Rough Creek Lodge, Ranch & Resort — Hotel in Stephenville

It’s taken us so long to finally write our glowing review from our INCREDIBLE wedding weekend experience with Rough Creek Lodge because it’s hard to put into words just how special & truly amazing it all was.

Rough Creek has been a very special place for our family for years & years. When my husband and I first started dating 8 years ago, we took a trip to Rough Creek with my parents & passed by the idyllic little white chapel on the property. We said when we get married one day it has to be here! Well, 7 years later when he proposed the very first thing we did that night was email Rough Creek and secure our date! We didn’t take a single venue tour, send a single email, or look into any other venues (not even a peek at a website!!) because we knew Rough Creek was the only option for us.

Fast forward through the 15 month wedding planning process, Rough Creek continued to be reliable, communicative, kind, and eager to make our wedding memorable and special. Every single staff member has always treated us like family out there- and the wedding process was no exception. When Angela was hired on in the middle of our planning process, she was an angel sent from heaven! Our wedding was the first she got to do with Rough Creek and she showed up for us so well. She was very knowledgeable, tactful, considerate, thorough, creative, hard-working, and was truly such an asset. She made us feel like fast friends even over phone calls, emails, and finally when we got to do a site visit closer to the wedding. Everything leading up to the wedding weekend itself was as seamless as it could be with Rough Creek. Every suggestion, change, and new curveball was met with eager action and understanding.

The wedding weekend itself was something from our wildest dreams! Now 6 months later the details get fuzzy, but I can recall how truly joyful and happy every single staff member was to my family, friends, guests, and I the entire weekend. They seemed to be enjoying just as much as the guests! Always a friendly face & going above and beyond every single moment. Our 3 day & multi-event weekend was executed flawlessly - even making decisions on our behalf when we couldn’t because they knew us so well! From the food- which could be a whole other review in itself (Chef Thompson—- you blew us away as ALWAYS!). Our guests STILL talk about how impeccable & delicious the food was the entire weekend, but especially our wedding dinner! They had never had “wedding food” that was that incredible. Then to the venue coordination done by Angela ( and Jenna!!) and the team- there was not a moment that I needed to be “on” as the bride because I was so confident and thrilled with their abilities and decision making. Angela made us feel so secure and relaxed, and let our family enjoy the festivities knowing that she was handling everything behind the scenes. I truly cannot thank Angela, Chef, and every single person who played a part in our wedding! There was no other place that would have been as special and perfect for our celebrations.

I can’t forget to brag on Rough Creek itself! The property, facility, endless activities, and everything RCL offers BLEW our guests away! We knew how fun, entertaining, and gorgeous it was from our many visits and memories, but watching all of our friends and family experience it for themselves was priceless. From ax throwing, mule rides, bowling, hiking, horseback riding, swimming, petting zoo (which ended up being the most popular attraction?!), fireside hang outs, fishing, shooting, paintball, and I could go on and on- our guests were amazed and entertained every minute of the weekend. Finally, the chapel was everything we could have wanted. It was so beautiful & traditional- and we love the story and history behind it and all of the love shared there. It was exactly what we have always wanted & was a beautiful spot to be wed!

We could not be more grateful & thrilled with how our wedding went with Rough Creek Lodge. Would do it 1000 times over!! Words can’t express how truly...

Rough Creek is that place that hits the right marks on so many boxes but also sorely and stubbornly misses on a few to leave you frustrated.

Location and proximity are amazing for taste of central Texas.

Bedding and rooms are just ok. Your basic Marriott Suites is probably better. Honestly.

Organized and timely - to a fault.  Staff is attentive available, but if doing an activity and the hour is over, don't be surprised if you are left in the lurch because they need to head off to some other activity.

Many of their activities are worn out or thin efforts to just fill their marketing materials. Broken bikes by the dozen, $10 fishing rods, etc. Don't bank on people being at most of these to make it feel engaging. E.g. Smores at campfire consist of DIY bag and no idea what the parties were supposed to be since we never saw them.

