Terlingua Ranch Lodge — Hotel in Manuel Benavides

I almost enjoyed the Terlingua Ranch Lodge, because I enjoy the solitude and enrichment of nature. I stayed during Labor Day weekend and the primary reason I give it two stars is strictly because on Labor Day our shower valve broke (maintenance stated it had so much build up on it that it was not able to start the shower). We had a 10 hour drive home and I was trying to use the shower sparingly (since it is a request of theirs in their book of info), so I decided to use the shower at the end for anything other than a quick rinse.

There were two older ladies in the office, one with short hair and one with longer hair in a pony tail and smaller in stature - the one with short hair was on the phone and the other was not, so she asked if she could help me. I explained our shower was broken, etc. etc. and I asked her if I could use another room's shower that I knew was vacant (room 29). Her remark was, "ABSOLUTELY NOT. The vacant rooms have been cleaned and that means they would have to reclean the room. You can use the public bath house though." I was taken back by her saying the first few words and thinking how this fault is on the lodge and not me and you are talking to a paying customer this way? Mind you our room was $175/night and we were not even facing the "view" that we paid for (we had the backside of the mountain). I was only thinking that and did not say any of that.

I then said, please come up with a resolution other than your bath house. She then handed me the key to 29 and said, "Oh actually the room hasn't been cleaned. You can use that one." You can only imagine how disgusting that is.

I understand some of you may say it's just a shower, you should expect this, etc. but it's the simple fact of how I was treated in the last moments upon leaving. In addition, when I went to turn in the keys IN THEIR BOX OUTSIDE WHERE I WAS TOLD TO TURN THEM IN - a lady with strawberry hair (worked in the kitchen) and the older lady at the desk both scoffed at me when they went to retrieve the dirty room key (29) and my key (31) in that box. Mind you, I was not rude for a request of resolution.

Value for comparison: The view is beautiful and that is strictly what you are paying for. Their Bad Rabbit Cafe was hit and miss, the BBQ was delicious, the sides were not. Drinks were reasonable priced for being alcohol. The French toast was not cooked all the way through for breakfast. The food was a little over-priced. And don't get the coffee, it was extremely watered down.

The service from the waiters we had was great! They were very very nice! No complaints there.

Also, the original lady we checked in with Heather - she was exceptionally nice and courteous and throughout.

Downsides: You are 16 miles from the road, so if you're looking to go to Big Bend add about 30-45 minutes to your drive. Also the unpaved road has dips and kicks up rocks on your under carriage, so be careful on the fact you could bottom out or get a flat with the dip - especially at night. The office is only open until 5 for check in, we were lucky to get there just before - otherwise I think we might have had a hard time locating our keys.

The older lady with long hair and smaller in stature is rude, so if you have problems with your room don't ask her to help you. I would go back to this lodge if this lady no longer worked there and will avoid staying here in October when I return with a group of friends (also let them know not to stay here). If she is the owner/manager of the property, she should know better (health code violations/privacy...

First off, this place is designed for you to to get away from everything, not to accommodate all of your personal "wants" and devices you cannot live without. If you need those things / addictions, then go somewhere else. Don't come here ruining it for everyone else. Why complain about not having all of your home amenities when you are taking a trip to the desert in order to get away from those things in the first place? Then you leave a review complaining you don't have a TV, cell service, and how badly you were mistreated by having to drive on a gravel road, oh the humanity! Wake up, you don't want a TV and cell service if you are coming here. ||If you are coming here to find tranquility, Peace, listen to nothing but chirping birds, have a beautiful view of the desert and mountains, watch wild animals in their nature habitat, and be close to Big Bend, and you can discipline yourself to put your phone and laptop down and find yourself, then this is the place for you. They do have a pool and laundry facilities which should be noted to the ignorant wussies, water is scarce in the desert, to have a pool available to you is a huge favor and privilege, thank them for it!||The food at the Bad Rabbit was great!, the staff was friendly, and the other visitors were equally as friendly. And the sky was more than beautiful. By the way, you don't need a giant 4x4 to get here, we were able to traverse all the dirt roads including the path that leads up and over the two mountains, to the lookout, absolutely fine in our Prius. So you 4x4 snobs out there, soak that one up and get a...

During our visit to Big Bend National Park, Texas we chose Terlingua Ranch Lodge as our lodge for the duration, we booked before reading the reviews which was good, because people are complaining about the wrong things here.

yes it is far from everything, there is nothing "nearby", you will need a vehicle for everything when you stay here, they have a laundry room, and a small kiosk, you can buy ice here.

there is also a cafe/restaurant on site, but it was closed while we were here, there is a fridge in the room, no microwave, no coffee machine.

they ask that you limit your water use, which makes sense, you are in the desert, there is a large trash can outside each cabin, each cabin has four units, there is no problem parking right outside the door here.

there is quite a drive to get to anywhere, including restaurants, gas stations and the main reason for staying here, Big Bend National Park, there is no cell service here, but they do have wifi which covers a lot more than the cabins, we were able to go for an afternoon stroll and stay connected to their wifi.

in my experience the staff was helpful, friendly and patient, I needed to purchase ice and painkillers one day and the person on duty was on the phone with another potential guest, she was calm and patient while she helped them, I was able to pay for the ice without waiting for the phonecall to finish.

the location is very quiet, you have amazing views, the night sky is incredible, and I wish we had snapped a couple of photos of that incredible sky...