Black Canyon Inn — Attraction in Estes Park

I normally don’t write poor reviews, but Black Canyon Inn left us just shaking our aching heads. An inn of this caliber and price point absolutely lacks in customer care and service.

I was the Matron of Honor for my friend’s wedding which was held at the Grand Canyon Inn. The wedding itself was lovely and the venue was beautiful, for that I increased one star. However, staying at this inn was a whole different matter entirely.

We stayed at the inn for about a week, the first issue we came across was the temperature in the room. It was ungodly hot. The little Japanese ac unit was no match for the size of the vaulted ceiling room. It was locked at 61 degrees, but the room temperature barely cracked under 78 at night with just the aircon alone. I lost two nights of sleep due to being so uncomfortable. We would come in from outside to find the room 10 degrees hotter than outside. We eventually found a box fan in the closet (which makes us believe that they are aware of this issue) which helped. We would open the screens on our patio windows and open the door to try to flush out all the hot air at the end of the day. With the all-glass wedding venue (which hosts weddings every night) situated right below our balcony, leaving our windows and curtains open at night was just not an option.

When room service would show up to our room, they would often forget to take dirty towels. They would make the bed, but just throw the pillows back on it, haphazardly. The clean towels would be piled on the sink, they weren’t placed on towel racks or where they were kept. The only mirrors available were chest high, no full length mirror, which is a huge need for a place with two wedding venues on site. Not having full length mirrors to get ready, as an MOH was frustrating. I have been nursing a sprained wrist and asked about an ice machine, there is no ice available on site. We were instructed to go into town to McDonalds to purchase ice. Even if we did, there wasn’t an ice bucket or proper means to store it.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was parking. Insanity. The guests who are paying for rooms have their own lots, but do not have spots that are marked reserved in any way. Which causes problems with wedding attendees filling them up, since the guest lots are closer to the upper venue. The night that was the worst was when we came back from our wedding rehearsal dinner to find absolutely no parking available. When we talked to the office manager, she said that the wedding reception would be over soon and advised us to wait. We were tired, it was late and we had things we needed to get done before our friend’s wedding the next day. My husband lost it. The office lady said we could park down below in the wedding parking lot for venue 1 (our unit being at the top of the “mountain”) and she could use the golf cart to drive us up to the top, but the cart didn’t start. I ended up walking up the mountain, in dress and heels, and waited to kick a returning wedding parker out of a spot in our unit’s lot, while my husband sat down below in our vehicle waiting for me to tell him that a spot opened up. As I was walking up. I bumped into the bride’s parents. They were being dropped off by a relative, since they could not park in the lot for their unit either and couldn’t make the climb up the mountain. Their daughter, whose wedding they were paying for, was getting married THE NEXT DAY!! They were too tired to deal with the situation.

The view from our room, beautiful. Units are cute. The venue, very nice. Customer service,...

We stayed in The Suites/Boulders at Black Canyon Inn. The Suites are newer accomodations which are located above the also newer wedding venue. These accomations resemble more traditional hotel rooms. We stayed in Suite 14 on the second floor which offers a direct view of the wedding pavilion and spectacular views of the mountains.

Check-in consists of picking up your keys from a mailbox. Check-out is the same. Our reading of the check-in procedure made us think that we needed to arrive within the office hours of 4-6PM but even though we arrived at 5:15PM our keys were left in the mailbox. It would seem that the check-in/out process could be considered contactless and that you just need to remember that check-in is after 4PM. Check-out is by 10AM which we found to be ridiculously early.

Of note, we were asked to sign an agreement a few days prior to our scheduled stay. This is a coercive, unilateral, obnoxious, possible legally unenforceable practive that we have experienced with other smaller hospitality groups.

What happens if we don't agree to sign said forms? Would our reservation be cancelled? Would we be entitled to a full refund or would an attempt be made to retain some our all of our payment? All terms, rules, conditions, etc need to be disclosed when the reservation is initially made giving the Guest the option to agree or not agree prior to said reservation. To put it in perspective in the hopes that the owners might consider a change in practice; imagine buying a home and a week before you are scheduled to move in the owners send you something to sign restricting the hours you move in or stating that you must take down the artwork they left and return it to them.

