USPL Reviews Provided by
The View Hotel
Great views but high prices
User:
HappyGringoTeam from: Quito, Ecuador
Published Date: Oct, 28, 2024 Travel Date: Oct, 1, 2024 Rating: 3 I enjoyed my stay at The View but, honestly, it is very pricey for what it is.
What was good - well, the obvious, the views from the room balcony are amazing day and night, plus you are so close to see Monument Valley at sunset and sunrise which is so worth it! The room was comfortable and fine.
The bad - there is only one restaurant on site, which does not take reservations and had a long wait list to be seated - that was pretty frustrating. The food also was nothing special.
Extra Note - there is no alcohol sold here as you are on the Navajo Reservation. It's kind of a shame as a glass of wine with those views would have been nice, but I do appreciate the reasons for this rule.
Would I stay here again? Probably not to be honest ... I think there are better value hotels outside of the reservation.
Fantastic View at The View - your Dollars make you "Welcome"
User:
Steve T from:
Published Date: Oct, 24, 2024 Travel Date: Oct, 1, 2024 Rating: 4 Definitely book The View Hotel for your stay in Monument Valley. Here is why:
SUMMARY: The view is unsurpassed, the rooms spacious and comfortable, and the breakfast is quite adequate. You are an outsider to the Navajo Nation, but your credit card makes you “welcome”.
THE VIEW: Every room in the main hotel has a balcony that overlooks the famous buttes/monuments and is very close to them. By comparison, Goulding’s is nice, but much farther away from these particular buttes (though it is in the shadow of its own massive mesa/monument, so it excels in its own way). The View however has the far superior “view”. VIEW FROM ROOM RATING: 5 out of 5
GUEST ROOMS: Our bathroom was spacious, with an actual tub (good for after being thrown to the ground off a horse), and a decent fan to remove shower steam, etc. As a comparison, we also peeked inside Goulding’s rooms (for some reason they leave the windows and doors wide open on unoccupied Goulding’s rooms – airing them out for some unknown reason???) and by comparison, The View rooms are 2 to 3 times the size of the tiny Goulding’s rooms. Also, every room at The View has its own private balcony. Private in that it’s sided by thick high walls, it would take effort for anyone to try and peek around at your balcony. ROOM RATING: 5 out of 5.
CLEANLINESS: Superb. While we were checking out, I was curious about the overlapping layout of the bathrooms, and so peeked into the empty room adjacent to us. I was surprised and yet delighted to see that the maid had disassembled the coffee maker for cleaning, and it was drying on the clean bathroom marble counter. Very impressive. The restaurant for a complimentary breakfast was also spotless. Being the first to pour milk on my cereal from the brim-filled 2% pitcher, the milk sloshed and made a puddle. I pointed it out with an apology to the employee, who silently and stone-facedly immediately cleaned it up. This illustrates the cleanliness we experienced. CLEAN RATING: 5 out of 5.
NOISE: Typical hotel construction without any sound dampening in the floors. Person in room above us probably felt that they were walking normally, but to us it was the sound of an elephant stamping. There are signs saying “Quiet Time is 10:00pm to 7:00am” NOISE RATING: 4
FRIENDLINESS: Okay, this is the Navajo Nation. Visiting is a privilege, and it’s made obvious by the typical Navajo “stoicisim” (easily misidentified as “rudeness” by non-Navajo visitors). The basic principle seems to be: “You as a person are not welcome. The money on your credit card is welcome. Thus we allow you as the card-carrier to enter our Tribal Park”. To illustrate the difference:
If this were an Outside-the-Nation gift shop: “Hello! Welcome in!”
Here in The View Gift Shop: two women behind the counter staring at you silently with arms folded.
If this were an Outside-the-Nation breakfast buffet: (after a guest spills milk from the filled-to-the-brim pitcher) “that’s okay, I’ll get it”
Here in The View buffet: Stone-faced silence and lack of acknowledgement, followed by wiping up the milk.
