Bates Motel.... Beware

My husband and I were doing a tour of Southern Utah and spite of all the bad ratings this hotel got we decided to stay anyway. I had no idea what I was getting into. After arrving at SLC airport at 8p we had a 5hr drive ahead of us to get to this hotel. Tired and cold (It was 40degrees out), we get to the hotel. As we drove in, my husband said not bad. It looked ok, I thought it wouldnt be so bad after all. I ran to the main office to find my name on a envelope and inside was my key. How crazy to leave a key in a envelope for anyone to grab and next to it was a neon sign reading Vacancy. Anyone from the road could of taken an envelope and checked out without the owners ever knowing, "free room anyone"? Ok so to say the least, we try to find out room. We thought we were getting a room, to our shock we were in a room that looked like it might of been a shed at one point. It was horrible, the room was cold, no heating except for a small , barely there heating unit that looked like it once caught on fire. Behind the shed, lay a propane tank of some sort. And next to the shed was Dirt bike rentals, how scary is that. We made the best of it, it was after all 230 in the morning. We killed a spider and found some little bugs in the room. The side table looked like it had blood stains. The room just smelled dirty, we were horrified. We had to walk with our socks because the floor was so filty looking. I will say I clutched my husband so tight becuase of the cold and I was just scared. This place is scarey. Don't attempt to stay here. We woke up in the morning and went to the front desk to ask for another room, the girl said she had several and I asked to see it. It was ok but still not great. When we said we wanted to switch she wanted to charge us $130 bucks. I almost lost it. I went on and on about the conditions of the other room. Sometimes when you stay at a reputable hotel and you are unsatisfied they will upgrade you or put you at a nice room with no charge, but they were out for the money. Luckily for us we were allowed to cancel our second night at no charge. The owner then came out and said they so called suites for $130 are there best. And what we stayed in was the economy cabin.. Boy is this far fetched from reality. For as cheap or nice it may look like, don't stay here. DONT!!!

Stay Away!

I have just returned from a three week tour of the South West with my three children. We stayed in eight different hotels and this was the worst by miles. We had a 'cottage' which looked promising from the outside but was hugely disappointing. The sheets on the fold-away were covered in blood and sheets on all beds were torn and tatty. When we complained we were given slightly cleaner tatty sheets but the beds were not remade. The whole place smelt awful. It is a pity that the Bryce Canyon area can't learn something from its nearby destination - Zion. Here the whole atmosphere was different. The Bryce Canyon Resort was a huge disappointment.

Worst place, don't go.

We and our friends checked into each of our rooms The towels were dirty and used one were hanging on the back of the bathroom door. We asked for new towels, which smelled. It was late and the desk clerk disappeared and we couldn't find anyone to tell that we were leaving as the bed linens were disgusting and stained and we couldn't sleep in the bed. We went to another motel down the road and explained to the clerk in the morning. We have since been billed for the room and the manager won't return our calls. It certainly is not a resort, not even a decent motel.

OK, but we probably wouldn't come back

As many other reviewers have said, this is definitely not a resort. We stayed in one of the "log cabin cottages", which were spacious but had some problems. The mattress on one of the queen-size beds had a box spring that was too small, making it impossible for two people to sleep on the bed. The management did turn the refrigerator on for us before we arrived, which is something most hotels don't bother to do. However, it wasn't a wonderful place as a whole. There was a noticeable shortage of amenities - the owners don't bother because they know that guests can go down the road to Ruby's for groceries, laundry, etc.

Great price, expect "motel"

Booked this place after noting online that others found Ruby's a bit crowded and noisy - boy was it ever! Bryce Canyon Resort is a motel with recently redone rooms, but still a motel. I've stayed in worse and better! They could do more to clean bathrooms (ick, hair in tub!) and make the outside a little more appealing. BUT... the price is great and the room is decent. If you want amusement, go around the corner to Ruby's for dinner. shopping, and horseback riding. GREAT horseback riding across the street from Ruby's with really genuine and caring (and handsome!) wrangler.

Be wary

This was the worst hotel I have ever stayed in. I walked in the room and walked right back out. We checked in to one of the newer rooms and it was still a disaster. There was dust on the floor and hair in the bathtub.