General vibe: Place feels like guests are secondary to businesses who do getaways and pay top dollar. It's unfortunate as parents want to splurge a bit to have a fantastic experience with their kids or significant others. They have now built a development of houses that start at $700k to parlay the Rough Creek brand. Overall, it feels like an attempt to drive more interest into the property for acquisition. (Not bad or unexcusable, just note you may not feel catered to relative to your cost.)

Cost: It is expensive and nothing is really included.  A few $2 batting cage tokens and breakfast buffet with omlet bar.  Not really much different than a hotel. Prices range from $375 per person per night on up.  That is $750 per couple plus tax.  If dinner is included they automatically add a 21% gratuity plus food tax.  So dinner is partially included and out the door you are at $900 a night. Kids under 16 are "included-ish".  (Bunk beds and kids menus)

If you rent mules (4 wheelers for multiple people) they charge an hourly fee. Oddly, they add this 21% gratuity. Like I said, it gets under your skin.

Want a glass of wine?  La Crema is $22 for a 8oz glass. Tax and auto-tip make it $30.  Pricey when $15 a bottle. More expensive than any Ritz-Carlton or Fairmont I've ever been to by far.

Food: Is good, but not amazing. It's a fixed menu and feels a bit like a cruise line when ordering.  Think of it as a Texas/Californian mix. Makes sense because the Chef is from California. Come to think of it, I now feel the food is batch made. While presumably scratch, it has taste of "event" food.

They have now parsed out kids and they can't order the adult menu unless they pay another $75. The included food for them is a buffet consistenting of green beans, pepperoni pizza, and Mac and cheese. It's really unfortunate.  They have a $20 upgrade for "teens" and it is better.

Dinner on subsequent nights is a bit too similar.

None of these things are deal killers, but they do stymie my enthusiasm to tell my friends it is "worth it".  They also make me wonder why a venue that gets several things right, is so stubborn and willing to fleece you on most every turn.

Like other reviews suggest, fix the value equation and it would be something we visit yearly vs....

I really like the idea of this place and what they are trying to do. Every employee is very kind. But, I think it is overpriced. They justify the price by saying that the activities are included. Most of them are included, however several of those activities are only available at limited times. A few attractions require a reservation and a fee. With limited times for these activities/attractions, it makes you not be able to do all the things that they offer and that makes me think that the price is much more expensive for what you actually get. They give you a schedule the day that you check in but if you made reservations to do other activities that were paid prior, it limits the things that you can do.||Another problem that I have is that everything you do that requires a reservation includes a 21% service fee, even for bowling. The point of a tip is how you think the service is, but here you are charged a 21% tip automatically and that is not how tipping is to work but it is also over what is considered good tipping. Considering that dinner here is around $250/pp, you will be racking up the bill fast. ||We did not eat breakfast here. We did do the pool restaurant for burgers, Caesar salad, nachos and fruit. It was not really great. The 3 course dinner was an experience for sure but one that we would not do again, mainly due to cost but the choices were a little more out there and you can't get something simple like a good pasta dish. We liked the teen menu that no one told us was even available for our teens and we liked the meal options better on that, than the 3 course fancy dining. It is still 3 courses and similar to the fancy dining but more along the lines of not being super fancy and as wild of items. I do think that it would be better to give customers the choice of a super fancy dinner or the teen menu dinners that were pretty good. My teens had salad, tortilla soup, steak, fries and brocollini with a dessert choice. It is more than enough food and the price point and food is better. No one tells you this, but you can order at the bar and take it back to your room or eat out back. ||The showers need curtains on them. They have half glass shower doors and the water runs straight out the side of them, leaving a pool on the floor. I am not sure why one shower had a curtain and one did not in our room but that needs to be added. ||For the most part we all liked our time there. You really are out in the middle of nowhere and are about 30 mins away from everything, so take snacks. They had bottles of water free everywhere you went. ||The room was clean and the beds were fine. My suggestions would be to lower your price point and change the dining to incorporate other meals or make your guests aware that they can order take out and have...