Elkhorn Lodge & Guest Ranch

They only have «limited» spots for the groupon/​living social deals the offer. Guess what they only times are available are horrible. Don’t bother.

What a complete dump. I understand rustic, I understand historic. I don’t understand disrepair, dust, lack of management, and lack of understanding of how to serve a simple pizza. I should have known what we were in for when I saw right behind the receptionist desk as you enter there is a hand-​written sign that says NO REFUNDS. Definitely a bad sign.
We were staying at the Y but decided to try Cheesy Lees’s for dinner because of decent Unilocal reviews, and for the fact that I’ve been coming to Estes Park my whole life and had never heard of this place, i.e. the Elkhorn Lodge. Anyone who says Cheesy Lee’s has good pizza is a person who loves Tombstone frozen pizza, because that’s basically what their pizza is. Frozen cardboard crust, canned sauce and thick cheese that’s not cooked. Their salad bar was about half empty and needed restocking. The entire restaurant was dirty and needed to be cleaned. About a third of the restaurant looks like it’s a kids room where the kids haven’t picked up their toys in weeks. Toys strewn everywhere, things not picked up, basically a mess. After we ate a few of the disgusting square slices of pizza and left the rest, we walked around the lobby to check out what else the lodge had to offer. It looks like the rooms in the lobby have not been touched in 20 or 30 years. The historical artifacts they display are pieces of junk that could be found at any consignment shop. I’ve read a lot about how this is the most historic hotel in Colorado and that it should be preserved. I don’t disagree with that but whoever is running this place either doesn’t have enough money to bring it up to current standards or is just trying to make a money-​grab from unsuspecting guests. People who say the lodge is nice are the same people who are comfortable sleeping on the ground and using a hole in the ground for a toilet. Anyone who wants a clean comfortable bed with somewhat modern amenities needs to stay away from this hellhole. Caveat emptor to all who happen by this dump.

The horseback riding was great. You felt like a real cowboy. You rode the horse, not a pony ride, but suitable for all levels of riders.

This was the longest night of my life! The rooms were dirty, bugs in the rooms, the shower/​tub drain was clogged, and most of the electrical outlets didn’t work. You could hear other guests talking, laughing and opening doors. All the donkeys were braying all night! We could not sleep! This place is a dump!

My family went up today to ride and have a steak lunch. The owner & staff were so helpful, personable, and friendly. They were great with our kids; encouraged them and made sure we were all comfortable on our horses. Lunch was great! We even got serenaded by the owner who sings and plays guitar. We had a great time. We can’t wait to go back.
In spite of obvious damage sustained from the flood, the staff made this a memorable and positive experience. Our heart goes out to them! We admire their grace and resilience! (My 9-​year-​old son gives them 5 stars!!!)

I rented a cabin here for my parents for their birthday weekend and they came back SICK because they were put in a cabin ALL NIGHT LONG WITH NO HEAT! Even after complaining multiple times they were told they could «do whatever they wanted» and that this is part of a «rustic cabin experience.» I don’t know who told them this but I am a physician from Colorado and there’s nothing «rustic» about putting two elderly people in a room with no heat to catch their death of pneumonia in. All I can say is that the Elk Horn Lodge better HOPE my parents don’t end up in the hospital because if they do Elk Horn Lodge will be paying for the hospital stay (oh, and by the way, we actually heat the hospital because we know how easy it is for people to get sick in the cold!!!).

Well, the Elkhorn Lodge is a an interesting experience. If you love history, it’s historic. If you don’t mind odd places, this is odd. If you’re looking for something fancy, go somewhere else. We loved the history of the place. It’s the oldest lodge in Estes Park. It’s got the cool factor — from the squeaky floors to the hotel lobby furniture. It’s got charm — if you don’t need fancy fixings.
The lights weren’t on in the hallway. We may have been the only people in the hotel. The staff told us they were leaving at 9 and they’d see us in the morning. We didn’t hear or see a single person — truly, we could have had the run of the place.
The rooms were smallish and simple. It felt more like going to camp and staying in the lodge. There was a bed. There was a sink. There was a shower. But that’s it. Our bathroom had no place to plug anything in for electricity. We were excited to see a TV in the room, just for some noise. It wasn’t plugged in. Soon we discovered why — there was no plug in. So, our room had a tv, but no place to plug it in. Then, we found one outlet — two prong only, so our hairdryer didn’t work in it. The bedding and rooms were clean — my comforter reminded me of my old college bedspread. I went to college in the 1980s. We sat down in the lobby for quite a bit of the night because the lights were bright enough to read, knit and chat. We couldn’t find the light switch in our room. Staff was super friendly. One of the staff’s daughter, 6, hung out with us in the lobby for quite a while.
Not sure how to rate this place — there were some things I loved and some things I didn’t love. Glad I stayed there one night.

