Pagosa River Domes — Hotel in Pagosa Springs

The road noise is horrible even with ear plugs and a noise machine cannot drown out how extremely close it is to the highway and trucks driving by literally all night. It sounds like you are sleeping on the actual road because its super close to the highway with no barriers. If you hope to finally pass out from exhaustion think again because the heating system is pretty poor and we were freezing all night and almost just slept in the car. The mattress we found to be exceptionally uncomfortable and hard and lumpy because it seems to be a memory foam with no topper. It was hard to get in to the dome upon arrival and the code changed by the owners but oddly they only sent us emails and texts for the incorrect code three times but somehow didnt get the "corrected" code as we stood outside freezing waiting for it. The listing says to check in at 3 but another email said you can only check in at 4. There is no counter space to make a cup of coffee because they did not bother to mount the microwave under the cabinet so you have to literally unplug and move the microwave if you want to use the stovetop or counter space adequately. There is no river view at our dome - we don't think ANY domes had one but definitely not ours . Its just bushes and power lines directly in front of the dome and I dont think you could even walk through the debris to get to the river if you wanted to go see it. You cant even see the stars at night because they have stupid "solar lights" on the deck in front of the windows that shine so bright back into the room you cant see any stars and have to close the blackout curtains to get some relief. Why have these lights you cannot turn off to see the stars? No tv and the internet wifi is pretty weak so hard to even watch your phone if you just want some news updates. Customer service was cranky and rude in a very "annoyed" tone that their system for the the door code was not syncing and annoyed that we were standing outside in snow waiting for them to figure it out and suggested we come back later while they trouble shot why it wasnt syncing. That was after we were told we could check in at 3 in writing and then forced to come back at 4 and it still wasnt working. We got multiple texts and emails from them in the morning and then again in afternoon with the same "wrong" door code over and over but their system wasnt generating a new code as we were standing in the blowing snow as they told us it was their system sync error with the doors. Their excuse was their wifi wasnt working. While we sat outside freezing waiting for codes they suggested our contact information was wrong even though we read off to them the communications we had been getting all morning and afternoon from them - only for them to say the codes were sent in error and it was their system. I see other reviewers had the same problem. There is no one on site and when you call for help to fix you just have to leave a message and wait until someone calls you back - which was awful if you are standing in blowing snow after the long walk to the dome. Its not a short walk to some of the domes so be prepared to haul your stuff from the parking lot if you are in dome 9-14. We paid close to $400 for two nights which we felt was a total rip off for the terrible road noise and heating system that is constantly going off and on and is clearly completely inadequate to heat the place. It was snowing all night and our dome had taped over holes in them. They seem to be pretty uninhabitable for winter and maybe should only booked for July or possibly August and not any other months where nights get really cold. Would definitely not stay here again. We literally would have slept in the car but for it was snowing so hard we didnt want to do the long...

My wife and I stayed at the River Domes late July. Overall the accommodations are really nice - relatable to a nice hotel room. This could have easily been a 5 star experience with a few changes. The biggest was the river. The draw in Pagosa is the San Juan. I was pretty disappointed there was no way to access the river from the property at all despite it literally being on the river (it’s blocked by native flora, which is pretty and cool, but some level of access to fish, swim, or just enjoy the water view would have been nice). The digital door lock was also temperamental and the hosts didn’t really ever address that - when issues arose I was told sorry you will just need to wait for it to reset.. The location is directly on the highway and you can certainly hear the cars go by, but it wasn’t ever bothersome for my wife or I. If you plan on a run or bike ride it’s half a mile along the busy highway until you reach the ability to turn off onto a beautiful river pathway. The beds are comfy and the shower was also fantastic - plenty of water pressure. The deck and fire pit/hammock were really enjoyable as well - bring bug spray. There were also so many hummingbirds which was fun and peaceful. We rarely saw any neighbors despite the domes being situated one after another, and there is plenty of parking as well. As I stated earlier proximity to town is also top notch. Overall it was a cool getaway. I would certainly stay once to get the experience the domes offer, but if I was to return I’d likely stay somewhere with...

More like 3.25 to 3.75 stars but there are a lot of 5 star reviews so rounding down.

This place is really for people that are looking for a unique experience that isn't quite camping and isn't quite a hotel. It's right by the highway and you will hear everything. They provide a noise machine and earplugs, which is great, but clearly they know this is an issue for some people. The electricity in our dome wasn't robust enough to support phone chargers on one side of the bed, and the heating/cooling system requires you to be very very close when making adjustments. Like, we watched YouTube videos to understand how to make it work (be 3 feet away and point the remote directly at it then listen for beeps from the unit to confirm your changes). A lightbulb in the bathroom would randomly turn off and the electric fireplace fully did not work. We tried to get the humidifier to do something but after 3 days the water level never dropped even though the fan inside was spinning.

That said, you have a fridge, hot water, a microwave, burners, plates, pots, a shower with shampoo and conditioner, towels, robes, heating/cooling, a grill, a little fireplace, and the done is very clean. You are also very close to town, so it's super convenient. Just manage your expectations, it isn't a hotel, it's a big tent...