Terlingua Nights Cabins — Hotel in Manuel Benavides

First the good/great: The outdoor common hangout area is cozy and relaxing and is a very good fit for why you came to this area!

That said, I feel there are some issues and things you should know before booking:

1. The bathroom situation. My wife is rather a bathroom princess; she had said OK after looking at the website but on arrival was pretty upset. Main issues are no potable water, and you need to put TP in the wastebasket instead of flush it. The hotel down the street provides more traditional bathroom amenities, private in your room. (You have to walk outside to these, they are common.) They provide bottles of water but not much. After my wife asked, they left 4 more small bottles the second day, but that's it and that's not nearly enough to last a week. Their website "policies" page alludes to some of this but it's easy to miss.

2. Two different days we came back to find our room unlocked. One was the day they left more water, the other they didn't appear to do anything. There is no room service. I had a high-end laptop and drone in that room. Fortunately nothing was stolen or messed with (it's a pretty safe town) but still that is un-nerving.

3. Let's be blunt here: the value for money is terrible. The cabins are absolutely microscopic -- you have a bed and a little room at its foot, and that's it. For two people with suitcases and such that is very cramped. The hotel type rooms are bigger, but not huge, and have concrete floors. Even the cabins are more expensive than the hotel down the street, and this is no hotel. They want $140 for the tiny cabins; to me they feel like something that should cost $60 at most. ("Hotel"-type rooms are more.) The outdoor common area is nice and you may not get that at a hotel but doesn't add quite enough value to make up for the deficiency IMHO. For not having room service or much of anything, it's a real strain to figure out how they can justify this price. Hate to be so negative but calling it as I see it.

That said, if it provides what you're looking for -- and for many visitors to the area it certainly will -- and you're OK with paying what they ask, go ahead,...

The positive: the property is reasonably well maintained and Nikki has given it some of her personal touches. It's clean.

The negative: shared bathrooms, which should be made more clear when booking a room. I'm not high maintenance but at this price point I have to assume a lot of people booking don't realize what they're actually booking, which is the definition of a deceptive business practice. I didn't pay at this level expecting to need to put on pants and shoes so I can go take a leak at 3 am. It's my fault I didn't check carefully but it's also the owner's fault for benefitting from her customers' ignorance. The cabins are needlessly small, it's not like there's a lack of space on the property to build slightly larger ones (a couple more feet in each dimension would work wonders), so I have to assume they were built this way because it was cute, or because they were prefab storage sheds and this is the size that was available. It's no longer cute when it becomes an annoyance. The mattress protectors, which feel like plastic garbage bags, are something I have never encountered anywhere else in my life. It is not that hard to find decent mattress protectors. Amazon will deliver to Terlingua. There are also more minor oversights like the lack of solid shelving in the rooms, there are only wire shelves. The beds are not large enough to be comfortable for two adults. As others have noted, there are some sketchy fees in the fine print, although these did not become an issue for us. Had they become an issue for us, the owner would have been in for a fight.

I honestly doubt many people stay here twice.

Summary: this would have been a good sub $50 option, which would have reflected the extreme cheap on which this place was built. Nikki has done her best to make this seem like a $150+ accommodation (both by making the property cute and by being deliberately vague in listings) but the fundamentals are what they are. At this price point, stay anywhere else...

Check-In/ Hosts: I called when I arrived at the airport telling them I was going to going arrive late that night. She was very kind and explained directions and tips so patiently and thoroughly. It’s located in a very low light pollution area, so every tip helped (FYI- it’s also spelled out in the emails sent - check your spam!) She had the front cabin lit and the AC running already for me for my arrival. There is a lockbox with the key inside. Very smooth check-in process.

Location/ Views: AMAZING VIEWS! I walked out to the bathroom and the Milky Way was clear as daylight… the mountains are literally in the back and front yard 10 minute drive into Big Bend.. I honestly don’t think you could get a better stay any closer to the park.. and on the side of the park that has all the main attractions gas station is basically next door at night you do see garden lights, lights from the main road, and some cabins, but honestly it’s barely noticeable .. just enough light outside the cabin to feel safe walking to and from the kitchen/ bathroom/ outdoor yard

Room/ Amenities: there’s a mini fridge and coffee maker in your room AC works fine bathrooms are a 5 sec walk from your room; very clean; provided shampoo/ conditioner/ body wash/ bathroom cleaning supplies etc; remember to throw paper products in the waste bin and not the toilet; FYI - they are located in the desert, so there is a time limit on the shower, so take note if that is important to you the outdoor kitchen has a microwave, which was so helpful there’s TONS of options for outdoor furniture and multiple fire pits out in the common outdoor space; there’s a grill, 2 Adirondack chairs, and a fire pit for each cabin very quiet

Overall, BEST place I’ve stay at for the price, location, and quality

SIDE NOTE: Directions are spelled out in your email (check your SPAM) ... Google/ Apple Maps can bring you to the wrong location. Type in CHILI PEPPER RESTAURANT and it's directly...