The Oasis at Death Valley — Hotel in Beatty

This is a difficult review because I really enjoyed the resort/hotel, but there were too many negatives to offset the great experience. The hotel is in the middle of nowhere which makes it very special, quite, and secluded.. The views are amazing and there are several things to do. Pros: Location. Nothing else around and we stayed in a newer Cottage which was a two room villa. We had a refrigerator and microwave in the room. There was a sofa and chair in the sitting area and a wonderful porch to sit and enjoy the atmosphere. Location: Really the only place to stay in Death Valley. It has 3 restaurants and 3-4 shops including a general store which had most everything you need that you forgot to bring when arriving two hours away from Las Vegas in the middle of nowhere. The pricing in the resort stores is very steep - but that's to be expected in such a remote location. The swimming pool was very nice and heated - it is spring fed so a little cool so they keep it warm. There was hardly nobody at the pool when we visited in late October.

Cons: the restaurants are not good. Average at best. However, I would say they provided basic meals at a remote location in the middle of the desert. Prices are very high, but again expected due to the remote location. I anticipated having better food. The 1849 Buffet is visited by several tour busses throughout the day - they stop and let bus loads of people out because it is the only place to eat. Just be aware of that and don't get caught trying to eat there when the busses arrive. The WiFi was absolutely horrible and basically didn't work. Every hour or so it kept asking you to sign in again but it was so slow and bad it really didn't matter. If you are expecting to be online while here, it's not going to happen. The 3G cell signal is also so bad you can't really aren't able to receive phone calls or data over the WiFi. We were here for almost a week and it was just simply horrible.

Security and Safety: here's the big one for me. We traveled with a group of about 20 people. We stayed in several of the cottages for our trip. On the last night before we checked out, two of our cottages had drivers licenses, automobile insurance cards, and other personal information stolen out of the room. The resort does NOT provide daily housekeeping services, so someone intentionally went into the rooms and stole the information. When inquiring about it at the front desk, they said they knew who went into the rooms due to the electronic locks, but there is nothing they can do! I find it rather bizarre that the same information was stolen out of two rooms. The resort offered no recourse for the stolen information and basically didn't even care it happened. This is the primary reason for my rating of a 1.

If you stay here, lock up everything! I'd love to say I'd return, but this just...

This was a three night stay at the Ranch (aka, Oasis) Death Valley, a Xanterra resort. We booked a two Queen with sleep sofa for the four of us. The sofa bed wouldn't fold out completely and sat at an angle that would've had our heads at a 30 degree angle. Called the front desk and they sent someone out to confirm it wasn't working, who suggested we just sleep on it because "the weight of people on the bed should bring the angle down some." After complaining to the front desk we were moved into another room at 10 pm, which wasn't fun after an exhausting all day drive. The new room had working beds, but we lacked enough towels. The next morning I called the front desk and was told towels would be right over. Three hours later, I called again to ask where they were but no one answered and I had to eventually walk to the front desk to make the request. There I found one of two people working the desk on a computer while the phone just rang and rang. There was coffee grinds and a machine in our room, but no coffee pot. The restaurants here are overpriced. The dinner buffet was $30/person and was nearly half empty of food each time we went up. At least the buss person was friendly, because the guy working the register seemed genuinely annoyed by people asking him questions about the buffet. In the morning there is one coffee cart where you will find a chronically long line due to the fact it's the only one around. There you'll find one person working the register, making drinks, and restocking. A clear example of corporate greed over employee welfare, which was confirmed when the stand was closed the third day because someone didn't come to work. The general store sells food and drink with hyper-inflated prices. Our first day we bought pre-made sandwiches for around $14 each, only to find a larger selection of the same sandwiches at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center for around $7 about 200 yards up the road. All the employees at the Ranch are clearly stressed and overworked. We didn't realize how bad it was until we were greeted with friendly staff and significantly better food at lower cost up the road at Stovepipe Wells. Do yourself a favor and avoid Xanterra properties. Stovepipe wells wasn't as fancy, but we sure wished we had stayed there instead. We were actually considering a stay at the Canyon Lodge in Yellowstone (another Xanterra property), but that idea has been nixed after...

I have just spent my morning reviewing past reviews by other guests. One caught my eye as I had a similar experience. it is as follows.

OTHER PARTIES COMMENTS:::::: Our stay was unacceptable due to severe safety and cleanliness issues. Sandbags at the entrance of Block 800 caused a major trip hazard; my partner fell and was injured. Another guest also fell. Safety and maintenance failed further with a broken pool gate and a foul corridor smell. Housekeeping was substandard: we had stained towels, dusty cups, and hair in the sink. Our check-in experience was inconsistent with other guests ]

MY EXPERIENCE AND COMMENTS:::Room allocated in Block (900)-Room-(28) to be exact, The room is tired and old with a strong smell of Urine emanating from one of the room corners. Bathroom, shower over bath-Tub and had a strong smell of open drains. Bath-tub did not drain well, thus you were standing in dirty water while showering. Toilet Tissue? Abrasive and thin, we took Napkins from the restaurant to use. Vanity, had not been cleaned stains were present and hair strands. Bedding, Top sheet of bed near window, had a small stain of what appeared to be Blood. Bottom sheet appears not to have changed also. Buffet Restaurant The staff on duty were more focused on being rude. It stated it was open at a certain time 30 minutes later they, the staff, were still setting up. The evening supper food was average, at 60.00 USD for two people, absolutely not worthier of that price.

In closing, old and tired room [928] with almost gagging odour present, dirty bed-linen, old extremely noisy wall AC, certain staff rude and dismissive. to all our group. Dinner and breakfast Buffet average. Don't use the booth seating in the buffet restaurant, the cushions are worn out offering no support. Electronic door key cards failed numerous times for all in our group. We sat waiting in a 98 degree heat to get the cards re-keyed. High pricing, lacking in reinvestment to certain areas. I saw it as a cheap weekend Hooch and certainly not three star Oasis.

To the manager no need to respond to my comment. Spend your time dealing with your staff to improve friendliness...