Tarantula Ranch Camping & Glamping — Hotel in Beatty

If you're planning a Death Valley trip you've probably figured out that there aren't a lot of lodging options close to the park. We travel to the American Southwest frequently but had never been to this stunning National Park before simply because we didn't want to spend $400 for a room at Furnace Creek with limited dining options but we also didn't want to drive 2.5 hours from Last Vegas each way. ||So I was very pleased to find the Bottling House at Tarantula Ranch. This small glamping resort offers tent sites, small trailers and one tiny home; The Bottling House, which is what we went for.||Location wise it's about 45 minutes from the Visitors Center in Furnace Creek which is the heart of the park. It's an easy and pleasant drive. There isn't too much else around apart from a couple of gas stations so probably not the best option of you don't like to cook. You'll drive about 1 mile on a dirt road to access the property but it's well maintained, just dusty!||The Bottling House is about 300 square feet and is a detaches little studio cottage. It's not very large but is well laid out with a small kitchen, queen sized bed, comfortable couch, tiny eating area and an indoor toilet, the only way to bathe is the outdoor shower which we'll go into shortly.||The house has its own outdoor area with comfortable seating, a Firepit and a propane barbecue. The kitchen has a full size fridge, microwave, toaster and a hot plate. Don't plan on cooking a giant feast here as the appliances and space would limite your options but it's a very serviceable set up. They also have a Keurig coffee machine and had a ton of coffee pods available including different types of roasts which I appreciated, there's also lots of spices and seasonings.||As others have noted big selling point is the very private outdoor shower: there's a door off the side of the cottage that opens to a fenced off area with a tankless water heated shower. It gets plenty hot and it's a true joy to shower under the open sky. They being said, it gets cold here in the Winter months! We stayed here in mid November and in the morning I was showering in temperatures hovering just above freezing! ||Our stay was almost perfect but there were some issues I think worth pointing out:||We had no communication from the owners after arrival, a quick text or email asking how things were going would have been appreciated. There is very little in the way of information about the cottage and property available and we struggled to figure out where to buy firewood etc.||There are 3 absolutely adorable cats that want nothing more to hang out with the Bottling Room guests. We are cat people and found them charming at first but after a while they were a bit much; jumping on the barbecue while I was cooking and even jumping on our car while we were trying to drive away. Not a big deal but a warning from the owner's would have been nice. Also, they kept wanting to come into the cottage and we weren't sure if that was allowed.||Basically no hot water in kitchen, it would come out warm at best for two minutes and then be cold. Not ideal for washing dishes.||The shampoo/conditioner/shower gel pumps were all empty. I discovered extra in the bathroom but didn't realize until I was already having my first shower.||Overall this is a wonderful place and a great option for visiting...

We spent 3 nights at Tarantula Ranch to celebrate my 50th birthday. I’ve wanted to camp/glamp and bicycle in Death Valley for a long time, and this seemed a great chance to finally do it.

We stayed in one of the Cortes campers (Site 1) and had a fantastic time! The entire vineyard and camp compound is so quaint, lovely and well taken care of. You can see someone loves this little place and that shows through in the upkeep, cleanliness, hospitality, amenities and more.

There aren’t a lot of options to rent a camper around Death Valley that also allow pets, so we were lucky to find Tarantula Ranch. We used it as a base camp to explore the entire park and all its landmarks, along with other nearby areas like the quirky and famous Amargosa Opera House. We came back each evening, built a fire, and cooked a great dinner on the grill. We also planned an entire day just to be lazy and stay at the camper with a big fire and a good book. It was the relaxation we desperately needed!

Cell service was actually decent at the camp (which is RARE anywhere around Death Valley) but they also have fantastic high-speed WiFi. Our camper had its own bathroom, shower, refrigerator, stove, gas grill, fire pit, an outdoor dining table, 2 Adirondack chairs, and even an EV charger. (We brought stuff we didn’t actually need, because we weren’t expecting it to be so well stocked - blankets, towels, kitchen equipment, coffee maker, seasonings, etc.) They have other camping options with access to shared a kitchen, bathhouse, toilets, etc.

We had a great stay and I heartily recommend Tarantula Ranch to anyone looking for a “glamping” experience close to Death Valley. The hosts were welcoming and friendly, and it’s an experience you won’t soon forget. (Be sure to pop in to “Ruby’s Store” nearby to stock up on provisions and get one of their amazing tortas to bring...

I booked this place through booking.com and was very excited for the trip. However, I had a family emergency come up and had to cancel. I had contacted the owner through booking.com and explained everything to them, and was resigned to the fact that I'd lose all of my money for the booking - it was booked as non-refundable. However, the owner told me that if I went ahead and cancelled the reservation through booking.com - freeing up my dates for another guest to book - and another guest booked it, that they would issue me a refund. I agreed and cancelled the reservation, freeing it up for another guest to book. The room was booked for 3 of my 4 nights by another guest.

I let a couple of weeks pass, waiting for the owner to get a hold of me again to issue a refund. They never did reach out. So I contacted them, and they claimed that the property was never booked by another guest. This is false, and I know this because I checked the availability of this room each day on booking.com and saw that it was booked for 3 of my 4 nights.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the review, I was resigned to the fact that I would lose all of the money for this booking. However, the owners should not tell someone that they'll give a refund if the room gets rebooked if they don't plan on actually doing that. This was a valuable lesson learned for me, in that I should not have cancelled the reservation, which would not have freed it up for the owners to double-dip. Do not...