In the end, we did not find that the forms we were required to sign differed in content to any material degree compared to what we read prior to making our reservation, so while annoying it was ultimately fine.

Our room was large with high ceilings, a balcony, indoor/outdoor gas fireplace, sitting area, microwave, refrigerator, Kuerig, huge bathroom w/separate toilet area, ironing board/iron, safe, connecting room door and free WIFI.

The bathroom contained a bath mat, 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels, 2 washcloths, and a hair dryer. The toilet area included 2 rolls of toilet paper.

The king bed mattress was very soft and comfortable. Those who prefer firm matresses will be disappointed. We however, loved it. The pillows and bedding were of high quality.

The LCD Smart TV included many popular streaming apps. The TV was located awkwardly on the wall to the left of the bed so viewing was at a 90 degree angle instead of head on. An articulating mount that allowed the TV to be angled would be a nice enhancement.

All windows were screened and could be fully opened. For some reason the locks on two of the window were removed. There was a small box fan located in the closet.

The outer door locks used a standard deadlock and traditional key which took some finess to lock and unlock (repair is needed).

Parking is such that you can back your vehicle to within 10 feet of the covered entry making unloading and loading ideal.

We didn't have neighbors during our stay and our room was very quiet.

Overall, we found our stay highly enjoyable, the room comfortable and the setting magnificent. We had family staying in the nearby condos and they also enjoyed their rooms.

We highly recommend Black Canyon Inn for the reasonable cost, comfort...

Stunning. Perfect. Wow...almost a month since our wedding and I can't stop smiling thinking about how magical our day was. We were married at The Boulders at Black Canyon Inn in early July and had the most incredible experience. Anna, our day of coordinator, was a delight throughout the planning process, rehearsal and wedding day. Anna and her team were incredibly helpful and quick to respond with any and all inquires and last minute changes. We decided not to hire a wedding planner, and as a bit of a type A planner who did most of the work myself, it was such a relief to have a team that felt so well prepared and organized.

The venue itself is breathtakingly beautiful. The views, décor, lighting, location...all top notch. The bridal suite was larger than most we toured and accommodated up to ten of us in the room all getting ready comfortably at one time. The mimosa bar was perfect for the girls and the guys enjoyed a morning by the pool before getting ready in the groom's lounge. Anna kept the bridal party focused and even helped wrangle our children for the ceremony, which went off without a hitch. Nothing beats having a quick walk downstairs for the reception. The waterfall created the most enchanting ambiance (although it was a little hard to hear the speeches over the sound), the firepits were perfect for relaxing around once it cooled off and the games provided an extra element of fun for the guests during cocktail hour.

Lets talk about the food - amazing. Our family and friends are still raving about how delicious everything was. I have been to countless weddings and rarely expect a fine dining experience. But everything we were served was exceptional. We upgraded to the filets and were not disappointed - maybe one of the best cuts of steak I've ever had and was cooked to perfection. The Arancini were a hit for passed apps, cheesy asparagus was delicious and the chicken (off the Mediterranean menu) was well cooked and juicy. All of our guests were well fed and some even went back for seconds, which was such a relief that we didn't need to worry about food running low as it can easily happen with a buffet.

The staff was incredible when I realized that I had lost my grandmother's ring during the reception. I was beside myself and looked around to see all hands on deck scouring the floors, searching under the deck and upon the nearby hill with cell phone flashlights. My husband discovered it high up on the hill where we had previously taken photos and the whole place whipped into a frenzy of joy!

It was such a relief to know that our guests were safely on site following an open bar reception. The accommodations were great and were grateful we could utilize the pool since it was so hot. However, it was hard to not have air conditioning in the units. I believe the studios and a select few others have A/C but it was a bit uncomfortable for us and our guests as it was a very warm week. Not a deal breaker but good to know and prepare for in advance.

We will forever cherish the once in a lifetime memories we all made in Estes Park at the Black Canyon Inn. Beyond grateful and satisfied with our...