Travel
El Tovar hotel at Grand Canyon set for major renovations in 2017, will close temporarily
The El Tovar Hotel
(Photo from National Park Central Reservations website)
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz.—A landmark hotel at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon will close for a few months in 2017 for a major renovation.
Crews will replace carpet, paint guest rooms, upgrade electrical and plumbing systems, refinishing wood flooring and make other improvements at El Tovar. The work will last from January 2017 until mid-April that year during the slow season.
El Tovar opened in 1905 as tourism was expanding into the Southwest.
The hotel inspired by Swiss and Norwegian architecture is one of the oldest in the National Park Service system. It has 78 guest rooms.
Xanterra (zan-TAYR’-uh) Parks and Resorts operates the hotel under contract with the Park Service.
