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The huge increase in visitors to National Parks the last few years should have Department of Interior leaders thinking about the next generation of accommodations in addition to keeping the legacy properties up to snuff.
A landmark hotel at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon will close for a few months in 2017 for a major renovation.
Crews will replace carpet, paint guest rooms, upgrade electrical and plumbing systems, refinishing wood flooring and make other improvements at El Tovar. The work will last from January 2017 until mid-April that year during the slow season.
El Tovar opened in 1905 as tourism was expanding into the Southwest. The hotel inspired by Swiss and Norwegian architecture is one of the oldest in the National Park Service system. It has 78 guest rooms.
Xanterra (zan-TAYR’-uh) Parks and Resorts operates the hotel under contract with the Park Service.
This article was from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
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Tags: grand canyon
Photo credit: El Tovar hotel, which opened in 1905, at the Grand Canyon, South Rim. Xanterra