Sorrel River Ranch Resort and Spa — Hotel in Four Corners States

Sorrel River Ranch Resort is a major disappointment. Should be promoted as a secluded resort not a luxury resort. There is no value provided for the amount of money this resort charges, nor is there any luxury.

When you arrive and go down the driveway, you are greeted by very dark buildings that look a bit ominous even in the afternoon. We felt confused by what we saw, there is no landscaping, no flowers, poor signage directing you where to sign in. There is no loading dock area for deliveries, so as you are checking in, you are fighting for space in the driveway with Fedex and the food delivery service.

The property faces the Colorado River and lined with adirondack chairs and firepits. The chairs are covered in bird poop and you can not sit in them. The chairs were covered in bird poop the entire time we were there. We saw an employee walking around one evening with a dry towel wiping the chairs and that did nothing. Everything needs to be power washed.

Walkways are lined with old lava rock. It looks like these beds haven't been refreshed since they were installed.

We played pickleball one morning and the tennis court is also covered with bird poop. This is months and months of bird poop adding up. The tennis rackets, balls, and pickleball equipment is all just dropped on the ground as you enter the court area. No nice presentation of equipment. Again, powerwashing.

There are some empty ponds located around the property that are empty and covered in plastic. They have not been functioning for some time. This is also referenced in other reviews that are about a year old.

The on-site restaurant was too hot to actually eat in. Guests were ushered to a different area in the main building. The menu was very limited and uninspired although the few options were solidly good but lacked presentation, and didn't leave us inspired. The menu did not feature local foods or farms. The menu was the same every day. There probably should be some staple items and a few rotating features since guests stay there more than one night. The bar had a nice cocktail menu but didn't offer top shelf liquor.

There are no amenities offered such as a welcome event, music on the patio in the evening, as you see at other resorts. There was an embarrassing gift left in the room - one cheap plastic water bottle and a gator scarf. Laughable!

When you check in, there is no one to help you with your luggage as you would expect in a luxury resort. And I don't think the spa was functional. We were not asked about making any appointments there. We never saw anyone who looked like they were in charge of the resort or dining room like a manager who usually comes around and checks on you/your meal/your stay.

It looked like some of the units were under remodel and the porch furniture was strewn carelessly in the lawn. There was a tired sand volleyball court that no one used.

In spite of all of the negativity, we must give a nod to the wonderful men and women who worked there through a foreign employment program. They were just so personable and hard working doing their best to get through a situation where they were probably offered little or no training. They never stated that to us, but we could observe that. The delightful conversations we had with these employees made us feel like we at least got something out of our stay here.

We did enjoy the potential of the setting and the location.

A quick look on Pinterest should give these owners/operators a hint of how to make people feel good about spending the exorbitant amount of money it costs to stay here.

I feel there is no point to writing this review, because after my trip I looked at the reviews and see people have been complaining of these same things for quite a long time and nothing has been resolved. There are no service standards here. So while I don't think that SRR will make any changes, I don't want another guest to spend their hard earned money thinking they are getting a special experience just to come up short handed...

Sorrel has a lot of potential - the views are amazing! The grounds are lovely, the minimal staff that were onsite were extremely nice and trying their best. We went in June and the resort was not even half full. Our room was great, clean and a lot of amenities. The horseback riding was fantastic as well. The animals (pig, chickens, cats) that hung around the barn were so friendly and fun to engage with. Here are areas for improvements:

