 70 and it could not maintain this temp. The smoke alarm had a blinking light which was like a strobe light in the dark, complete overkill. The two queen mattresses both sank in the middle and the pillows were super lumpy. There is no designated parking for hotel guests. You might need to wait until sunset when visitors leave to find better parking. Before arriving we had read reviews that the hotel resembled a college dorm. It certainly did but we stayed here solely for the location. We didn't need or expect luxury accommodations, but for $250 a night I have some basic expectations: clean quiet room with a functioning AC and a half decent bed. Definitely didn't get it. Our plan was to wake up for the sunrise, but after an awful night of listening to the mystery machine cycling on and off in a hot room on a saggy mattress we didn't bother. WARNING: If you stay at the Thunderbird don't stay in 6250. Ask to be relocated or a refund if you experience these issues.

When I checked in, I heard one of the desk clerks describe it to another person as overflow when Bright Angel is full. Great. But at over $200/night, it should no longer the an afterthought but a primary focus. Crappy wifi in the rooms? You need to work on that. Snarky check in staff who say scripted garbage like, "You're on the second floor, is that okay?" Garbage. This is code for no one or elevator is gonna help you with your $hit and we don't care if you're okay or not because we're full anyway. There's no other accommodations. The room is more than basic although a little dated. There's adequate outlets, a mini-fridge, A/C, a TV, clean, K cups in the morning... My issue is not with room but the unprofessional, condescending staff, namely Brylee, who seem unable to even check a bag. Xanterra, shame on you and train your staff for the money you charge.

Pros: It's right on the rim. Big plus. It's clean. Cleaning staff are great. Cons: No coffee pot or hot water for tea/coffee prep. No microwave. Tiny fridge. At the Fountain they gave me hot water, but reluctantly. When I asked to stow bags at the Bright Angel Lodge where you check in, they did so, but again, reluctantly. The Fountain had a 20 minute wait in the morning and was out of burritos and cinnamon rolls. The food truck nearby advertised veggie burgers but was out of those too. Got a beef burger and it was like what I got in elementary school but 8 times pricier. I get it, you're at the Canyon and it is remote and there's COVID but Xanterra can do much better. I realize my review is beyond just the lodge, but that's sort of my issue. The lodge is pretty much below a Super 8, and the surrounding "amenities" by the same company are poor. We went down to the market and deli by the Yavapai lodge and got sandwiches that were very good, much better than the food near Thunderbird. We didn't bother with El Tovar due to prices and crowds.

Right on the South Rim. It was great to be able to walk a few hundred yards to and from our dinner at El Tovar. The rooms are functional and quiet. My only complaint is parking can be a challenge. It would be nice if they reserved some parking spaces for hotel guests.

This lodge is really a cute lodge. You can't expect a grand hotel when you are coming to the Grand Canyon as it is a National Park. This lodge does have canyon views but the rooms book up very quickly. Beds are pretty comfortable and a total of 6 pillows on the bed ensure you are able to have one or two that are comfortable for you. Bathroom is a bathroom They do offer a Keurig 1 cup machine in room so you can have your morning coffee or tea. They also have a Kcup recycling bin.

Cool to stay at a lodge so close to the rim. Lodge was ok, had a strong smell of cleaning detergent though. Thin walls sadly, the family next door was kind of loud. Comfortable beds, clean. Staff was nice! All in all acceptable!