Renovations at El Tovar stalled; hotel to stay open

El Tovar, the historical hotel on the edge of the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, will not close for renovations early next year as planned, opening up rare last-minute reservations.

Xanterra Parks & Resorts, the operator of El Tovar and other Grand Canyon lodges, said a multimillion-dollar renovation of the hotel’s lobby and rooms scheduled for January through early April has been delayed for a year as other projects take precedence.

Jon Streit, general manager of Xanterra South Rim, said the hotel discovered during preparations for the renovation that part of the 108-year-old building was settling and needs to be stabilized.

“It’s not like the hotel’s going to fall down or anything,” he said. “It’s just something that needs to be done.”

The structural stabilization work, which Streit said won’t be visible to guests, will require the closure of about 15 of El Tovar’s 78 rooms on the south end of the hotel for eight weeks.

El Tovar plans to replace its roof this winter, a project that was part of the renovation plans announced in September. That work will begin in mid-January.

Streit said El Tovar, the most upscale of the South Rim lodges, will not close in 2015 when it renovates its rooms and lobby. He said National Park Service officials didn’t like the idea of making the area’s premier property unavailable for an extended time.

The hotel also is a popular stop for daytrippers and visitors staying in other hotels.

“This may be the one time they get to the Grand Canyon,” he said.

Details: grandcanyonlodges.com.

Allegiant restores Honolulu flights

Allegiant Air plans to resume flights between Mesa and Honolulu in June after a 10-month hiatus.

The Las Vegas-based carrier, which serves Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in east Mesa, extended its schedule into summer last week and will offer two weekly round-trip flights to Honolulu.

Allegiant started the Hawaii flights with fanfare in February but suspended them in mid-August. The airline, which was new to Hawaii, called it a hiatus and said it planned to resume the flights next summer. Allegiant, which expanded into Hawaii in mid-2012, said demand for Hawaii flights from most cities turned out to be more seasonal than it expected.

Allegiant, known for low ticket prices and a pile of fees, offered round-trip fares starting at $198 before fees when it announced Hawaii flights last year. The lowest price on its website last week for flights next July was $500 round trip.

That is still cheaper than competitors at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Hawaiian Airlines’ website showed roundtrip fares starting at $700 in July. The lowest July fare on Tempe-based US Airways was $633 roundtrip. Hawaiian and US Airways charge for checked bags, as Allegiant does, but don’t have some of its other fees, such as a charge for carry-on bags in the overhead bin.

Allegiant is offering flights from Mesa to Honolulu on Mondays and Fridays and flights from Honolulu to Mesa on Thursdays and Sundays. Its schedule is open for reservations through Aug. 12.

Details: www.allegiantair.com.