I found an awesome deal on Denver Daily Deals a couple days ago and it could not have been better timing. My fiancée and I want to go up to Estes Park for our mini-​moon in late September and just wanted to escape a couple days. I was so thrilled for the deal because it was an awesome deal.
On the Deal, it said you had to call rather than book online. I thought, that’s not big deal. I called a total of SIX times between two days. I repeat SIX TIMES!!! I called first thing in the morning, no answer, no voicemail, nothing. No biggie, maybe they aren’t at the front desk yet. Called around lunch time, no answer. Okay maybe they are at lunch. Called around 4pm… you guessed it! No answer.
I emailed them and asked, the best time to call was and if we could do it via email. The emailed back, no apology, just you have to call. So, I waited until Monday to call… called three more times… no response. I emailed them again, still being very polite and no response.
I am absolutely blown away and pardon my french, pissed off. How someone have a successful business if no one answers the phone. We were SO excited. We are going to take our money elsewhere and make sure to tell people not to waste their time because no one will pick up the damn phone.

We stayed there this weekend and were honestly pretty nervous because of some of the reviews we had read. However, we had a great time! The staff is super friendly and helpful and really seem to care about the place and getting it back on track. We really enjoyed chatting with them. No, it’s not a 5 star hotel. The entire place is OLD, but it’s full of history. If you are looking to stay at the Ritz, go elsewhere, but if you appreciate history, you should enjoy the place. The cabins are old and rustic, but clean. To some people, it may seem rundown and dirty, but again, if you appreciate history, I think you’d be fine with the accommodations.
We also enjoyed eating dinner at Cheesy Lee’s pizza (the on-​site pizza place) and it was yummy and very cheesy! Staff there was also very friendly. We went horseback riding there as well, and the staff there was friendly and our guides were very funny and personable.
Again, it’s not fancy and yes, there may be room for some improvements (which it sounds like they are working on!), but staying here gives you a little piece of history. It’s fun to think you’re staying in a place where people stayed in the 1800 and early 1900’s. You can’t get that anywhere else!

I know a lot of people would not like to stay at this lodge. I loved it! You are in a small town in the Rocky Mountains. Why stay at a luxury hotel? You get a great feeling of living in the rough here! We stayed in a very small cabin. Had running water-​working toilets. What else do you need? We went hiking during the day and slept in the cabin at night. perfect! I’d do it again!

I stayed in a cabin which is really rather worn out. It was interestingly historic, but certainly like others have said, camping with a tilted mattress and a somewhat shower. I got my deal on Groupon and was there primarily to go fly fishing in RMNP, so it was OK. Warning for others, the windows of my cabin didn’t lock and could easily be opened and climbed through from the deck.
My main reason for giving this only one star is the stables. I had also gotten the trail ride voucher. When I reserved I was told they don’t have the chuck wagon dinner on a weekday, so would substitute a 2 hour ride instead. I’ve been involved with horses for most of my life and was shocked at their operation. The horses were not being watered between rides and several looked in rough shape. Horses without enough training were being ridden by people who don’t know how to ride. That day I spent a good amount of time helping the other family on the ride whose horses were repeatedly putting them into trees or simply starting to wander back to the stable. They became very scared and insisted on returning to the barn. When we returned early over an hour, we were offered 1/​off another ride. I wasn’t about to tip the wrangler $ 40 for a tip and was trying to get change to make it $ 30. By the time I dealt with all the rudeness (looked, turned his back and walked away) I finally gave up on giving a tip.
Obviously they got some tips that day, since we could hear the wranglers partying in the barn most of the night.
Having worked as a wrangler in my younger life, I know how important tips are, but I also know what safe, good service is. If you don’t know how to ride, PLEASE, for your own safety, don’t ride here. If you do, INSIST on a helmet, which they don’t automatically offer to you. The day I was there, one person left in an ambulance, and I was seriously surprised there weren’t more accidents than that.

