The View Hotel

Rooms

The spacious rooms and cabins are decorated with locally-woven Navajo rugs and fabrics, and traditional artwork and dye charts that give an insight into Navajo culture. Each has a private eastern-facing balcony with sweeping views of the valley, a fridge, microwave TV and coffee maker. The StarView rooms on the top floor match daytime views with a panorama of the open skies by night from the open balconies. For more privacy and seclusion the hotel also has a selection of freestanding cabins that feature Old West decor and can accommodate up to six guests.

Location

The View Hotel is set in an isolated position in the Navajo Tribal Park in Monument Valley and offers sweeping views of the surrounding red-sand desert and dramatic rock formations.

Food and drink

The View Hotel's restaurant is unimpressive, and there are no real alternatives nearby. The service is hit-and-miss and the menu limited but the buffet breakfast is good with hot items such as pancakes, eggs or bacon available to order to your table. The large windows offer far-reaching views over the valley and the dinner menu offers Navajo inspired dishes such as fried cornbread, hot corn tortillas and green chilli or mutton stew alongside classic American favourites.

The View Express, adjacent to the restaurant, offers a variety of sandwiches, hot and cold food to take away as well as cold drinks and ice cream.

Families

The hotel cabins have a pull-out sofa bed allowing them to sleep up to six guests which makes them a good option for families.

Facilities and activities

The hotel has a small gym, Wi-Fi in the lobby and is home to the Monument Valley Trading Post, a well-stocked shop selling American Indian art, Navajo rugs, pottery, baskets and necklaces.

Environmental and social responsibility

The hotel conforms to admirable environmental standards with a focus on reduce, reuse and recycle.

Housekeeping staff use low water computer controlled washers, green laundry detergent, and biodegradable cleaning materials. Exterior lighting is provided by low wattage fixtures that conform to the Clear Skies Initiative and planting around the hotel includes native plants that need minimal amounts of water.

The restaurant menu includes food that has been grown without the application of pesticides or fertilisers and where possible, it is sourced locally to support the local economy and to reduce emissions in transportation. The hotel is also embarking on a programme to partner with a local Navajo high school to grow vegetables and herbs using composting and environmentally sensitive planting and harvesting.

Great thought was given to the design of the hotel building to ensure that it blended into the landscape of the red rock as well as to make it as environmentally friendly as possible. Low-flow water devices, extra insulation, double-glazed windows with energy efficient values and natural air flow were all considerations. For example, the west side of the building has extra insulation and limited window and door openings to ensure a sense of cool in the afternoon heat and the hotel roof is reflective to reduce the amount of heat absorbed.