I always do a lot of research when we take trips because I want to know that we will be resting our heads in a nice place. TripAdvisor is usually a good place to start but many people only bother to write bad reviews, as is human nature. All the places we booked for our recent trip had more good reviews than bad, and since we stay at hotels enough, I’ve decided to start chipping in my two cents.
During this trip we stayed in five different hotels/B&Bs, a different place for every night. While I was admittedly tired of living out of my suitcase, all were satisfactory to great. It pays to do research!
Thursday night—Best Western Travel Inn (St. George, UT)
Your typical Best Western hotel but with a friendly host who recommended a wonderful restaurant nearby and the biggest TV I’ve ever seen in a hotel room (eric notes: a 36″ plasma). Located within walking distance of over a dozen restaurants. Breakfast was just okay but the room was quiet and we had no trouble parking. ($60, breakfast included)
Friday night—Bryce Trails B&B (Tropic, UT)
This was the most expensive place we stayed, but the room (Bristle Cone Pine) was large and the breakfast was fabulous. Plenty of breakfast selections, good coffee, and a delicious casserole. Great setting, very quiet and very scenic. Our host, Shaunna, even stayed up to check us in at 9pm. ($118, breakfast included)
Saturday night—Arrowhead Country Inn (Mt. Carmel, UT)
Wow. This place was fantastic. We arrived at the same time as a bunch of other folks and there was a mix-up in our room which turned out to be in our favor. We were upgraded to a ground-level room with a in-suite bath because the owner had tweaked her knee and couldn’t climb stairs very well to clean the basement level rooms. (We hope Jane is feeling better by now.) We were exhausted after two full days of hiking, so we just had dinner at the Inn and it was great, BBQ ribs for me and Southwest Chicken Cordon Bleu (pepperjack cheese and raspberry chipotle, yum!) for Eric. They didn’t have a liquor license anymore (the rules are very strict in Utah), so the host just gave me a bottle of his own beer to have with my meal (thanks, Darren!). We also enjoyed the outdoor hot tub before retiring for the night. Our breakfast of blueberry pancakes, sausage, and fresh fruit was just the start we needed to hike in the Grand Canyon. The only downside is that our room (Morning Glory) was right next to the dining room and there was a large (rather loud) party that closed the place down. ($88, breakfast included)
Sunday night—Cliff Dwellers Lodge (Marble Canyon, AZ)
This place is in the middle of nowhere, situated right at the base of the Vermillion Cliffs near Marble Canyon, AZ. Dinner here was great, I had the Angler steak and cheese sandwich and Eric had a turkey sandwich, both on ciabatta bread. The room was large and clean, but showed clear signs of wear and tear. The setting was nearly pitch-black at night and very quiet. Unfortunately, breakfast was a let-down. Service took a while and the food was barely worth eating when it arrived, very disappointing especially after the good dinner. ($84)
Monday night—Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas, NV)
We weren’t expecting much from this place and it lived up to our low expectations. It was (by far) the cheapest hotel room on The Strip and, consequently, we spent most of our time at the Bellagio and Paris just down the street. We had one of the newly remodeled rooms but the tub and shower still looked old. Our view was of the interior of the hotel but you could see Bellagio and Caesar’s Palace to the left. The casino itself is dark and awful to navigate through. It took about 30 minutes to check into our room which I hear is rather short on average for this place. There were two huge conventions in town, so our timing was bad for affordable places to stay; I wouldn’t stay here again. ($72)
(prices include taxes)