Murphy's River Lodge — Hotel in Estes Park

Excellent, excellent, excellent!

This place was just our speed for a vintage lodge-like motel. It is close enough to easily walk (for most folks) to all the shops and restaurants downtown, but because it's not directly in the middle of it all, the rates are a little more reasonable.

It's an older place that has recently been updated. The guest rooms have been updated with carpet, tile, curtains, and bedding that will surround you with the modern, contemporary earth-tones most of us expect today.

The "lodge" is laid out with a two-story guest room structure that wraps around, in a square fashion, the parking lot while the office building is in the middle. All the buildings have been updated as well with fresh paint in shades of brown. Though updated, we personally enjoyed the sound of walking around on the wood balconies... somewhat creaked a little. Some of the railings were worn smooth. We love an older place. The more history a place can get under its belt, the more character and charm it seems to have.

The property backs up to a creek roaring right out of the mountains. Very nice. Get a room at the back of the "square" to have a balcony or patio if you'd like to take advantage of the relaxing sights and sounds of the creek.

The staff was very nice. We felt like we were staying with friends.

They have a great continental breakfast with cereal, danishes, fruit, bagels, juice, coffee, etc. The set up is cool, too. On the second level, sort of a loft above the pool, the breakfast is in a kitchen area with lots of tables, a fireplace, a TV, microwave, sink, and a small selection of books and board games.

Cautions: In our updated, guest room bathroom, there was only a single, round, extension wall mirror. I thought it was cool, but any women who rely on larger mirrors for makeup and such may not like it. The breakfast area is on the second level which is not a big deal for most, but anyone who cannot climb stairs, or does not like to, will not like this arrangement. Parking is tight--If you are traveling with two cars, there may not be a space for both. With this known, it's not enough to keep me away.

In the end, it was just right. I hope...

Our stay was mid June. I had booked 2 double queen rooms several months prior. I called 1 week before the trip just to verify everything and was told we had 1 double queen and 1 king room booked. I indicated that was not correct and I had an email confirmation of what I had booked. I was told I must have called and changed the reservation, which I did not. After a while, I was told we would be given a roll away at no charge, and they usually charge $15/night for that. I was not pleased with that solution and asked to speak to a manager. The front desk worker then said she didn't know what happened but all rooms were booked. She called the manager herself and called back to say they could provide us with 1 night free stay for the mix up. I had little other options as everything nearby was booked at this point. The rooms appeared clean, but very basic. We had 2 hard back chairs and a small desk in one room, 2 soft chairs in the other room. Very few outlets were available and 2 of ours did not work at all so we had to charge our devices in shifts from 1 bathroom outlet. I told the front desk worker and she said she would have maintenance check it. No extra blankets or pillows were in the rooms. I didn't go to the desk and ask, so not sure if they would provide more. Small fridge and microwave in each room. River behind the hotel was the best feature, but with very limited sitting area. It is nice to leave windows open to hear the water. 2 Adirondack chairs were provided beside the river, but very small space there as well. I think there was a bigger area on the other end of the hotel. Non river rooms have no view at all. There was free popcorn in the office and ice cream for purchase. Free breakfast was provided with muffins, donuts, bagels and juices. We didn't use the pool or hot tub area. I was afraid it would be loud being on the bottom floor but only heard upstairs guests a couple times walking. Overall, it was an OK place to stay, and easy to walk to downtown area but I would not stay here again. There were other hotels nearby that I...

There are times you stay at a hotel and you are surprised just how much of a great deal you got for the quality of the stay. Murphy's lodge is definitely one of those hotels.

When my wife and I came here for our honeymoon, we were surprised by all the amenities that this place offered. Complimentary movies, popcorn, and breakfast? There was enough to do at this lodge that we wished we had more than a day to stay at Estes Park.

Spatially, this area is located within walking distance of a lot of the shops and restaurants of Estes park, making touring the area very convenient. It's also in close proximity to a number of hiking trails, with several of them being just a 5-10 minute drive to get to.

The hotel is pet friendly, but despite knowing we were a few doors down from a energetic dog, we didn't hear anything from them. If you're looking to take a nice soak, they have an indoor hot-tub and pool just down the walkaway.

As we enjoyed our complimentary hashbrowns and eggs, we found out that the area also came with a grill and fire-pit all while next to a river. The number of nifty features of this place just kept going up the longer we stayed at the hotel.

Lastly, I enjoyed the cleanliness of the hotel. It might be an odd thing to say, but I couldn't help but notice just the origami towels and tissue papers that added to the already nicely touched up room.

Our stay here was enough to want us to come back here the next time we're in Colorado. If you're looking for a lovely stay, I would suggest no other than Murphy's Lodge

Pros: Great Location Number of amenities include: Movies, Popcorn, Firepit, Grill, and Breakfast Cleanliness is not only great, but a step above most high quality hotels Very well equipped with other additional features such as spare blankets and a hotel safe Friendly and outgoing...