Wildcatter Ranch & Resort + Steakhouse — Hotel in Graham

Let me just start out by saying the property itself - is absolutely stunning. It’s the experience here is what I have to base a majority of my review on. I booked a stay here in a cabin as a surprise trip for my Husband’s Birthday. Initially I had the idea to bring both our dogs since the cabins are dog friendly however once I looked into the fine print - they charge $50 per dog PER DAY. This was the most outrageous dog policy I have ever encountered. Not a down payment incase of damages, nothing would be refunded. Just a full $50 per dog per day policy. It was more cost effective to just hire a dog sitter to stay at home with the babies. Now at this property they have a bunch of different activities you could schedule ahead of time. I chose to do a sunset horseback ride for my husband and I as a really nice ranch type of event for us to experience. Now this had me pretty ruffled up & pretty annoyed regarding my experience here. They charge $300 for a sunset horseback ride but a ride during the day would be $90 per person. This is the kicker for me… the sunset ride is literally 60 minutes & the daytime ride for $90 per person is 90 minutes. (The duration of the experience was something I didn’t find out until I arrived on property) And on the sunset ride… sure there’s a private ride but they do nothing to make up for that additional cost. They give you “add on” ($5 for s’mores, $25 for a camp fire, etc) options but want to charge for everything. In my opinion- a private sunset horseback ride should already include some kind of picnic snack by a fire pit or wine or SOMETHING to make that additional cost seem reasonable but yet - they do not. So needless to say I canceled our sunset ride. When we arrived inside our cabin - I would definitely say the interior of the cabin was very nice. Wood furnishings, ceiling high stone fireplace, a door the opens from the side of the bed to look out onto the beautiful sunset. What wasn’t in the room?! Literally nothing from the hotel celebrating my husband’s birthday. We’ve been traveling together for 10+ years, have celebrated many occasions at all different types of properties from VRBO, Air B&B, Luxury Hotels, Bed & Breakfasts… this was the first ever property to not even have a card on the nightstand saying “Happy Birthday- Thanks for celebrating your stay with us.” And for a 4 star hotel to not provide the little details in the experience to make the stay special… I was very disappointed. (I also made it very clear when booking the reservation on the phone, emails & checking in that this was a special stay for him so no I wasn’t just expecting them to read my mind - they were made very well aware.) We had reservations at the steak house. The view watching the sunset was very nice - the over an hour wait for our food was not. And being charged $4 for 4 pieces of thin tiny asparagus definitely was not nice either. The infinity pool was beautiful, we stayed a lot of time hanging out and reading. The pool towels were discolored and ragged. The furniture was definitely tired & worn out - Stained from too much outdoor sun and chlorine. There was bits of trash from previous guests blown about the pool grass area. Beer cans near a chair, coffee cups laying discarded by a table, wrappers along the poolside. None of which were cleaned up by any staff members during the duration of the stay. We did enjoy seeing the longhorns when we would drive in or out of the property, their feeding was the one “free” event that happened in the mornings. The road leading up to the property was riddled with pot holes - I’m glad we drove the truck because in a regular car it would’ve been a little tricky to navigate. Overall I would say this property probably at one point was a beautiful shining star out in the Texas hills but time has definitely taken it’s toll and it’s very unfortunate that the staff could’ve easily made the trip much nicer but the beauty was lost in...

I wanted to love this place, but it had it's pros & cons.

PROS: -- Pet friendly -- Easy to access with a quick drive from Dallas -- Things to do -- Remote & great for relaxing -- Activity Staff: Clint, Walt, & Kye (spelling) were great (five stars to them) -- Desk Staff: Brittney & Rocky were super sweet

CONS: -- Beds were a little stiff -- Bedding was a little too light for the winter months -- Lack of carpeting/area rugs in cabins allowed for freezing floors -- Dining room service was so slow -- Dining options very limited

Overall the resort has a lot of room for improvement on the lodging/dining end of things. Dining room service was so very, very slow even when the dining room was scarcely populated. Our server, who literally served us for four meals in a row was extremely poor at her job (my comment comes from someone who was a waitress of 7 years). Yes, serving can be difficult but we had an issue at every meal. Even if kitchen staff were at fault, the expo should have caught it on the way out, and if the expo didn't catch it errors are at that point the responsibility of the server. However, the waitress was trying and that's important and deserves credit.

