Built in 1905 as a railroad hotel, El Tovar was designed by architect Charles Whittlesey as a blend between a Swiss chalet and the more rustic style that would come to define national park lodges in the 1920s. With its unusual spires and dark wood beams rising behind the Rim Trail, elegant El Tovar remains a grande dame of national park lodges.
The public spaces look much as they did when the lodge opened, and wide, inviting porches with rocking chairs offer travelers a comfortable and elegant place to relax after a long journey to the park. Moose and elk trophy heads, reproduction Remington bronzes and Craftsman-style furniture lend the interior a classic Western feel. The lodge sits about 100 yards from the rim, and though it’s thronged with tourists by day, the scene mellows considerably in the evening. The bench swing on the side porch is the best spot on the South Rim to relax with a cocktail and watch the comings and goings along the canyon rim.
