Sun Retreats Texas Hill Country — Hotel in New Braunfels

My boyfriend and I live just North of Houston and we have season passes to Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels because we love it, so we're out this way a lot and since it's a 3 hour trip, we always get a room. I was looking at hotel deals on Expedia, Priceline, Hotels, etc and came across this place. We decided to rent one of their new queen duplex rooms instead of staying at a hotel this weekend. I'll start with the good. They get two thumbs up for appearance. This place has tons of charming new cottages to rent and it's laid out well and well landscaped. They also have tons of amenities and im sure that couples with children love it here. Our cottage was smaller than your average hotel room but it was clean and nice. The flat screen TV and Direct TV with more than just your basic channels was nice to have and we definitely made use of the kitchen and BBQ grill by bringing a stocked cooler along which also saved us from spending money on eating out. Now on to the bad. First, we arrived around 10:15pm Friday night. I had checked their website beforehand and read that check-in was at "4pm or later" and "rentals are guaranteed for late arrivals." There were no further instructions so when we arrived we headed straight to the office where we found they had just closed at 10pm. There were still three employees inside so we knocked and tried to ask through the glass doors how to check into our room. Two employees looked at us and ignored us. Finally after a few more knocks the third employee came to the door and politely pointed us to the "night registration" box which held packets for the remaining guests who had not yet checked in. The packets held keys, cottage number, park info, etc. We had noticed the box prior to knocking on the door (and this may sound stupid) but we didn't think to open it because it said "registration" not "check-in". Registration means to sign-up, it's not a synonym for checking in. We've stayed at many bed and breakfasts and are accostomed to late arrival because, well, I guess we just like to get there when we get there but even B&B's use the term "check-in". Anyway my point is, they should label the box "night check-in" and/or put instructions on their website for late arrivals. There were a few other let downs once we checked into our cottage. First, and of course we knew this when we booked, but there aren't any rooms with king size beds and my boyfriend being 6'4", his feet hung off the bed. Second, the sink in the kitchen is the only sink. There isn't a bathroom vanity and the mirror behind the kitchen sink is small and warped so getting ready wasn't very easy but I made due. Last we were under the impression the cottage would come with a few more items in the kitchen. There were two coffee cups and two plastic cups, four paper plates, a roll of paper towels and a few plastic forks and knives. We didn't bring anything from home because the website said the kitchen would be stocked with utensils and eatery. Overall, we enjoyed our stay and felt we got a good deal for a nice...

We stayed here for a large gathering (approx 50 families) recently. The facilities were clean, the staff attentive, and there are a lot of amenities for a longer stay. It is definitely more expensive than a hotel ~ but cabins afford families the option of more space, a kitchen, and the real value comes from resort features like a game room, large indoor/outdoor pools & hot tubs, and numerous spaces for gathering/playing. Kids had the freedom to be kids instead of having to worry about disturbing other guests.

We did have a few issues, but they were addressed immediately by staff. As someone who helped coordinate the event ~ I was especially impressed by their willingness to work with us to achieve the event we desired. They offered many options and I feel they truly went "above & beyond" to help us.

A few things that could be improved: Better notice that facilities aren't available. One of the indoor pools/spas & the gym were closed due to construction. Not that big of a deal because the other indoor & the outdoor ones were open ~ but no one said anything. Ants. Lots of fire ants in the grassy areas & on the playground/jumping pillow/volleyball area. They should NOT advertise that they have WiFi. Technically, they do. But it is very limited, slow, and the connection in some cabins was non-existent. You might be able to check basic e-mail or run a simple app ~ but don't even think about downloading documents, streaming video, or uploading to Facebook.

Overall, it was a great experience and we're looking forward to going back next year.

TIPS: All cabins include bed & bath linens, coffee maker, toaster, basic flatware, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. If you plan to cook a lot ~ bring your own measuring cups, colanders, serving utensils & platters. The availability of these items in the cabins is inconsistent.

Consider bringing an "over the door" towel hook (or two!). With four people in our cabin between the shower towels, pool towels, & swimsuits to hang up available hooks...

UPDATE 2022: I still feel the same & have refused to stay at any Sun Outdoors facility. My story: I rarely post bad reviews but when it comes to endangering the safety of my home, I know I must share my recent experience with Sun Resorts. We’ve used this park for 316 nights in the past 3 ½ years (full-time RVers) and although we were aware of a number of complaints concerning Sun Management, we hadn't had any issues so we continued to use this as our San Antonio base camp when we were in town. We’ve had minor issues here before, but nothing on the scale of this last visit. The park has had a significant redesign underway for a while. They are setting up two “gates” of which one is next to what appears to be a future “check in” building then a second entrance to its right with a “NO PARKING” sign prominently displayed (so we did not enter and park there to check in). The apparent “check in” lane was narrow but appeared navigable given another RV partially blocked the area of the secondary entrance. Pulling through the “entrance” was a delicate balance between the building on the left and the metal work for an entrance control with support poles coming out of the ground on the right. The poles on the right had previously been hit by another camper and bent one slightly into our entrance path (did not notice)—ultimately damaging our coach as we slowly moved through. One of the employees commented about the poor design and additional work was needed to correct the deficiencies of what they had. We can attest to that! We filed a claim for repair to our RV and Sun has refused to cover the repair of the damage their equipment caused to our RV. So Sun lost a long time customer. So if you visit here BEWARE! Because of their failure to take responsibility for damage caused by their poor design at this ONE park we avoid all SUN Resorts now. Sad because some of them...