West 1077 Guest Ranch — Hotel in Bandera

First the good: the ranch is well located in the hills around Bandera, surrounded by beautiful countryside. The rooms are basic but fine and we enjoyed the pool (but see below).|The not-so-good: when we arrived we were faced by a gate with a PIN code and no instructions on how to get through. No phone coverage to call anyone for help. When pressing random buttons finally got us in, we found the reception deserted with no information. We managed to find a wifi password to call someone who told us the key was in the door to our room and to let ourselves in. ||This set the tone of our stay: no one about and no one talking to us. Even when we saw people working and tried to start conversations we hd limited success. The breakfast we were led to expect was included did not materialize the next day. We had not been given a time for breakfast so guessed that 08.30 as a reasonable time. Nothing was set up and there were dirty dishes in the corner, presumably from previous luckier guests having been fed. No breakfast the next few days either. Then an email out of the blue telling us that breakfast was 9-12pm every day. OK. We did get breakfast the next day (at 08.45 ironically), but that was the only breakfast we got in a 7 day stay. Each morning we’d get there for 9am and wait for 20-30 mins in a deserted dining area before giving up and heading into town instead.|Add to this general air of desertion (two other couples said the same) there were signs of neglect: the pool was ok but pool area scruffy and unswept and our daughter stepped on a rusty nail sticking out of the decking, fortunately not drawing blood otherwise we would have been in trouble. Of course there was no one around to inform in case they might like to fix it.||In addition, while our room was fine and appeared reasonably clean, there were issues here: tights from a previous occupant left in the chest of drawers and the fridge was dirty. In addition, in a 7 day stay at no point was our room cleaned or toiletries replenished, leading us to empty our own bins as best we could and buy our own toiletries.||All in all the experience left us feeling…unwelcome. While we enjoyed visiting Bandera and San Antonio, the ranch was a...

This stay was different then we expected. We arrived late and never got an orientation to the Ranch which might have affected our view. They were very accommodating about our unexpected delay and late check in. Our room meet all our needs, but we did not find it all that comfortable. The sheets were scratchy, pillows thin, and our box spring screaked rather loudly, odd complaint I know. I pulled up a free decibel reader on my phone (a very suspect source) and it reported the sound of me getting into bed as 92.3 decibels, about the same as a lawnmower. Yet, somehow my husband and I slept well and never managed to watch up our 4 year old sleeping in the twin bed.

The breakfast was the same both mornings of our stay, potatoes, eggs, bacon, fruit and toast. There were also a few cereals available. The lodge for meals was huge, but we only saw one other guest on the second day of our stay, it did not seem like there were many guests. The host? Was nice and checked to make sure we had everything we needed. No tour of the ranch or map was offered. When asked, she did give us directions to some hiking trails. The other staff we saw on the ranch seemed to go out of the way to avoid us. Prior to the stay we received an email explaining that every on the ranch had a job, which I get, but it if the ranch is mainly a guest ranch (I am not sure that is true) you would think that being kind to the guests would be part of everyone’s job.

The grounds are nice, each cabin had outdoor chairs and access to a picnic table. We think that we saw and armadillo one night while we were out watching the stars. Very exciting because prior to that we have only seen them squished on the side of the road and in zoos. The pool looked generally nice, but was not cleaned during our stay and the trees were dropping things into it.

The highlight our stay were the two ranch kittens Toby and Callie. Toby followed us around our first night and feel asleep in my lap. We met Callie the next morning who had infinite patience with my cat loving 4 year old. There was also a super friendly white fluffy dog.

Overall the ranch was very tranquil, very rural, and every thing could use a...

We just spent the weekend at West 1077 Guest Ranch. If you are looking for the perfect Guest Ranch – look no further. Everything was impeccable! I don’t even know where to start.

I was impressed immediately when we arrived and met the hosts. They take the time to show you around and explain what they are about. The Cabins are spacious, extremely clean, kept up to date with comfortable beds; and the linen at West 1077 was better than the Hyatt Regency we just spent 5 days at. In fact the whole resort is very well kept; thanks to the obvious hard work of the owners Iris and Ralph.

The food is delicious. Simple – and delicious. They had one employee doing all the meals and she did a outstanding job.

If you are looking to be programmed like a city slicker dude ranch – then this is not your place. Thank goodness! You are left alone to do with what you please. Relax, read, sit by the pool (which is very clean) or book a horseback ride on site by an amazing person, Eileen, owner of Juniper Hill Stables. (I will review separately). And you get to ride in the State Park, which only a few ranches are able to do; but you won’t find better horses or a guide than Eileen.

This is hands down one of my best vacation experiences; thanks to the hospitality...