Valhalla Resort — Hotel in Four Corners States

I never leave reviews -let alone bad ones...so I'm saying this has got to be bad for me to say something :(

I have grow up vacationing in Estes Park. My whole family has grown up vacationing here, and now my children have loved getting to experience Estes as well.

My family and I excitedly came across this property about 1 year and 1/2 ago. It was rustic, mostly affordable, and the couple that ran it had such a heart for families and providing all the elements one needs to enjoy a stay and concentrate on making memories in a family friendly environment .

Shortly after we made our reservation my Dad was notified that the property had sold, but they assured us we would still be happy in staying at Valhalla. Needless to say we enjoyed the cabin we were in and enjoyed most of the staff, but now that we have been frequently returning we have started to grow increasingly disappointed and concerned that maybe the guests stay /guests happiness is not the owners main priority . From the hot tub not working for a good portion of our time there during one stay (of which my Dad had asked for a discount off our next visit to which Danette-the owner said she gave a discount but had raised the overall prices so it really didnt save us anything -if I remember right it was a little more ...) to missing cookware/utensils in the cabins, dirty cookware, stove tops not working, empty propane tank for the grill of the cabin , unmaintained/ unfiltered/unheated /dirty pool.

My reason truly for this review is now what has made my family and I so shocked/disappointed/upset that we will NEVER be returning to Valhalla!

On my last planned stay my 3 children and I (Im a single mama) were 2 days away from our reserved/prepaid time. I recieved a phone message from Danette the owner stating that my prepaid stay would no longer be honored at the agreed price (family and friends rate) due to the fact the office manager was (as of the time of her call) no longer employed there. She stated I could get a full refund or pay the regular full price.

I had found when I called to confirm I would take the refund that my bank statement already showed she had (without consent) charged me the full price. I reached out to Will (office manager) who has become a wonderful part of our extended family to ask what I should do. He insisted that he would take care of it respectively with Danette even though he was no longer choosing to work there due to the work environment there admittingly grown quite toxic. He informed me shortly after communicating with her that she told him she would not issue MY refund until he had moved of the property!!!!! What!!? I am still in shock over this one. Me, a paying guest's hard earned money being used to aid her/the owner in a mean spirited childish tiff between herself and staff!! Absolutely unacceptable!!

She refused -as I said- to issue my refund; which also wasn't helping me with my plans to treat my 3 kiddos in less then two days. I ended up having to call the Larimer police department to ask for help. Thank God the officer got right on it and forced her over the phone to issue the refund immediately. He told me that he advised her he could've charged her with theft if she didn't refund me and also that he suggested to her to learn to take better care of her staff and employees.

Once again, I feel this all was very unfortunate to happen. We really did enjoy our time there outside of our frustrations for the most part. During these times most of the staff was more then happy to assist in helping anyway they could and were very friendly , but in my opinion when the owner shows no true involvement in excellence or care/concern of the customers happiness/experience the staff can only do so much. And above all ...a person who is reactive like that -willing to take such lengths to affect customers and staff alike - I will not and would never recommend trusting my vacation time/family time to a place that has an owner...

Overall we had a relatively good stay. The cabin was relatively clean. The location was relatively good, close to RMNP but also to a road, so relatively quiet. :)

The beds were not suitable to a married couple co-sleeping with a 15 month-old. They are double beds, so at best they would serve a young single or perhaps a couple, assuming they have no back, knee or other joint pain. I woke up at 3am with a stabbing pain in my hip. My hip! I didn't know your hips were supposed to go to pot in your 30's, but I could be wrong. Stabbing hip pain has gone away since I returned home and slept a night in an actual bed with a quality mattress, but alas I am but a grumbling old man pissing on about his ills (I'm 37).

The deadbolt on the front door was in a semi-locked position regardless of whether it was "locked" or not - one might nudge it open even if it's "locked." Since it is not located in South Side Chicago this didn't matter much anyway as the greatest threat to me and my family was a black bear, whom we didn't see.

Forget quiet, and you will have a better chance at stargazing Downtown Chicago. With bright yellow porch lights on every single cabin and Christmas lights on the Rec Center (complete with Frogger) there is no hope of seeing anything spectacular in the sky, unless it's an eclipse or a UFO, etc. Didn't see either of those on this trip, so I digress.

Perhaps I timed my stay poorly because back and left from us was the Bachelor party for a wedding, complete with requisite hooting and jabbering. Not to be a party pooper or a NARC, but for me personally the hedonistic hijinks (to which I was uninvited, sniff) basically spoiled my first night at the cabin. Sounds like the Bachelor boys had fun, though, so good for them. Supporting the local liquor and beer economy and all of that, so there's a silver lining.

It didn't help, either, that the adult party for said wedding was next door, so although Mom and Pops and Auntie, Granma Sue, Uncle Billy and countless other folks (Jesus Christ, people, how many folks can fit in this damn cabin anyway?!) didn't drink or woot and hoot like their younger counterparts, they did park about fifteen cars in the drive and frequently make use of a bright flashlight to navigate the traffic in and out because, you know, parking fifteen cars in a ten foot by fifteen foot driveway is kind of a difficult thing to do at night, especially.

So I've praddled on and you have probably stopped reading. Valhalla is not a bad place, but don't stay here if you want "secluded" or "quiet" or anything you probably go to Colorado for. Might be a great place to stay if you want to PAAAARRRTY!!!!!!

I'll drink...

We visit Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park a couple of times a year because we love the area. When we visit our go-to place for lodging has been Valhalla Resort. We have stayed there under both the old and new owner/management. But after the recent experience that will no longer be our lodging choice! We decided at the last minute to spend a few days there. We booked the reservation on December 31, 2023 for January 2-5, 2024. We were excited that given the last minute decision that we had a few options to choose from and were able to secure a reservation for a cabin with a hot tub. Our excitement however was short-lived because early that next morning January 1 we learned that our neighbor and friend passed away unexpectedly; she was only 58 years old. We were very saddened by this loss and we needed to stay home to support and help the husband/family during this difficult time. As such we called Valhalla and left a message explaining the situation. We didn’t hear back until the next day and then had 2 telephone conversations with Drew. He told us the office was closed on the 1st! We explained the situation and that we didn’t wish to cancel but would like to reschedule and receive a credit because we’ve stayed there numerous times previously and enjoy the resort. Drew indicated that he couldn’t make a decision. He explained that the owner, Danette is the only person that could make that decision and she would be back on Thursday January 4. On Thursday Danette called and we explained the situation. We reiterated that we’ve stayed there previously and would like to reschedule the reservation. We asked that she be sympathetic to our situation. Her reply was unbelievable!! She said…”I have no sympathy for you or the family…I don’t care - this is a business”. Under no circumstances does she give credit or reschedule reservations. She further reiterated that the cancellation policy is very clear in the reservation language. For someone to have such a cold heart! We fully realize the terms of a “cancellation” policy but this was a request to reschedule, NOT CANCEL, our stay. Like we explained, we have stayed there many times before under both ownerships. Given the recent interactions with Danette it will...