WorldMark Red River — Hotel in Four Corners States

Summary||We spent a week here to escape the brutal heat at our home near Albuquerque, NM. We enjoyed our stay, and would return, especially in the winter when the ski lift in the resort’s back yard is operating.||||One side of the building appears to have been renovated, and staff told us that exterior repairs and renovations were scheduled to begin the week following our visit. Our unit, #10, was just renovated, and proved spacious and comfortable.||||We’ve skied Red River in winter, and this resort is superbly positioned for a great week. The ski area itself is more appealing to beginner/intermediate skiers, with few expert-challenging trails. In summer, we found it attractive for all the hiking trails criss-crossing the slopes. ||||The town is a fun, small place, with several good restaurants, a couple funky roadhouse bars, and an assortment of tourist-oriented shops. Winter or summer, you can have a good, cool vacation here.||||Unit Features||Our unit, #10, is a recently renovated 2BR, with spacious living area and very large deck. The front of the unit faces the street on which the resort is located. The rear faces a narrow strip of river bank across which a paved sidewalk runs. Beyond that is the Red River itself. The opposite bank of the river rises steeply up the mountain on which the ski area is located. The views are both pastoral and majestic.||||An L-shaped kitchen adjoins the entryway, with a full set of appliances. Dinnerware, crockery and flatware are provided for 8 people, with appropriate pots and pans. Kitchen tools and gadgets were a step above the usual cheap junk. I found I didn’t need the knives I brought along nearly as much as I normally do. The resort even provided some coffee and tea to get us started.||||The dining/living space extends straight back from the kitchen to the rear wall, where an 8’ sliding glass door leads to an unexpectedly large deck measuring about 16’x32’. The deck extends across the entire rear of the building, with each unit separated by a chest-high dividing wall. Similarly, a balcony, narrower than the deck, extends across the second floor of the building. ||||In the living/dining area, a gas fireplace provides cozy light and warmth, although we used it only a little during our summer visit. A 50” flat screen TV mounted above the fireplace mantel was plenty large enough for good visibility from the pull-out couch and chairs. A DVD player provides the means for movies, and the resort has a small library of films available for borrowing. ||||A rectangular table and six chairs occupied the dining area, while still leaving good traffic space around it. Two entry closets and a bank of closets at one side of the dining area offer plenty of storage for vacation gear.||||The second BR is just to the right of the entryway, and features two twin beds, a nightstand, and a chest of drawers. A small closet is also included. A 27” flat screen TV provides some entertainment opportunity in this BR.||||A full bath is situated between the second BR and the master, and is accessed from the living/dining space. It is spacious enough to accommodate a wheelchair, but lacks grab bars and other accessories, so I can’t call it fully accessible.||||The master BR is located off the living area at the rear of the unit space. It features a king bed, two nightstands, a chest of drawers, and a closet. A pair of windows look out on the unit’s deck, the river and mountain beyond.||||An ensuite bath with a full tub/shower unit is accessed through a door at one side of the bed. It, too, is large enough to maneuver a wheelchair in, but access is blocked by the king bed, which leaves only a very narrow path around it to the bathroom.||||Unit Size||I estimate our unit to be around 750 sq.ft. or so. The open floor plan in the living/dining area contributes to a feeling of greater size, as does the large deck, which adds at least another 400 sq. ft. I do not know if other units are larger or smaller.||||Condition of Unit and Property||As noted earlier, the unit itself is newly renovated, and was spotlessly clean with virtually no wear showing anywhere. The balance of the property shows a good deal of age, with darkened wood siding and a few sagging railings. Along the roofline, winter snow and ice dams have broken off large sections of rain gutters. This resulted in a significant waterfall onto our deck during a couple of afternoon thunderstorms, since the remaining gutter ended right above the deck. Staff informed us that repairs and exterior renovations were due to commence the week after our visit. ||||Any problems encountered such as check-in problems, room changes, etc.||None||||Any Unexpected Fees||None||||Resort Amenities||The resort has a small common deck area with a hot tub. Unfortunately, it appears the tub is used only in winter. A couple of gas grills were noted in the same space. All the units are accessed from open walkways on the street side of the resort. Other than the hot tub space, we didn’t notice any summer amenities, but then, we didn’t go looking for them either.||||Staff Friendliness and Responsiveness||We found the staff to be quite friendly and highly responsive to our questions. Maintenance staff appeared seemingly in moments in response to one or two requests for assistance.||||Convenience to Area Attractions||Red River is a small town, and the resort is located just one short block off the main street. Nothing in town is more than a brisk 15-minute walk from anything else, including the ski area. In fact, one of the ski area’s double chairlifts is located at the back corner of the resort building. Although it is closed in summer, a larger, 4-person chairlift does offer sightseeing rides to the peak. That lift is a 10-minute walk down the path behind the resort.||||Out of town, numerous trail heads and trails are a short drive away. A 15-minute drive up to the top of Bobcat Pass brings one to Bobcat Pass Wilderness Adventures, which offers horseback and ATV guided tours of the surrounding forested mountains. On certain nights in the summer, it also offers “cowboy dinner” evenings with very good grilled steaks and Western music. Taos Village, home to a significant art traditioin, and Taos Pueblo, the oldest continuously-inhabited dwelling place in the United States, are about a 45-minute drive from the resort. Eagle Nest and Angel Fire are two other small towns not far that are worth a visit.||||Local Restaurants Worth Mentioning||Very good: Sundance (Mexican), Texas Red’s Steakhouse (steak), Brett’s Bistro (American/Continental)||Good: Yesterday’s Diner (breakfast/lunch), Shotgun Willie’s (BBQ)||Fair: Capo’s Corner (Italian), Vine+Dine (American, expensive), Red River Brewing & Distillery (pub grub, undistinguished beer)||Saloons: Bull O’ the Woods, Motherlode (both very good bars with pub grub and weekend music)||||Suitability of Resort for couples, families, relaxing, partying, etc.||Couples – Great! Units are spacious and quiet, and the town’s restaurants and bars are close by. Evenings in the unit are comfortable.||||Families – Sure! The second BR accommodates two kids, and the pull-out couch will hold a couple more. The deck is partially shielded from rain by the balcony overhead, so even rainy days needn’t find everyone cooped up inside.||||Relaxing – Sure! We were there in non-holiday summer, and the weather was sunny and cool with occasional afternoon thunderstorms. Although the town was full of tourists on the weekends, it was relatively empty and quiet during the week. The beds are both nicely firm and in near-new condition.||||Partying – Yes! Between inside space and the deck, the unit could easily hold two or thee dozen people for a party. I wouldn’t try to party hearty late into the night (the resort has a 10PM quiet time curfew) but an afternoon family gathering or early evening cocktail party would be easy to accomplish.||||Rating: The resort’s location, ambiance, views, and comfort all put it in 8.0-9.0 range. The need for continuing renovations drops that into the 6.0-7.0 range. Overall, I call it a 7.5, with potential to rise as renovations...