I’m actually being pretty generous by giving it 2 stars. I’m basing it on the fact that the staff was fine and we had electricity and there was free hot chocolate at night and we saw elk on the property.
There’s a difference between rustic and run down, and this is run down. There are shingles missing from some of the cabin roofs, and there were many stains on the carpet in our room. Don’t even get me started on the fact that the bathrooms are carpeted. I don’t want to think what’s on that carpet.
There is only one electrical outlet in the bedroom but they had an extension cord with multiple jacks available — with openings for only 2 prong plugs. So it was basically impossible to charge my computer while watching TV with the light on. As for the computer, the WiFi was hit or miss, mostly miss.
We stayed in room 7 in the main lodge which is supposed to be haunted. I kind of wish we had some sort of experience so we could at least say to our stay was worth it. Our mattress was aged and not in the least bit firm. I don’t want to think how old it was. The bedding was also quite aged.
We had very little water pressure in the bathroom and the first day my entire shower was cold.
We tried to sleep with the windows open as it got a little warm in the room, but on our second night there was a wedding with LOUD music and loud people that lasted past 3 am in the Coach House, which is about 100 yards from the main lodge. Despite the distance, even once we closed the windows we could still hear the music and people yelling clearly. I know that’s not the lodge’s fault, but some sort of noise curfew would have been nice.
There are so many choices in Estes Park. Choose something else. All they need to do is refresh the carpet, bedding and mattresses and it might actually have a rustic feel to it rather than the run down feel.

I was here just for a horseback riding which I got through a groupon deal. My family had made reservations several months prior, but when we arrived, there was no record of our reservation. Thankfully it was not a big deal. The ride was supposed to be an hour-​ish, but we finished in a little over half that time (possibly because there were only three of us). There were some good views along the way, but I wish we could have gone faster than a walk (I used to ride). The wrangler was cool. I’m not sure how well the animals are taken care of. One dog (we were told there are 15) looked to have a broken paw. There were two rabbits in dirty cages with dirty water.

Keep your expectations low and then take them lower. I had a Groupon here for one night’s stay and a horseback ride. We called months in advance to arrange the ride, but no one picked up the phone. When we finally did reach someone, he told us, «You’re out of luck, we’ve been booked for months.» And, upon viewing the stables, the horses looked quite sad and unhappy.
The rooms are as others have recounted. Basically one step up from camping – pretty much a dump. However, I did take much pleasure in their wedding marketing photos: 80s era complete with mullets, puffy sleeves, and high, frizzy bangs! The lodge was dirty and in need of a complete overhaul renovation. It does have a lot of potential; and, being so close to downtown, it needs that investment!

Did not stay at the lodge, but had the steak dinner & trail ride. Steaks were cooked fine and the other sides were pretty basic (it’s not the Hilton folks, so don’t set your expectations too high). The staff was friendly, but they need to be a little more clear as to what the whole process is. Horses were well fed and easy to work with. Wranglers were very nice. Overall it was a fun date night!

Like others mentioned this place has so much potential, but lacks any sort of leadership. You have to inturrupt the employees from smoking and chatting with eachother to check in for your ride and then you just stand around for 30 minutes wondering what is going on. Eventually they tell you to go stand next to a specific horse. The directions were pull left for left, right for right, and back for stop. Not big deal if you already know how to ride a horse, like I do, but for those first timers some more direction would be helpful. Then you just sit on your horse for a while wondering what’s next.
The dinner was even more awkward. We stood around for over 30 minutes wondering where we go or what to do. We considered numerous times to just leave even though we paid for dinner. After a while we saw people walking into the lodge and a dinning hall. The food was edible and swimming in BBQ sauce. Wanted to tip, but nobody (not even the front desk) had change for a $ 20. We tipped our smaller bills to the horseback guide. This felt like a bad summer camp or a candid camera set-​up. Like a said earlier and others have said, the place has huge potential, but they don’t seem to be striving for it.

