Holiday Inn Canyon De Chelly by IHG

A clean, friendly, affordable place to stay while visiting the canyon. I didn't try the food, so I can't comment on that. Restaurant hours are limited, and there aren't many other places to eat in town, so plan ahead.

The location right at the canyon entrance was good, and the room was spacious with a comfortable bed. The breakfast felt disappointing for the price. I also found it annoying that there was nowhere to refill drinking water, especially since ChatGPT had suggested filtering the water instead of drinking the tap water in this city. 🤦‍♂️

The property itself was beautiful. The lobby was clean, and our room was amazing, neat, and smelled fresh. The grounds were lovely too. Our first night in Chinle was at the local campground; after talking with locals, my girlfriends and I chose Holiday Inn for the next night, hoping for a big comfortable bed and a hot shower. The stay started off well. Dinner was a very different experience. The hostess never introduced herself, and when we arrived, we weren't greeted. We also didn't realize there was a couple ahead of us. She came back to tell them there'd be a very long wait, then seated them and returned to us. When I asked how long we'd wait, she ignored me. My girlfriends and I sat there for a long time while she gave death stares to us and anyone who needed something or even glanced her way. It felt cold, ugly, and very unwelcoming. The only person who acknowledged us and smiled was a young man wearing a black hat. Another staff member later told me his name was Dwayne. I've let a few days pass so I could gather my thoughts and not write while so bothered. The staff experience didn't live up to the beauty of the place.

The room was clean and quiet, and otherwise I'd recommend the hotel. But we'd booked a double room with pool access expecting a first-floor room, and the only one available when we arrived was upstairs. There was no elevator, so I had to carry all our bags up and down the stairs. We arrived a little after 8 p.m. after a full day of travel, expecting to eat at the onsite restaurant. Its website hours and online menu both said it closed at 9, but we were told it had closed at 8 and had to scramble to find another place to eat. They should update the posted hours.