Our group of 5 stayed here....after a week of backpacking in the Grand Canyon. We had planned to camp our final night near the South Rim, but it was a *long* day of hiking out of the canyon. And I think we were all ready to hit up a motel for a clean shower and not get all our tents out again.
The hotels near the Canyon are all expensive, so we decided to take the extra hour or so to head back to Williams. I remembered from Expedia that the rooms at the big chain hotels/motels were a bit pricey, so basically we just all decided to crash at the first 'cheap' looking mom-and-pop motel we came to in town. And that landed us at the El Rancho Motel.
After a 12-mile hiking day, I think we were all pretty exhausted. Originally I planned to get two rooms, but the attending lady in her nightcap said we could all 'cozy up' and stay in the 'suite' for 15 green backs less. I figured 'what the hay, I'll save 15 bucks." That still brought the total to 95 green backs, which was more than I wanted to hear....but at that point, we just wanted to crash....so we took it.
The room was very quite in a corner spot. A queen in the main room, and 2 doubles in the back. The main thing we wanted was a nice, hot shower. You never know about these motels....but I'm happy to report that we still had hot water by the end of the 5th shower. Actually, if you've stayed in a lot of 'cheap' motels, it's often the bathroom that's the nastiest part of the room....but in our case, I think the bathroom was probably the *nicest* part of the suite!! Ample water pressure too! About the only thing I could complain about were the towels -- not very big and a bit coarse.
We probably aren't the best to comment on the beds, after coming out of the Grand Canyon backcountry. I think we were all so ready to crash that we didn't even notice whether the beds were comfy or not. We all showered...and then crashed faster than Lindsey Lohan in drug rehab!
Weather was not very hot for an early September, but the two A/C's in both our rooms were more than ample at keeping us cool for the night. After 108 degree days in the Canyon, we were happy to have some blasting A/C!
Check in and out were fast. The attendant was willing to extend our check out to noon since we got in a little late....but we were ready to get on the road and hit up a casino buffet in Nevada on the way home!
If I were traveling with the wife and kids, I'd probably be more apt to hit up a name-brand motel (like Motel6 or Days Inn) if I wanted something budget-minded. But sometimes you just gotta stay in one of these no-name, non-chain places....just for the adventure of it.
Yeah, yeah....the pool is outta commission still. But how many people stay at a hotel like this and actually *use* the pool? My point exactly! So I won't ding them a star for that.
My only real gripe is that the room was probably not worth 95 green backs, especially on a Thursday night. Travelers to and from the Grand Canyon would probably be better off stopping in Kingman, AZ (2 hrs West) or Flagstaff (45 min. East). Your dollars will stretch farther in those cities. We stayed in Kingman on the way in, and got two rooms at a Days Inn for $38/each. Very good deal! Unfortunately, it was just too late to head back there....so we were sort of forced to crash in Williams instead.
As long as you aren't expecting something super nice, I'd say "it is what it is" -- a budget lodge for passers through. Maybe a bit more expensive than I would have liked to pay....but no big complaints otherwise.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
