I just had an outstanding experience at Zion Lodge. I thoroughly enjoyed the one hour open-air tram tour through Zion Canyon led by Chris!
I have been an international tour director for about a decade, taking groups on tours all over the world. I have been on many tours with guides via tram, boat, bus etc. also having step-on guides that we hired to come aboard our bus to provide a local tour.
Part of my professional duties was to make sure they performed up to our high standards and to report back to the home office when guides exceeded or failed to meet our expectations.
Chris was OUTSTANDING in every way! His knowledge of the park's geology, botany, history, wildlife, and more was superb. His delivery of the information presented was a perfect blend of factual knowledge presented informatively, along with his own perfectly presented humor that kept all riders fully engaged.
His driving skills focused on safety and comfort, and his hospitality and gracefulness to all customers was truly commendable.
The lodge itself was excellent as well!
Staying at the Lodge in Zion National Park is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made!
To start, the views were absolutely stunning. We had two rooms for two nights, one in a cabin and another in the actual lodge. The view from both of these rooms were worth the money already. Our group had never stayed in a National Park before, but now we are definitely interested in staying in other National Parks.
Moreover, the Lodge is an incredible location. Out of the 9 stops on routes, it’s in the middle at stop 5. The best part was avoiding the morning rush to key places like Angels Landing. Our group did this hike on a weekday and left shortly after six in the morning and walked to the hike, we didn’t see or interact with anyone until we were through a good part of the hike, in the section where chains are needed! On the way down, we noticed how busy the hike was so this was definitely another big plus.
You can drive your vehicle to the Lodge when the shuttle is running, but not any further. This includes the Court of the Patriarch, which regular vehicles are unable to reach.
I would definitely recommend the Zion Lodge!
Stayed in a cabin that had been renovated to somewhat modern standards. Nice. Met all expectations if you have been to other national park hotels. Great location. One thing I came across…several employees told me how slow it was. And to them I replied, “$450 a night for very spartan accommodations is why. You are pricing people out.” If you are national park person, this is worth 1-2 nights. If you have kids, right outside the gate is a plethora of modern hotels with pools at a cheaper price point.
Great lodge! It's expensive, but it's in the middle of the park, so you save lots of shuttle time. The food at the restaurant is amazing! The deli has lots of great grab and go stuff. The beer garden has a shockingly number of beers. A group of deer and turkeys call the area in front home. And one of the prettiest hikes (lower emerald pool) is right across the street and only a half mile hike. You can see Angel's landing from the lodge and the trailhead is the next stop on the shuttle.
The biggest pro is the location of the lodge. It is great if you want to hike a lot of trails without waiting in the shuttle line at the visitor center. We stayed a week in a cabin and had plenty of time to see it all, when the park was not busy. Staff was nice and friendly with plenty of info on how to find our cabin. The cabin overall was rustic themed, but the furniture appeared very used. Rustic decor is fine, but things should be clean. With wood floors, I wish they included a broom. It was very dusty everywhere, especially the ceiling and ceiling fan. In traditional cabin experiences, there were a few spiders guarding the bathtub, and other bugs here and there. I'd reccomend checking for them before getting comfortable. Beds are small and do not fit two adults. Thankfully there was wifi, as the canyon has no cell service. It also feels really safe, the entrance has a keypad so only shuttles and guests at the lodge can get by. Most visitors stay near the shuttle, gift shop and common grassy area. The lodge and cabin area is very quiet so that was a plus. For a similar price, you could probably stay somewhere in Springdale that was much cleaner, but have to fight the crowds.
