New hotels in Kanab

Kanab is tracked in this guide with a single verified hotel so far: Six Senses Camp Korongo, a 480-acre tented-camp resort signed by IHG in January 2026 and targeted to open in 2029. That's a genuinely short list, and it reflects the town rather than a gap in our research: Kanab is home to under 5,000 people, and its place on this site has more to do with geography than hotel density. What makes Kanab worth a dedicated guide despite tracking only one property is its position: a small, still under-the-radar base within day-trip range of several of the American Southwest's best-known national parks and monuments, without the lodging premium charged at the gates of any one of them.

What to do in Kanab

For a weekend

Start with the town's own history: Kanab has been nicknamed "Little Hollywood" since director William Wellman used the name while filming Buffalo Bill here in 1944, capping two decades of location work that began with Lynn Reynolds' The Deadwood Coach in 1924. More than 100 movies have been shot in Kane County since then, and the Parry Lodge (opened in 1931 by three local brothers as a base camp for visiting film crews) is on the National Register of Historic Places and once hosted stars including John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Maureen O'Hara and Ronald Reagan. The free, nonprofit Little Hollywood Museum, on Center Street, preserves sets and props from that era, while the Kanab Heritage House Museum a few blocks away (a Victorian, Queen Anne-style home built in 1894 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places) covers the town's earlier pioneer and Native American history through guided tours of its original furnishings. Together they're a natural first stop for understanding the town before heading out into the surrounding canyon country. A short drive from downtown, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary (the largest no-kill animal sanctuary in the country, spread across roughly 3,000 acres of what was once known as the Kanab Movie Ranch) is home to more than 1,600 dogs, cats, horses, birds and other animals and draws more than 40,000 visitors a year; both guided tours and short volunteer visits are possible without much advance planning. For an easy half-day outdoors close to town, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park sits about 20 miles west of Kanab, its wind-sculpted pink dunes rising against the sandstone cliffs of the Moquith Mountains.

For a longer stay

Kanab's real advantage is what it puts within day-trip reach. Zion National Park's east entrance is roughly a 30-minute drive away, making the park's slot canyons and the Virgin River Narrows realistic day trips; the main canyon area further west near Springdale, including the Angels Landing trailhead, takes somewhat longer but is still manageable as a day trip from a Kanab base. Bryce Canyon National Park and the Grand Canyon's North Rim are each about 80 miles from Kanab, roughly a 90-minute drive, while Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell's Glen Canyon National Recreation Area lie a similar distance to the east and southeast. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, one of the largest and least developed protected areas in the contiguous United States, borders Kanab directly, and its visitor center is located in town, making Kanab the natural planning stop before heading into the monument's backcountry. Inside that backcountry, permit-based slot canyons draw serious hikers: Buckskin Gulch, at roughly 16 miles the longest and deepest slot canyon in the world, requires a day-use permit purchased through recreation.gov, while Peekaboo Canyon, reachable only by high-clearance or off-road vehicle, is a shorter but similarly striking alternative with ancient Moqui steps carved into its walls. The Grand Canyon's North Rim itself is only reachable seasonally: Highway 67 from Jacob Lake to the North Rim entrance station typically opens around mid-May and closes with the first heavy snow or by early December, so a Kanab-based trip there is realistically a warm-season plan rather than a year-round one. A multi-day itinerary built around Kanab can otherwise realistically combine two or three of these parks and monuments without changing hotel base each night: precisely the appeal IHG cited when announcing Six Senses Camp Korongo, describing the site as within reach of Zion, Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon and Arches.

Getting there is entirely by road or small aircraft: Kanab's own municipal airport handles only small private planes, so most visitors fly into Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport, about a three-hour drive away, or the smaller St. George Regional Airport, roughly ninety minutes away, and continue by car. There is no regular passenger rail or long-distance bus service directly into town, consistent with Kanab's role as a drive-in base for exploring the surrounding parks rather than a transit hub in its own right.

Where to stay in Kanab

Six Senses Camp Korongo is the only hotel tracked here so far, and it is not yet open. IHG signed the project in January 2026 as part of the group's wider push to expand the Six Senses brand across the Americas, developing it with owner Canyon Global Partners and designer Luxury Frontiers, a studio that specializes in tented-camp resorts. The plan calls for 41 luxury tented pavilions plus 12 branded residences spread across a 480-acre site in the canyon country near Kanab, arranged around the property's juniper forest and canyon views rather than a conventional hotel building. A Six Senses Spa is planned to anchor the wellness side, with guest experiences built around hiking ancient trails, canyoneering and stargazing under what the developers describe as some of the darkest skies in the region. The project is targeted to open in 2029: a long runway that reflects both the scale of a 480-acre desert build and the tented-camp format itself, closer to a ground-up resort construction than a conversion of an existing building. No room rates or a more specific opening window within 2029 have been announced yet.

