Phantom Ranch — Hotel in Tuba City

I was very fortunate to receive a 2 night stay in the dorms as a gift. Didn’t research Phantom Ranch but assumed it couldn’t be too bad. If I had it to do over again I would’ve camped and used the mule service to pack down a tent. The dorms are so small. 5 bunk beds crammed into a tiny room with a toilet that will only flush if you dump a bucket of water into it. No big deal, except that in the middle of the night you are disturbing 9 others by taking a leak. Feel sorry if you have to get off the top bunk. The shower was small and dirty ( scorching hot though). But shared by potentially 10 different cultures, hygiene and sanitation dont mean the same thing to everyone. Still no big deal because what do you expect at the bottom of the Grand Canyon right. There are no camp fires or alcohol allowed. Besides a window of 8 to 10pm where you can buy a $7 beer and can’t take it outside of the cafeteria. Meanwhile dinner was over at 6ish so it’s dark and you can’t see your wife\gf because she’s busy fighting 9 other women in the woman’s bunk to try to take a shower, you try to stay awake for 2 hours while not sitting by a fire with a beer, so it’s basically lights out for half your dorm at 6:30 (I did go In january, might be different if there was still daylight after dinner.) So if you stay out until 10, when you return to your dorm, you’re waking up many other irritated people by coming in and trying to climb up your squeaky bunk bed or simply taking off your boots. My sheets were stained with urine and I watched staff turnover the bedding. Sheets are changed but the blankets remained. People just hiked down the canyon and some don’t shower and you’re basically sleeping in their filth. Still, what did I expect, I know. $50 steak and potatoes were filling and well cooked but they cram you in shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of strangers, and pride themselves for it being family style. 40 hungry people waiting on each other to pass the salad gets aggravating while you’re trying not to invade one another’s space. Meanwhile there was an open table and chairs not being used that could’ve given me a little room to not bump elbows while cutting my steak. Breakfast was either at 5 or 6:30 but don’t bother getting the late breakfast because half of your bunk will wake up at 4:30 for the early breakfast and lights are on, doors slamming to get buckets of water to flush the toilet. Eggs and bacon are cooked just fine but again, after sleeping with 9 strangers being woken up every 12 minutes by the old guy trying to get off the top bunk to pee, you don’t really want to deal with “family style” with a bunch of strangers. Obviously the days are awesome hiking the bottom of the canyon. The point of the review isn’t to take anything away from this place. I get it, amenities are hard to accommodate at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. But you can camp down there and not have to deal with the small crowded dorms. You can still buy the family style meals. You can still pay for mules to pack down some gear. Save yourself the money and stay out of the dorms. I believe there are a few cabins that if you’re lucky enough to get drawn to stay in, I’m sure I would’ve been more impressed. I guess I’m not a people person and I’m not usually a germophobe but the shower and bedding were subpar. Everything else was wonderful. Obviously hiking the canyon is what you’re here for, but don’t get too excited about getting drawn to stay in the dorms at phantom ranch. The staff is nice and helpful. This review is strictly about the accommodations which I naievly over estimated because of the modern luxuries I take for granted when staying anywhere else. Yes this is first world problems and I am a...

First of all, 5 stars to the actual Phantom Ranch camp, Canteen, and staff! The cabin was adorable and complete with your own toilet and sink, the food was decent, and the staff was very friendly and hospitable.

That being said, I was very unimpressed with the lack of information available to prepare for your trek to the Phantom Ranch. You can’t call the people who actually work/live at the Phantom Ranch- you can only talk to the reservations employees. There’s a phone number you can call to book the reservation, and there’s a separate number for confirming your reservation two days in advance. I called these numbers at least ten times in the weeks leading up to my trip with questions as I was preparing, and despite having talked to multiple different people, no one seemed to have any answers. I’d have to push them to maybe put me on hold and find out instead of just taking their response of “I don’t know.” Oftentimes the answer was “you’ll have to ask them when you get there.” I can understand that people taking reservations wouldn’t know everything, but given that people literally die in the heat of the inner rim, it would be nice if there was a way to get these questions answered ahead of time.

Having now travelled to Phantom Ranch and back, here are the things you should know.

