one star
The first time I went to the Grand Canyon was in 1997 with my husband. We reserved a room in the Bright Angel Lodge and looked forward to staying just steps from the rim. We knew it was a very basic hotel but our budget didn’t allow for a more expensive room. This was, of course, before widespread internet, Google reviews, and online reservations.
Many of the rooms at the lodge did not — and still do not — have private bathrooms, with guests sharing facilities in each hall. Luckily, we somehow managed to get a rare room with a private loo.
Okay, so that was a plus.
On the other hand, Y’ALL. Holy moly.
The lodge’s walls were — and still are — paper thin. You could hear everything. According to recent Google reviews, the walls are still paper thin. The lodge is rated one star.
During our stay, on one side of us was a group of female travelers who partied and laughed. All. Night. Long. All night. Every minute of the night. Until just before dawn, when they left to hike down into the canyon. They slammed their door loudly as they went.
On the other side — the wall that our bed was against — was a couple who were, ahem, amorous before going to sleep. They were, ahem, loudly affectionate with each other. And then apparently exhausted afterward because one of them snored. Loudly. All. Night. Long.
We got zero minutes of sleep until after dawn when we grabbed naps before our alarm went off.
We got up and groggily got dressed. Over breakfast, we decided that we would not be staying for our second night. We went for a nice hike that day, then left the park in search of another hotel, where we slept much, much, MUCH better that night.
For all our travels, we don’t always get things right. We once stayed in an Airbnb that was so filthy that we considered checking out, but we couldn’t find last-minute options for our family of four, so my husband and I gritted our teeth and cleaned. And of course, there’s the rustic houseboat that I cannot ever in good conscious recommend to anyone.
I mentioned recently that my husband and I are visiting a few national parks this fall. We have booked a room in Yellowstone for a couple of nights and you better believe I made sure this lodge has more than just one star. Three stars, y’all. That’s pretty posh by comparison.
Just in case, however, we’re packing earplugs.
Smart move! The Yellowstone lodge should be better but National park lodges are famously noisy. Glacier’s lodges are gorgeous but also noisy. My niece and MIL stayed this year at the Stanley Hotel near Rocky Mountain National Park because it’s where the movie the Shining was based on and they reported back that it was creepy but worth it.