I don't even know where to begin. I won't make this a long rant but after a 13 hour all night drive to arrive by 8 am. We got a strange text at 1 am? That said " please call us about your reservation" ..(not normal right?) So we do and they confirm that we are coming and of course we say "yes" and they say "oh ok well they are going to want an additional credit card when you get their for a deposit so they may ask your for that" our reply "..ok". So arrive 8 am and walk into the hotel and front guest says there is no reservation and that it was cancelled. and the same time I get a phone call I silent because now I'm in shock, Call comes in again. So I answer it and she says "Hi, I'm so and so from booking company," my reply " oh great they just told me here at hotel that my reservation was cancelled?" her reply "yea that's why I'm calling me "ok...." her reply "......" me " well do you have anything else to say? " her reply " oh well we got you a spot at a sister location so you can go their" me " are you gonna give me the location is this real" her " yes it is in TAOS .. world mark, just go there.." me " how do I know I really have a resertvation and I'm gonna dive up and they are gonna say I'm crazy? where is the proof? or confirmation ? I don't have an email..etc" her " well I just told you," me" well I guess I need it in writing "

So after getting an email and driving another hour away we get their and its confirmed "phew I have a bed and room tonight for my family and I"

But what they don't think about is now I have to make all new equipment reservations, new lift ticket and plan my whole trip all over AGAIN!! I planned all of this before I left and now I have to do this in a few hours and change it all again.

Needless to say the stress was at an all time high so it did not start off on a good note this family vacation of ours!

So be careful who you book with even if you call the hotel to confirm a week before your trip, looks like they can...

Buyer beware! We booked a 2br condo in 11/2022 for a four night stay in 2/23, which was for our sons wedding. We paid the reservation in full at the time of booking and received confirmation that our reservation was accepted. We called WorldMark two weeks prior to our reservation beginning and confirmed our reservation was in good order and we were all set. The front desk confirmed we were all set and our reservation was in good order. Two days prior to the start of our reservation, we received an email stating that our reservation was being cancelled due to WorldMark be overbooked. We contacted WorldMark and their parent company and were told that they had over booked and were sorry for the inconvenience but could no longer accommodate us. I asked for an explanation regarding their process as to how they choose which reservations are canceled and which are honored and received no answer. I also asked for an explanation regarding the fact that we had booked this reservation 4 months in advance, paid in full and confirmed the reservation two weeks prior to our arrival….only to have it cancelled 2 days prior to arrival…no answer, only we apologize that we are over booked! We scrambled and had to find other accommodations for a stay that was only two days away. Upon our arrival in Red River we went to WorldMark to inquire about our refund and the front office staff indicated that this is a common practice by the reservation arm of their parent company ExtraHolidays and they routinely have guests displaced with canceled reservations as close as the day before arriving. Be aware that when you book with this company you are not provided a guaranteed reservation only a “Lottery Ticket” that provides a chance for a room that is decided as a close a the day before your reservation begins. As a side note, our refund was short the taxes and fees that were charged separately and we had to call the parent company to request a refund. ...