The cabins are great! Air conditioning works well, and each room has a toilet and sink. Showers are communal and located near the canteen. Beds were far more comfortable than expected, especially after a grueling hike. Duffel service via mule is nice, but make sure you understand the booking! We assumed one duffel per person came with our reservation. Turns out, each bag needs a separate itinerary number, so we had to combine two bags into one and leave items behind. Also, it might not be worth paying for a return mule—our return bag was mostly dirty clothes. $90 to save a few pounds didn’t feel totally worth it. Cold storage tip: Have them put a note on your duffel to refrigerate it. I sent down frozen Gatorade and it was still cold enough the next morning for the hike back up. Skip the sack lunch. At $35, it’s just a collection of canteen snacks (frozen bagel with PB&J, apple, peanuts, jerky, etc.). You could easily assemble the same for half the cost, and better tailored to your preferences. Their “early” breakfast is too late. The inner canyon temperatures are high enough that rangers panic and scare you and make you think you’re going to die if you leave the Phantom Ranch later than 4 AM, yet the earliest you can get breakfast is 5 AM. So skip paying for breakfast if you need to leave earlier than that. Dinner was decent. We had the steak dinner at 5 PM (family-style). It was nice to chat with other hikers and swap advice. They also offer stew at 6:30 PM. Plan your downtime. We arrived by 8:45 AM but couldn’t check in until 11:30. It was over 100°F by then, and though we considered hiking to Ribbon Falls, it’s 13 miles round trip, and we didn’t want to over do it. We cooled off in the creek and relaxed in the canteen instead. Next time, we’d stay two nights—hike down day one, visit Ribbon Falls day two, hike out day three. The lemonade is touted as legendary—but it’s just Minute Maid. 😂 Don’t get me wrong, the first ~$16 spent on lemonade were worth it! First cup is $6.75, but you get $1 refills if you keep the cup.

Despite the lack of accessible prep info, Phantom Ranch is an unforgettable experience. The rustic charm, the oasis-like setting, and the hardworking, kind staff made it special. Just go in as prepared as you can—and hopefully this review helps fill...

Going to the bottom of the Grand Canyon was not on our bucket list, but it is now as a completed trip. We lucked into 2 slots for a mule ride to Phantom Ranch and we grabbed it. We changed our plans from going to Yellowstone to building an itinerary around the mule ride to visit Sedona/Grand Canyon/Antelope Valley/Las Vegas.||The mule ride was easier than expected for me but not for my wife. We are both 67 years old, in good health. We don’t put ourselves in the “fit” category. We do walk daily for an hour or so, and go to the gym 3-4 days a week focussing on resistance training. I’m sharing this to put my comments about easier than expected, in context. ||We rode mules Page and Payson. The saddle was reasonably comfortable. But since we had no experience riding horses, sitting on the mules took some time getting used to. My biggest issues was the direction of my feet in the stirrups - my ankles hurt. I felt better after about 30 minutes on the mule. I would get intermittent ache in my knees. Stretching my legs with my feet in the stirrups would provide some relief. When we stopped for a break at Indian Gardens after about 2 hours, I was surprised to be still feeling good upon disembarking the mule. It felt good walking and I felt normal after about 5 minutes. It took longer for my wife. Her ankle and knee aches got better but not completely unlike mine. For me, the ankle ache, however, returned when I got up on the mule again. This time too it lasted for about 30 minutes. ||We were 6 riders in the group. The Bright Angel trail is dusty, rocky and fairly narrow at points, with lots of switchbacks. Our two guides (ranchers) - one in the front, one in the back, gave good commentary and would frequently ask everyone how they were doing, and if we needed anything. Throughout the journey, I felt very safe and felt comfortable enough to take a few videos on the iPhone. The total journey lasted about 5-5.5 hours. I was tired by the time we reached Phantom Ranch.||I would rate our cabin “good” considering where it is located. The cabin was air-conditioned and had running cold water, with a bathroom but no shower/tub. The showers are communal, a short distance from the cabins, and had running hot and cold water.||The steak dinner and the breakfast were good, with plenty of sides. Other than the steak, it was all you can eat - bread, salad, baked potato with all the fixings and bbq’d veggies, and dessert.||My wife is still talking to me. Translated, it means she had a good time too despite all the pains and aches...