SunGlow Motel and Family Restaurant — Hotel in Bicknell

We didn’t use the motel, just stopped for the restaurant. 10/10 experience! It just hit the spot perfectly after lots of hiking at Capitol Reef.

First of all, the food options in Torey/closer to the park were packed full and much more expensive. Bicknell isn’t that much further, and the restaurant wasn’t crowded and was much cheaper.

Second of all, it had just what we wanted in burgers. A big, juicy, home-style burger. They were amazing. I got the pub cheeseburger(it was a daily special). It had a pretzel bun and cheese and was SO, SO, SO GOOD. The fries that came with it were also drizzled with the same cheese. My friend got the Swiss mushroom hamburger. He said that the hamburger patty was a little bland so he felt like he’s had better Swiss mushroom burgers, but he was still happy with it. You can also choose to make it a meal and add a soup or a salad. The salad was pretty simple, but big and the ranch that came with it tasted homemade and good! The soup was also good. We got the beef with barley soup (it was a daily special) which was something I hadn’t heard of but was really good too. Only downside to the soup is that it comes in a tiny little bowl. Some folks might love that, but we were pretty hungry.

And okay. Let’s talk about the pie. I would never hd thought freaking pickle and pinto bean pie could be anything but toxic, but they were GOOD. We had the sampler. Since they didn’t have oatmeal pie they substituted cherry pie at our request. I thought the pinto bean was the best pie (tasted nutty and cocoanut-like), then the buttermilk (had a taste of lemon and was the perfect consistency), then the pickle (tasted mostly like cloves and cinnamon), then the cherry. Surprised me too! The crust was perfect.

The waitress filled up our cups promptly, she was friendly and helpful and willing to try to make changes mid order.

Aside from the food, the bathrooms were clean and so was the rest of the restaurant. It was clean and homey and just had all the small town vibes that I love. The windows were huge and all around the restaurant, which I loved because you had the perfect view out to the beautiful countryside.

I loved this cute little place. It just was the perfect ending to our day at Capitol Reef. I’ll definitely be back here. So cute. So fun. So...

Where to start...

Walking in, the rooms look relatively clean, though everything in my room was unplugged, so I couldn't use my mini fridge for my stay, and had to move furniture to plug in the TV and lamps.

The AC was non-existent in my room, and the old-school radiant heater under the window was set to OFF but constantly produced heat. When I went to open the windows to get some fresh, cooler air, both the main window and bathroom window came off into my hands. The movable part of the windows didn't fit the frame AT ALL, and there was just a tiny stick there that I was to prop the window open with. The bathroom window didn't have a screen on it, so I didn't even bother with it.

After I came back from dinner at their restaurant, which seemed to be operated by 13 year old girls and a 19 year old cook who took 45 minutes to make us 3 salads with deli meat and cheese sliced on them (chef salad), I noticed the room was about 8 degrees hotter.

I walked over to the office and one of the girls told me their managers aren't around today, but she'd send over the "cook-boy" to help me. I waited another hour, then went back over and talked to the cook-boy. He called the owners, who told him to call the manager guy, who apparently lived in the adjoined building.

The manager came over and looked around and said "well it looks like you're in one of the rooms that has no AC, and we can't do anything about the heater, it's just an old building. I understand why you aren't happy with your room, but on the other hand, what you see is what you get."

So... he offered to either kick me out of my room for the night and refund me, or give me a fan. I talked him into a 50% refund and the fan.

Just... don't bother with this place. For the food or the motel. Stay away from this...

Delicious food, kind service, bafflingly good pie.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been surprised by food. This place did it.

I got the Navajo tacos with chili verde. The chili had large chunks of tender pork and was served over two fresh, crispy pieces of fry bread that were just the right size and very flavorful. Lots of accompanying veggies and fresh salsa. I’ve never had Navajo tacos that were as light, balanced, and refreshing as these.

We ate with a very large group, and everyone’s food was exceptional and lovingly prepared. Even my insanely picky kids ate everything and asked for more.

But the pies were what floored me. I’d heard about the pickle pie and pinto bean pie for years and thought they were more of a hold-your-nose dare than real dessert. I was blown away when I tried them. We got a pie sampler for the table to share, which also included slices of buttermilk and oatmeal pie. None of them were the best pie I’ve ever had, but all four were yummy, and I’m still trying to figure out how. All were seasoned pretty heavily with spices or other flavors like lemon or coconut, sharing characteristics with pecan, pumpkin, sweet potato, and chess pie. The favorite among most of those who tried them, believe it or not, was the pickle pie. Even knowing that they were in there, I couldn’t taste the pickles. I mostly tasted warm spices that made me think of autumn. These were legit pies, not just novelties. The only bit of a turn-off for some at my table was the slightly grainy texture of the pinto bean pie.

The prices were extremely reasonable for the homey, comforting food and attentive service that we got.

I will go out of my way to eat here again. Every part of the...