As for the bar, we ordered a number of mixed drinks. The martini glasses would arrive at the table 3/4 of the way full when typically they are full to the brim. If you want to cut costs, buy smaller martini glasses and fill 'em up to make it look like your patron is getting what they paid for (it'll literally be the exact same amount of liquor). We ordered mixed drinks and they would come full of ice, that too is okay but it's an obvious way to attempt to cut costs. Cut down on the ice and use more mixers, it'll be less obvious.

The breakfast buffet lacked nothing and the presentation is so cute on the cast iron skillets. The first morning most of the sternos were not lit and so the food was a little on the cold side... again as a waitress of many years, I can eat ice cold food. Not a big deal. What was a little disappointing was that the next morning the breakfast was the exact same. Again, the breakfast buffet is a great way to cut costs, but maybe offer alternate breakfast options. The ranch is relatively remote and leaving for breakfast/lunch is a little inconvenient. For breakfast I suggest using the exact same items offered to make migas on alternating days perhaps? While the Texas shaped pancakes are super cute, bring out the Belgian waffle maker on the alternating days and allow guests to make piping hot waffles so they get to choose between sweet and savory; you can use the exact same batter as the pancakes require. Food costs should remain the same. So day one, buffet as is; day two migas with sides like the potato pancakes (which are SO good), fruit, cereal, toast but with the option to make hot waffles. It will make your patrons feel as though they are getting just a little more without changing your food costs.

Again, the quality of the food is not the problem, just service and lack of variety. I hope these suggestions help, this is not a jab at the kitchen staff either, it's very clear...

I came here for a weekend getaway with family before the school semester started. We stayed for two days, which started out very nicely. The front desk receptionist was very cordial and pleasant. The first thing we did was set down our things and walk around the resort. Our room smelled like chlorine when we walked in. Roads are not very well maintained. There's also no cell service (T-Mobile customer) on the resort.

Our first day consisted of relaxing at the infinity pool and a brief hike. Pool has a max depth of 3 ft. if I remember correctly. We had dinner at the restaurant onsite; our party had the steak, salmon, and pasta dishes, which all were average tasting with modest portions. The wait staff was courteous, but did take a while to take care of us.

Our second day was packed full of activities. We started out with a private trail ride in the morning. Our cowboy guide was personable and led us for the remainder of our activities in the day. The trail ride was not on an open range at all, only tight spaces. Following the private trail ride, we did the sport clay shooting. Once again, the cowboy was awesome in instructing us on how to shoot and giving tips as well. In between our activities, we tried to go bass fishing at the tank they have (you must bring everything necessary). This was extremely dangerous as the road was steep and not maintained at all, with craters in the road. Once we arrived at the tank, tall grass in front of the fishing platform was discouraging as it provided the perfect habitat for snakes. We actually saw a snake swim across the tank as we casted our lines. Also, we saw a wild pig on the other side. I definitely advise against going bass fishing unless safety conditions are improved! Due to weather conditions, archery was cancelled for the day. I also saw the archery set-up next to the stables, but instead of target stands, they have a stack of hay or something with a target on it. For dinner, we ate at the restaurant onsite again. Most of my party ordered the ribs, which was also average and expensive. Wait staff was nice, but worse than the first night. When we returned to our room for the night, small bugs were noticed on both beds in the room. The receptionist gave us a new room. I was also instructed to email pictures to the ranch email. I believe there was poor customer service/relations as no one followed up with us afterwards or anything. A serious incident like this definitely warrants management to get involved with the customer.

On our last morning, we went to go feed the longhorns, which was a very pleasant and new experience. When checking out, they also charged me incorrectly, so I had them correct that, double check your quote!

In conclusion, the ranch and resort was okay. I don't see myself driving out of my way again for everything that I experienced. For five people and two nights, we spent about $1500. Pretty expensive domestic weekend getaway. The establishment does a good job of using pictures that do not accurately reflect their resort i.e. the sport clay shooting range, stables,...