The Grand Canyon is an incredible sight, and the West Rim has phenomenol views, but it is a bare-bones operation designed to eke out as much revenue as possible. If you go in expecting Disney or National Park Service, you are to feel underwhelmed and ripped off. You might feel ripped off anyway, but given our country's history with Native Americans and their lands, I can't really begrudge the Hualapai milking theirs for all its worth. Below are more details about the experience.
1. GETTING THERE: We rented a car and drove from Las Vegas, the trip is a little over two hours each way. It's a beautiful drive-- Boulder Canyon and many other gorgeous mountain views, and "forests" of Joshua trees nearer the reservation. It is however a drive through a whole lot of nothing. Once you get out of Vegas, services are sparse, and once you leave Highway 93 they are nigh nonexistant. Plan your gas tank, stomach, and bladder accordingly.
2. ARRIVING THERE: You end up in a barren muddy parking lot with helicopters on one side and small planes on the other. When we got there the line to get tickets was huge, extending a long way out of the building in largely uncovered space. There are porta-potties available there, but they were nasty and out of toilet paper, soap, and water. There are real bathrooms inside the ticketing/gift store "building," so hold out for those if you can.
3. BUYING TICKETS: When you get inside the "building" (more of a large tent structure), there is a modern ticketing counter, gift shop, and real bathrooms. There are a number of ticket packages. The base ticket price that I saw online was $45, but at the counter it was $55-- that migh have been the difference in walk-in vs buying ahead, or it might have been a jacked-up holiday price (we were there right before New Year's). I am suspicious of the latter, as it looked like the higher price had been taped over something else. You could upgrade to a ticket that included the skywalk for $25 more ($5 savings off price I saw online), and/or add a meal on for another $14 (they were $17 to just walk up and buy). There were some other packages that included tours (helicopter, boat, etc) but we didn't have time for that so I didn't evaluate them.
4. FIRST STOP: Once you have your ticket, you line up to board a shuttle bus. It's only 5-10 ride between stops, on private land, so don't be afraid to pile on in for standing room only. The first stop is Eagle Point, where the skywalk is. There is also the gorgeous canyon right in front of you to look at, but views are better from the next stop (Guano Point). We didn't do the skywalk-- in addition to the extra $25-30 to go out on it, you have to buy any pictures you want of your experience-- they don't let you bring phones or anything else. There are supposedly lockers to put your stuff in, no idea how large, how secure, or how costly those might be. There is also a picnic area (some covered, some not), a cafe I didn't go into, and an amphitheater of unknown purpose. There were probably real bathrooms inside there somewhere but I didn't enter to know for sure.
5. SECOND STOP: The second stop is Guano point, with much more extensive viewing. The bus ride alone has canyon on either side and is worth paying attention to. Be sure to walk see both sides of the point-- either walking out to the end of just walking across to the far side. The view is spectacular in different ways from one side to the other, with the river being visible on the far side. The far end of the point also has the remnants of the old guano mine tram gantry, and some high rocks you can climb up on if you're feeling brave and want to feel like the king of the mountain. Again, though-- this isn't Disney. There is uneven ground and no safety rails, and no climbing path up the rocks. Unlike Eagle Point, Guano Point didn't even have rangers yelling at you to stay 5 feet from the edge. It does have another cafe, a picnic area with a covered portion, and real bathrooms.
6. EATING THERE: The only cafe options at Guano Point was their $17 meal and drinks (soda was another $4). I am guessing that Eagle Point had the same set-up but didn't see it to know for sure. The meal was real food-- there was the choice of roast chicken, pot roast, or a vegetarian Indian rice dish (as in, from India, not Native American), and each choice came with two sides, a bread product, and a salad. We ended up with the chicken dish to share to hold us over, and it was actually quite good. Given the long drive and sparsity of other option, adding on a meal voucher to your ticket is not a bad idea. That, or bring your own. Or live off the candy bar options in the gift shop (there were also drinks for sale there.)