Coming to Elkhorn for a horseback ride and chuck wagon dinner was a very unpleasant experience. I was reminded about how poorly animals can be treated and how bad food can taste. My horse was so exhausted that it literally collapsed on the side of the trail as I was riding him. The guide told me to «kick the sh!%^ out of him if he started to go down again.» Lovely. My horse was shaking and wobbly the entire ride. My girlfriends horse was similarly unhappy and spent the entire ride trying to kick whatever horse was behind it. Please don’t ride here. These horses need better care.
The meal? Terrible. Dry meat, canned bbq beans and bad potato salad. mmm…

Well… Kinda shocked nobody has written an honest review on this place yet. I would say it is one step up from camping — kinda running water, a roof over your head. that’s about it.
The front desk staff seemed high when we got there. She kept saying 3 or 4 different rooms other than ours, said we had a king (when we actually had a queen), confused on when breakfast was, etc. We got into our cottage, flipped the light on & were pretty shocked. The bathroom was dirty, linoleum peeling up & rusty shower. When we called, nobody picked up. The door jam & screen were totally missing. When the sun rose the next morning, you could see it coming in all around the door. It would be really easy to break into any of these rooms with the swipe of a credit card.
The next morning, we ate their buffet breakfast. It would have been good, had it been remotely warm. The staff could not keep up with the «crowd» of about 25 total & were not very friendly when asked if there would be more food & drinks coming out. We had to wait about 20 minutes for coffee, juice, milk, pancakes, biscuits, gravy… the whole buffet had to be replenished.
If the owners kept this place up, cleaned the rooms, didn’t use those filthy bedspreads, but kept up with the country/​victorian theme it would be awesome! The entire lodge needs some revitalization & staff training.
Horseback riding, however, was amazing! The guest ranch staff was knowledgeable & friendly. The trail ride was mellow. pretty steep at some points but the views were unbelievable!

We didn’t stay at the lodge or dine, this review is for the 1 hr trail ride only.
Here’s how I rate them:
5 stars for the wrangler gal from New Hampshire — she was awesome
5 stars for my horse that was just a gentle giant
3 stars for the front end folks that take reservations and schedule
Like another reviewer, trying to contact this place is tough. No one answers the phone any time of the day and I tried calling 3 days straight. No bueno. I finally resorted to a few emails and finally someone called me back and scheduled a ride for my DH and I. I noticed when we got there that the front end gals talked quite a bit, let the phone ring continuously and looked like they just didn’t give a rats arse. The little office entrance insides needs a bit of cleaning and organizing along with some cheery folks behind the wheel who look and act like they care about their surroundings. BTW, the place is under new management and has been since May 1, 2012, so hopefully things will turn around for them. They really can make a ton of dough if they just set up a better reservation system or just answer the phone.
We were late, like 40 minutes late due to traffic (no lie) and I felt terribly bad and like an ass. We don’t like to be late and we left hours beforehand, and were prepared to be turned away, but instead were graciously accepted for the next ride (thank you!) with the NH gal.
Yes, some of the wranglers smoke, but that didn’t bother me. They didn’t smoke on the trail though and that was even better given the fire danger and other factors that day (fire buring in Ft. Collins). The hour ride was a slow one, but what do you expect? Horse racing through the hills? It was a rather nice day and we enjoyed it and the little bit of history they gave us at the stop/​photo point.
Overall, NH gal was great to chit chat with, the ride was worth it, the day was nice, all of the wranglers we talked to were nice and we’d be back for more lessons with NH gal. BTW, she told me that the wranglers that work here live on TIPS. They are stay, eat, drink for free and are not paid and only work on tips. Therefore, TIP YOUR WRANGLER. I was disappointed to see how many folks just took off after the ride. There were at least 12 people in our ride and about 4 people — including us tipped… cheapos!

We ended up at Elkhorn Ranch after a horseback ride, which is a trail ride company located just behind the ranch. I found it on Groupon and it hardly had any information about it or the lodge. The lodge is so old and amazing; full of RICH Colorado History you just can’t find many places any more. They told us of ghost stories, which several people said one is the ghost of Eleanor Roosevelt.
My 11-​year-​old daughter was a little leary at first but fell in love with our room, which was decorated with older wall-​paper and was light and cheery — facing East. The rooms we were able to tour are cute — not entirely rustic, more Victorian in style. For a guest ranch that is older than the Stanley Hotel, they do what they can to keep them nice and the people are very nice. The claw-​foot tub was a definite bonus! There are little cabins but we did not look at any. As in the rest of the place, I am sure they could use a little work.
Completely worth checking out for the historical aspect if nothing else. It is sad to think that without more money this place may go away. I would love to see them take the place and create a Halloween package with a costume party, dinner and dance!