This property is a lively mass-market hotel that proves a viable alternative to the relatively somnolent Bryce Canyon Lodge inside the park. It is one of the area's best bargains. Dating from the 1920s, this venerable institution is still run by descendants of founder Reuben "Ruby" Syrett, giving it a history and tradition rarely found in a Best Western. The approach here is to provide so many activities and so much entertainment that guests forget why they came here in the first place: to visit the national park.
Although there are no surprises in the accommodations, common areas are full of them. The main building displays lodge decor with a lofty ceiling and warm natural-pine accents. Trophy deer, bison, mountain lions and elk gaze through glass eyes at the throngs of tourists clustered around the massive stone fireplace.
The buffet restaurant and steak house serves an excellent breakfast; it is situated in the main lodge with an outdoor dining terrace. Its pricey lunch and dinner menus offer limited options. Buffets offer better value during the busy season, but long lines and waits are common. Service is abrupt because of the constant group traffic, but it is still carried out with a smile. In addition, a food court offers an array of fast-food selections.
Entertainment and recreational options keep guests in motion: rodeos, all-terrain vehicles, buggy and trail rides, chuck-wagon dinners, a petting zoo, lectures, square dancing, helicopter rides, indoor and outdoor pools and whirlpools, and miles of maintained ski trails.
An enormous, always busy general store adjoining the lobby offers regional art and trinkets, groceries and camping supplies. On the premises are conference facilities for 400 people, an RV park with a store, a mock Western town full of retail shops, and even a Utah State Liquor Store, which, in this part of the state, is about as rare as a Catholic cathedral. This well-equipped property also has 24-hour laundry facilities, a post office, a beauty salon, a gas station and ATM machines. Parking is free. Pets are permitted in one-third of the rooms.
The air-conditioned accommodation buildings dot grassy expanses by a small lake. Except for their paneled walls and free wireless Internet access, these large rooms 
are straight from the motel mold, with bland fabrics, worn furnishings, brass lamps and easy-to-clean laminate surfaces. King and queen beds face TVs, and basins are both in and outside combination baths. Hair dryers and coffeemakers are in all rooms. Suites have jetted tubs and king and queen sofa beds, and some provide kitchens. All rooms are smoke-free, and a battalion of housekeepers sweeps through daily.
Few guest rooms offer much of a view, yet this remote and unabashedly commercial property catering to groups and vacationing families is worth every dollar for its amiable staff and reasonable room rates. Those in search of more elan will do well at the newer and more intimate Desert Pearl.