1. Communication - since booking back in the winter, we were given many different answers to questions about excursions, meal times, costs, etc. We booked an “adventure package” that came with two free horseback rides or hikes. The emails were confusing, so I called to clarify. The woman I spoke with, June, was unsure of some details and suggested I call a manager. When I called him, he was confused and answered assuming I was trying to join a zoom call he was currently on. He had to end our call quickly. Clearly he was caught off guard, not his fault. He called me back later and there was still some confusion on this call. For a high end resort it seems that there was a lot of “run around” on my part to get questions answered. Check out was confusing - after waiting at the desk for 15 min for a staff member to come back, she told me I had a balance of $327 but was not able to tell me what that was for and was unable to print me the bill. After we left, I was charged three separate charges totaling over $600. This required me to call the resort back to work through this, it took several phone calls until the questions and confusion was finally answered. Sorrel fixed the error and comped a meal for all the confusion which was appreciated.
2. Website: I hoped Sorrel would help us book tour - the website makes it appear that they do so. When I called June told us we have to book our own, but offered a few recommendations, but I did all the work. Meal times on the website were inaccurate. Breakfast was a question mark. Website said one thing, email said another, front desk said another - Paola (who was so sweet) at the front desk felt horrible for all the miscommunication about breakfast since we were on a time schedule to go meet a tour guide in town- when we returned she had a complimentary cheese plate in our room. Also the farm/community table was not in operation and the garden was not currently active, although prior to our trip the website made it appear as though it was. JJ Mercantile was just opening back up after being closed for a long time and a lot of miscommunication on timing and what they actually served here.
3. Dining: Dining area was lovely - the 2 servers were nice. However, menu was VERY limited and did not change during the time we were there. 4 entrees and 2 salad options which were all expensive.
4. Cost: Although Sorrel is listed as a 4 star hotel, they are charging 5 star prices without 5 star service and amenities. When paying $1200 a night, one would expect more staff available to answer questions and staff that knows the correct answers. There were "resort fees" but not a lot extra included for the cost. There was a 20% gratuity tacked onto everything, including bar/wine. We went horseback riding (Katie the wrangler was fantastic!). I was told by staff via email that gratuity was NOT included for this. I gave Katie a cash tip. At check out, I found out that I was charged for the 20% gratuity. Long story short, Sorrel is beautiful! However, they cannot continue to charge such high prices when their service does not align. We plan to come back to Moab again and would love to stay at the Sorrel again if they better align their cost with the services provided. I felt badly for a lot of their staff that were trying the best they could with what seemed like limited information, misinformation, and not...

The Sorrel River Ranch Resort is certainly not the luxury resort it once was known for, unfortunately, our recent experience mimics the other very unsatisfied reviews. The property is beautiful against the stunning backdrop of 360-degree views, however, the service and overall guest experience is far from acceptable. Their website is very appealing with detail about all the amenities such as their EPIC bar, River Grill, Mercantile Store, and activities, however, this is false advertising at it’s finest. The EPIC bar does not have a cocktail menu and the bartender has been bartending for a total of seven days. They do not restock the alcohol so if you like something, you may not be able to get it again during your stay. The wine list is devoid of fine wine options, after the first night, we made sure to stop in town to bring our own wine (happily paying the $25 corkage) and contemplated purchasing our own wine glasses as their only option was what would resemble a port wine glass. The River Grill menu doesn’t even come close to the menu online, in fact, it completely lacks appetizers or soups, it doesn’t change, they have no specials, it offers a few salad selections and only a few entrée options. While the food tasted good, I’m glad we were not staying for longer than three nights as we would have been out of options. The service (with the exception of Phenix who was awesome) was delayed and dismissive, they are clearly understaffed in numbers as well as experience. We were told that the majority of the staff has changed over within the last three weeks. Leadership is key in any business and I believe that is where the ineptitude starts at Sorrel. We had the worst experience last night with the food and beverage manager, who is apparently too important to be bothered with guest satisfaction, due to his arrogance and indifference, we chose to leave the resort and had a wonderful dinner at The Cowboy Grill at the Red Cliffs Lodge down the road. Outside of the disappointing gastronomic experience, we were also disappointed that simple things advertised online were not available. The Garden to table Communal dinner was unavailable, though after the River Grill experience, I would not be inclined to attend. Breakfast and Lunch is room service only. The Mercantile is only open 5 days per week starting at 9:30AM and they do not offer any prepared foods so if you are going on a tour, you should leave early and stop in town for provisions. They tout an amazing spa experience but when we checked in person, they only offer massages, nothing else. I can understand having a few issues and working out the kinks given COVID, but this is far from what is advertised and not worth the spend. The rooms are nice, and the views are spectacular, if their leadership and management improves it may be worth another look. I think it's important to keep in mind😠 when you stop caring about your customers, they stop...