So with the general principle being illustrated above, we must admit the Navajo employees we encountered were easily cracked by a smile and sincere words of appreciation. It’s not really “rudeness” it’s just the Navajo way with outsiders. FRIENDLINESS RATING: 2
GIFT SHOP: So here is where your heart may be touched. True, the native-made items (bowls, art, jewelry) are marketed in the typical insulting tourist manner (high tag price, but “40% off!”). However, once an outsider shows genuine interest in an actual purchase, the magic of “funds on the credit card” will lighten the mood. My wife had her two unused “10% off per day” coupons from the front desk, received upon check-in. The sales lady not only knocked off the 40%, but also the 10% from one of the coupons, and then continued to knock off another 10% from the 2nd coupon, despite it being the same day. This was touching. GIFT SHOP RATING: 4
BREAKFAST INCLUDED: Pretty basic “free breakfast” fare, with a few key ingredients missing. We had sausages, hardboiled eggs, pancakes, raisin bran/corn flakes/rice crispies. Orange juice and coffee. MISSING: scrambled eggs and bacon. It seems that anything that needs “cooking” is missing, just stuff that can be heated from frozen (sausages). Perhaps the “pancakes” are produced by a machine in the back? Basic stuff, it’s all you need. THROWBACK: juice cups are in the most flimsy clear plastic cups you can imagine. Coffee cups are made of the now politically-incorrect white Styrofoam, which has a certain 1960’s throwback charm to it, if you have the right attitude. “Silverware” consists of packets of thin white plastic utensils. INCLUDED BREAKFAST RATING: 3
SUMMARY: Book your stay at The View, as opposed to Goulding’s. The people are no friendlier at Goulding’s, you get your best experience at The View.
Subratings:
- Rooms: 5
- Value: 5
- Sleep Quality: 5
- Location: 5
- Cleanliness: 5
- Service: 3
A Perfect Place to Stay in Monument Valley
User:
DougCalifornia from: San Francisco, California
Published Date: Oct, 24, 2024 Travel Date: Oct, 1, 2024 Rating: 5 From the outside the View Hotel does not show how wonderful it is inside. The lobby is colorfully decorated with Indigenous art work and rugs and there is soothing music playing, which makes one feel relaxed and happy. Our room was on the second floor with a balcony and view of the spectacular rock formations. There were two comfortable queen beds in the room along with a small refrigerator, microwave, and television. The room was very comfortable and it was a pleasure to sit on the balcony and look out at the wonderful scenery. Breakfast was provided, which included oatmeal, hard-boiled eggs, sausage, toast, various muffins, small yogurts, small fruit cups, fresh apples, juice and coffee. The breakfast was adequate, but not spectacular.
Subratings:
- Rooms: 5
- Value: 5
- Sleep Quality: 5
- Location: 5
- Cleanliness: 5
- Service: 5
Hospitality = 0
User:
Tom S from:
Trip Type: Couples
Published Date: Oct, 20, 2024 Travel Date: Oct, 1, 2024 Rating: 1 It’s the little things that matter. Hotel has cash only vending, with no way of getting cash at this hotel. I the front desk rudely told me to drive outside the park if I wanted cash. Hotel 6 would have been nicer. Come for the view, but I do not recommend staying here. Hospitality equals zero.
It's a monopoly - what can one expect?
User:
kikashi from: Manchester
Published Date: Oct, 20, 2024 Travel Date: Sep, 1, 2024 Rating: 2 There's probably not much point in reviewing this place, I have to concede. If you want to stay in the park (and you should; it's an amazing place), you have to stay here, however expensive it might be.They have a monopoly, and they know it. The staff are unsmiling, unwelcoming, minimally helpful.
The food in the restaurant can charitably be described as mediocre (my burger was dry and had every sign of having waiting under hot lights at the pass for some time) and the waitresses were slow and inattentive. Standing in a queue for nearly 15 minutes for the privilege of paying for the meal (it can't be put on the room check) was a novel experience. Breakfast is well up to the standard of any very cheap hotel.
The rooms are large and of course the views of the mittens and Merrick are fantastic.