Unfortunatly, there are not many choices in Bryce. If you don't stay right in the park at the lodge, I would look into other options.

Not inspired to stay there again

My wife and I stayed at the Bryce Canyon Resort in October 2004. We paid $70 per night for a Standard room with 2 queen beds. The best feature of the hotel is the location, which is just 3 miles from the Bryce Canyon National Park entrance. It's also only 1 mile from Best Western Ruby's Inn which has a grocery store, gas station, Internet access, and other conveniences.

Despite the name, the hotel is not a "resort". The room provided very basic accommodations. The bathroom fixtures were older but clean and the bed was comfortable enough. The room itself was generally clean, although the carpeting could have used a good steam cleaning. Also, while trying to find an article of clothing I looked under the bed and discovered that area hadn't been vacuumed in a long while.

There were not many external noises that stayed outside the room. Our room was on the ground floor, and on the first night the room directly above us was occupied and we heard every footstep loud and clear. You may want to ask for a second floor room if you decide to stay there. Also the room did not have some simple amenities that you might expect even in a basic room, such as a coffee pot and hair dryer. Other rooms did include these items, so the fact that these items are considered upgrades gives you an idea as to how simple some of the rooms are. If these types of items are important to you, make sure you ask about them when booking the reservation.

The staff at the front desk was responsive enough. They were neither friendly nor unfriendly, they were in fact rather expressionless. This did not bother us at all since they did respond to our questions and requests satisfactorily.

Whatever you do, do NOT eat at the hotel restaurant. The food was barely edible, and the attitude of our server - who appeared to be some sort of manager - I can only describe as restrained contempt. It was the worst dining experience I've had in a long time and we couldn't get out of there fast enough. Also, when we booked the reservation I was told the hotel had a lounge, but when we attempted to get a pre dinner drink we were told that we had to also order food. I got the impression the "lounge" was not very welcoming to visitors. If you find yourself in a crunch for food, I'd recommend Ruby's Diner over the hotel restaurant. Although this is a counter order establishment, the food quality was several orders of magnitude better than the Bryce Canyon Resort restaurant. For a sit down meal, the only other place we ate was the Bryce Canyon Lodge restaurant which was very good. That does require a reservation for dinner.

When researching the hotels near Bryce for our stay, my primary focus was a location close to the park. Bryce Canyon Lodge - the only hotel inside the park - was my first choice but it did not have availability. I found that the rest of the offerings close to the park were all motel-style, basic type accommodations. I then narrowed the choices down to Best Western Ruby's Inn, Bryce View Lodge (across the street from Ruby's Inn) and Bryce Canyon Resort. Best Western Ruby's Inn had the most amenities by far and also the highest recommendations, but I thought with all the amenities they offered it might be a little too busy for our taste, so I went for what I thought would be the quieter choice with Bryce Canyon Resort.

Although our experience at Bryce Canyon Resort was not unsatisfactory in any aspect except for the restaurant, if I had to do it again, I would choose Best Western Ruby's Inn over Bryce Canyon Resort. We did not find Ruby's to be too busy when we went there for food and groceries, and as I mention they have the most amenities and best recommendations.

Kind of a dump

We booked what they laughingly call the Fireplace Suite. Although the place is relatively clean it's pretty shabby and the carpeting was damp. Our so called suite did have a fireplace, but suite is a stretch and calling themselves a resort is even more so.

You can't beat the scenery though.

Best place near the Canyon

Though it's not much of a "resort" yet (the owners have big plans), this is a much better choice than the overcrowded Ruby's down the road. Our newly remodeled room was good-sized, with the best lighting I've ever seen in a motel. Nice staff, comfortable beds, clean, quiet room, and the restaurant was very good (nothing fancy--try the Mexican dishes) and serves alcohol. Don't miss the ATV tour of nearby Red Canyon--the highlight of our trip! A good value in an area short on places to stay.

Not much of a resort...

The Bryce Canyon Resort was a 1960 hotel. The room was clean and good size, and there is a pool in the parking lot. The name is misleading as there is nothing remotely resort-like about the property. There are only two restaurants in the vicinity and only one serves alcohol. The proximity to the park is excellent and the manager was helpful and friendly.