Glacier Park Lodge

Monday through Wednesday night we had reservations at Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier Park, MT.  The lodge is actually outside of the park and a stone's throw from the Amtrak station.  It was built by the railroad in 1903 and felt majestic and rustic at the same time.  The rooms were basic--no TVs or wireless here, which was perfectly fine by us--with smaller bathrooms and no elevator.  Remember, built at the base of mountains in the early 1900s.  It was perfect for our stay.

The lobby

Just because it was rustic did not mean it wasn't elegant.  The lobby was the most impressive of all the Glacier hotels we saw, and it was amazing how walking among the tall tree beams smelling the wood burning in the fireplace made you feel like this is exactly how it should be.  Each evening we headed down to the lobby and sat near the fire, reading and listening to whatever evening entertainment may have been provided. At night we slept with the windows open, loving the fresh cool mountain air.

The gardens in front of the hotel were also lovely, though it was clear it was nearing the end of the season.

 Our room had a balcony attached, and our view was pretty stunning.  We faced west and never really got a clear sunset, but it was still nice to sit on the deck and watch the sun slip behind the mountains.

 There were two restaurants, one more formal and one more bar-like (we also discovered on the last night that the bar had not one, but two TVs where we watched the Cowboys play while we ate), both of which had good food.  It was great to have good food so conveniently located!  There was also an activity desk where we could join tours; we had booked our red bus tour (more on that in the next post) in advance, but the staff at the desk were very helpful! There was also a nice gift shop.

 After our trip to Yellowstone we had decided we would like to stay in park hotels in the future, and though we could have found some cheaper accommodations, we were very happy with our stay in the lodge.  It definitely added to the feel of our trip!

This was the building we were in, connected to the main lodge  by a breezeway