When you enter the Bryce Canyon area, you see this sign:
In a western movie, this could as well have been dubbed Ruby’s Town, since everything in and around Bryce Canyon City seems to be owned by the Syrett family. From the history page of Ruby’s Inn:
In 1916, Reuben C. (Ruby) Syrett brought his family to the wilds of Southern Utah, establishing a ranch near the present site of Ruby’s Inn. A few weeks after his arrival, another nearby rancher told Ruby of the canyon called Bryce. Ruby and his family made a Sunday visit to the canyon rim. They were so impressed by what they saw that they not only took full advantage to tell people of the canyon’s beauties, but they also became hosts to its visitors. By 1919 they had obtained permission from the state to build a lodge, the “Tourist Rest”, near the brink of the canyon.
Today, there is the Best Western inn (the largest hotel complex of the area, accommodating the single traveller as well as bus tours), a large campground, a fake western town, a rodeo show, a gas station, a diner, a general store with a gift shop, a Southwest art & souvenir shop with petrified wood and Native American handicraft, another, more luxurious hotel, and probably half a dozen other venues at the place. There really is no way around Ruby’s if you go to Bryce Canyon.
We stayed at Ruby’s Inn, which was reasonably priced, and mostly your run-of-the-mill motel, with a microwave and fridge in the room. What stands out, though, is the very nice indoor pool at the inn, in an airy room with large glass walls and a high ceiling. We also had a burger in the nearby diner – solid, not overpriced. We did skip the 8 Dollar breakfast at the motel, though, and grabbed a coffee and a donut in the food section of the General Store at sunrise, before leaving for the nearby entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park.
It isn’t cheap, but it is convenient, and the general store has a decent small mini mart area where you can find almost anything from fresh, canned and frozen groceries to drugstore stuff and nice souvenirs from the Southwest, as well as a post office, book store and greeting cards – a general store indeed. The pricing is okay for the area. Like most of the hotels near major national parks, you do need to make reservations for a room as soon as possible – even the large inn will be booked very fast and early. If you prefer to save some money and rather drive a few miles, head for a hotel in Tropic instead.
Best Western PLUS Ruby’s Inn
26 South Main Street
Bryce Canyon, UT 84764