Which hotel for your trip

Travelers planning a multi-park Southwest road trip

Six Senses Camp Korongo is being built around exactly this kind of trip (IHG's own announcement points to Zion, Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon and Arches as being within reach of the site) but it won't be bookable until 2029, so anyone planning a trip in the next few years will need to look at lodging elsewhere in Kanab for now.

Travelers wanting an immersive desert-camp stay

If a tented-pavilion resort built specifically around canyon views, stargazing and a dedicated spa is the draw, Six Senses Camp Korongo is the one property tracked in this guide built for that experience: once it opens in 2029.

Travelers who want to stay in town near Little Hollywood and Best Friends

Six Senses Camp Korongo doesn't fit this profile: it is a standalone desert-camp resort outside town, not a downtown hotel near the Little Hollywood Museum or the entrance to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. This guide does not yet track a hotel that matches that specific brief, and we'd rather say so than stretch a fit that isn't there.

Budget-conscious travelers

Six Senses is positioned at the ultra-luxury end of the market. Once pricing is announced, it is unlikely to serve travelers looking for a budget base for national-park hopping: a gap this guide notes honestly rather than papering over with a property that doesn't match the brief.

Photographers and slot-canyon hikers

Kanab's permit-based slot canyons, Buckskin Gulch and Peekaboo Canyon among them, reward an early start from a nearby base. Six Senses Camp Korongo's location in the surrounding canyon country is consistent with that kind of trip, though its 2029 opening means it isn't a near-term option for a hiking trip planned now.

How we verify openings in Kanab

Every entry is checked against at least two independent sources before publication (official announcements from the operator or ownership group, plus independent hospitality or travel-industry press) and status labels (Announced, Confirmed, Open) reflect the most recent information available at the time of publication. A small town like Kanab, with a single project currently tracked, gets the same standard of verification as a market with dozens of hotels: we would rather list one confirmed project than round out the page with something that hasn't been independently verified. Our editorial team accepts no sponsored placements, no advertising from hotel groups, and no influencer arrangements.

Frequently asked questions

Is there more than one new hotel tracked in Kanab?

Not yet. Six Senses Camp Korongo, a 480-acre tented-camp resort signed by IHG in January 2026, is the only project currently verified for this guide. Kanab is a small town of under 5,000 people, so a short list here reflects the market rather than a gap in our research.

Why is Kanab nicknamed "Little Hollywood"?

Director William Wellman coined the name while filming Buffalo Bill in Kanab in 1944, capping two decades of location shoots that started with The Deadwood Coach in 1924. More than 100 films have been shot in Kane County since then, and the Parry Lodge, built in 1931 as a base camp for visiting film crews, hosted stars including John Wayne and Gregory Peck.

How far is Kanab from Zion National Park?

Zion's east entrance is roughly a 30-minute drive from Kanab; the main canyon area further west, including the Angels Landing trailhead, takes somewhat longer to reach.

Which other national parks and monuments are within reach of Kanab?

Bryce Canyon National Park and the Grand Canyon's North Rim are each about 80 miles away, roughly a 90-minute drive, while Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell's Glen Canyon National Recreation Area lie a similar distance to the east and southeast. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument borders the town directly, with its visitor center located in Kanab.

What is Best Friends Animal Sanctuary?

The largest no-kill animal sanctuary in the United States, spread across roughly 3,000 acres of Angel Canyon just outside Kanab, formerly known as the Kanab Movie Ranch, home to more than 1,600 animals and visited by more than 40,000 people a year.

When will Six Senses Camp Korongo open?

It's targeted for 2029. No more specific date within that year has been announced.

What is Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park?

A Utah state park about 20 miles west of Kanab, known for wind-sculpted pink sand dunes set against the sandstone cliffs of the Moquith Mountains.

Do the slot canyons near Kanab require a permit?

Some do. Buckskin Gulch, the longest and deepest slot canyon in the world at roughly 16 miles, requires a day-use permit purchased through recreation.gov. Other routes, such as the off-road approach to Peekaboo Canyon, don't require a permit but do require a high-clearance or off-road vehicle to reach the trailhead.

What is the closest airport to Kanab?

Kanab Municipal Airport handles only small private aircraft. Most visitors fly into Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport, about a three-hour drive away, or St. George Regional Airport, roughly ninety minutes away, and drive the rest of the way.

Is the Grand Canyon's North Rim open year-round from Kanab?

No. The access road from Jacob Lake to the North Rim entrance station, Highway 67, is seasonal: it typically opens around mid-May and closes with the first heavy snow or by early December, so visiting the North Rim from Kanab is a warm-season trip.