ST. GEORGE — Situated on an outcropping of volcanic rock, the Inn on the Cliff and Cliffside Restaurant overhang a bluff above downtown St. George, offering a unique ambiance and one-of-a-kind view. At nighttime guests are enfolded into a celestial canopy overlooking sparkling city lights, and by day they are mesmerized by a vast red rock landscape that is practically cinematic.
Inn on the Cliff
A favorite locale for many, the Inn’s predecessor, Sullivan’s Rococo Steakhouse & Inn closed in 2008 after 32 years of service. The buildings, located at 511 S. Airport Road in St. George, then sat dormant until contractor Tom Heers and his wife, Dorothy Heers, stumbled upon a Craigslist advertisement for them in January 2013.
“I came home one day and Tom said, ‘honey, I know what we are going to do,'” Dorothy Heers said. “So we drove up here to check it out and fell in love with the incredible architecture. It was a great Craigslist find.”
The Heers immediately began making negotiations to purchase the property and within months, the inn and restaurant were acquired and renovations began.
The Heers’ style selections for the 27 rooms within the Inn on the Cliff aimed to preserve the natural beauty of the view spanning from the panoramic windows and private decks, stretching across the basin surrounded by red and white sandstone to the cliffs of Zion National Park. Earthy tones of warm-brown, beige and burnt-orange throughout the rooms accent the russet colors of the desert landscape.
“We chose a soft contemporary feel rather than stark contemporary,” Dorothy Heers said. “We want our guests to feel like they are at home.”
Guests are welcome to swim in the brand-new pool that sits on the edge of the cliff, or settle into the Inn’s hot tub to catch a view of the stars and the city at night.
Click here for a full list of the Inn on the Cliff’s amenities.
Cliffside Restaurant
The lunch and dinner menus for the Cliffside Restaurant were created by Utah Valley University Director of Culinary Arts Peter Sproul who hired a UVU culinary school graduate and award-winning chef Vance Lott, who added his own little twist to the menu.
“We really knew nothing about running a restaurant and then we met with Peter Sproul — a New York City chef — who just took us under his wing,” Dorothy Heers said.
The Cliffside Restaurant offers contemporary American entrées with robust flavor and an artistic presentation. All entrées, desserts, appetizers, soups, salads and sauces are prepared from scratch – even the French fries and the barbecue sauce.
One of the most popular entrées is the chili-glazed salmon which is pan roasted and glazed with mango salsa, and paired with a coconut rice pilaf and zesty lemon sauce. For dessert, the restaurant suggests a warm peach-raspberry oatmeal crumble with Utah peach and raspberry cobbler topped with homemade oatmeal granola crumbs with a scoop of ice cream.
Whatever item from the menu entices the Cliffside Restaurant’s guests, it’s the view that brings them to the Cliffside Restaurant in the first place and the food that keeps them coming back.
To view the full menu click here.
A D V E R T O R I A L
Resources
- Inn on the Cliff | Website
- Address: 511 S. Airport Road
- Telephone: Restaurant – 435-319-6005 | Inn – 435-216-5864
- Cliffside Restaurant hours: Lunch – Monday-Saturday: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. | Dinner – Monday-Thursday 5-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 5-10 p.m. | Closed on Sunday
Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.
Raspberry chipotle chicken, sweet and spicy, toasted almonds and sweet potato hash served at the Cliffside Restaurant at 511 S. Airport Road in St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Tom Heers, St. George News
The Cliffside Burger, char-grilled, 8 oz chopped sirloin burger, melted midway white cheddar, smoked bacon with a side of crispy hand-cut fries and "Cliffside" fry sauce served at the Cliffside Restaurant, 511 S. Airport Road in St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Tom Heers, St. George News
The Cliffside Restaurant located at 511 S. Airport Road in St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Tom Heers, St. George News
The Cliffside Restaurant located at 511 S. Airport Road in St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Tom Heers, St. George News
Night view of the Cliffside Restaurant located at 511 S. Airport Road in St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Tom Heers, St. George News
A room at the Inn on the Cliff located at 511 S. Airport Road in St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Tom Heers, St. George News
The view from the balcony of a room at the Inn on the Cliff located at 511 S. Airport Road in St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Tom Heers, St. George News
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Not only breathtaking views and panoramas, but the food is great! We’ve enjoyed the Cliffside Restaurant on several occasions, both lunch and dinner, and have yet to be disappointed. They’ve done a fantastic job!
The people and food were great, though it was a bit pricey. If you want feedback: don’t be cheap with the condiments. My wife and I both received ridiculously small amounts of salad dressing, etc. Great views are a dime a dozen in southern Utah, so for me Cliffside will have to compete on its merits as a restaurant, and I think the prices were based more on the view.
The hotel rooms are very nice and fully remodeled. The food was overpriced and a disappointment. I was also charged more than the food was listed on the menu, but didn’t catch it at the time. Might go again, hope they’ve improved by then.
Good food, nice view.
Excellent hotel and restaurant. Top quality everything. Highly recommend it!
I don,t think so. I went to the opening for the chamber of. Immerse, the bruschetta was burnt bread. Canapés were so dry, I heard the young chef tell the waiter ‘ he doesn,t use sauces and spice, because people don,t like so many seasonings etc.. He has little experience, and when demostrating on t. Show Saturday afternoon, the potatoes came out of the oven. Urnt, as the camera showed, and he told his assistant to scoop off the top…only… Everything on the menu has a spicy, or Mexican theme.. But most important the place with the high ceiling is. The noisiest restuarant in town, you can,t even talk to the person next too you.. The could install lower sound
Toff panels from the ceiling, and some of the hanging lights were. Urnt out…
The hotel is beautiful but doesn’t, have security look outs on the door. Seeing the resturannt is open at. Ight it is dark up there, and. No guard rails on the side of the road… The chef told me the. Ollie was moving up there, with condos, and stores,, not sure what century tha will happen in… Try it out… You. Might feel different,, cost is too high for this area too….
M & M… write your editorials or comments in Word, correct your spelling and grammar then maybe, just maybe, someone may take your comments seriously.
That big white building looks like a grain silo.
Dots of sauce/gravy/mystery liquid on plates just makes it look messy. I’m not sure who taught chefs that it looks cool and “adds” to their food. It just looks like a hot mess. But the views are killer.
food was good but not much of it. I was still hungry after eating dinner. To much emphasis on making it look nice but for the price and amount of food I won’t go back.
From the looks of the photos this is just another place to put on my list that I’ll never be able to afford.
Off subject a bit? Maybe. But I notice the address is Airport Road, I would suggest that the city rename the road to Old Airport Rd. On another note, looks very high-class, with a high-rise like view..
Well the food was over priced with small portions back then, and the new owners are keeping the tradition alive. If they are counting on the more money then brains crowd to keep them in business. They might as well close their doors now. We all know that crowd around here is small, and they expect to get everything for free because of their name. My suggestion would be hit your favorite drive thru, then go park on Red Cliffs dr. You will know just what your getting no guessing what is under that sauce. With the same great view of downtown, and you will still have money in your wallet the next day.
Most enjoyable. A nice addition to the rare St. George fine dining scene. Yes it’s a tad noisey, but it’s a lot less so than the rambling pack of uncontrolled youngsters that parent allow to run loose in cheaper joints catering to the masses. Portions are ample (this isn’t Chuckarama, folks) and prices are comparable to the Painted Pony and the late Scaldonni’s.