This is a brief review of Bright Angel Lodge at Grand Canyon. The good, the bad, and the room tour.

Bright Angel Lodge is one of my two favorite places to stay on the South Rim, but only in a particular type of room. We’ll get to that in a minute.

Bright Angel Lodge opened in 1935 as a less expensive option to El Tovar Hotel and it remains that to this day.

It was designed by Mary Colter, a woman working in a field dominated by men, who was well ahead of her time. Her style of buildings inspired the “Parkitecture” style that dominates the National Parks today.

The Lodge is on the National Register of Historic Places and maintains much of the character and style it had when it opened.

The greatest advantage of Bright Angel Lodge is the location–right on the rim of the Canyon. Some of the rooms have a direct view, and all of them are only a minute or so from the rim trail and Bright Angel Trail.

The good:

• Least expensive rooms on the rim
• Interesting historical style (cute)
• Crowded by convenient parking
• Steps to Bright Angel Trail
• Near restaurants and attractions

The bad:

• Noise, noise, noise
• No air conditioning
• Only one full-size bed
• Limited floor space, small bathrooms
• Busy area

The Lodge has rooms that are as cheap as $136 a night. That is initially attractive, but I would not stay in one. They have no baths, poor ventilation, in fact they smell bad, and they are incredibly loud, especially if you are near a building door. From my perspective, the savings are not worth losing a good night’s sleep.

Partial rim view rooms seem attractive at $270 a night. However, the majority have a boardwalk out back which is attached to the floor joists in your room. Every bouncing teen and every roller suitcase will reverberate through your room. A few partial view rooms are removed from the boardwalk, and we will tour those at the end of this video, but they are still loud.

Partial rim view rooms with a fireplace are a treat, but are hard to get.

The best room, and the one I choose, is the historic cabin, at $233 a night.