OK, so let’s discuss the good the bad and the ugly of the Grand Canyon west. We also visited the south rim as well so we are using that experience as A comparison.
We actually stayed a night in the cabin at the Grand Canyon west. We arrived in the early afternoon and checked in. You do get one free admission, which does not include the skywalk. you have to purchase additional admissions as well as the skywalk. We went ahead and purchased the skywalk admissions as well.
We drove to the entrance where are you have to hop on a bus to get to the actual rim. There is no parking and the ability to walk to the rim from here. You have to use the bus. On the south rim, it is much easier to get to. The south rim other than the entrance fee for the car is free.
We hopped on the bus to go to the first stop which is where the skywalk was. The skywalk was closed and we were not able to get on I believe due to weather storms that were coming in. we went upstairs to grab a bite to eat which is very limited. I repeat very limited. If you were thinking of getting a good meal there, forget about it. Bring your own food. Also, it is only open until about 530 (last bus)after which there is nothing to do once it closes.
The skywalk although we did not go on it we found to be very uneventful. We hopped on the bus to go to the second stop. This stop we found much more attractive.
The views are great, and we also climb the rocks up to the top which gives you a great View down to the river below.
This is the best part of the tour. If you do anything hop on the bus, skip the first stop and continue to the second one.
After we finished the tour, we went back to the cabin. There is nothing to do there except a trail that you can walk on. There is no food there, the cabins have no TV, but they do have a microwave and surprisingly a magnifying make up mirror. There were also a few flies in the room. We were thinking of leaving but when we inquired, both roads to leave were shut off due to some prior rains. We were unable to leave, trapped, like the twilight zone.
Because your away from most everything the views would normally be great to look at the sky, however if the cabins next to you keep their light on it kind of destroys the experience. You would have to take a little walk away from everything to get away from the light.
Once asleep, we did sleep well.
The next day we woke up early and did a hike which is 1 1/2 miles to the end of the trail. It was a nice view at the end but not the greatest hike. But, that’s all we had to work with.
After we got back we showered and checked out.
If you have the time, I would recommend taking the trip to the south rim which is much more enjoyable, the views are better, the value is much greater. If you are short on time, just go for the basic entrance fee and enjoy the second stop.