Rawhide Western Town & Event Center — Local services in Sun Lakes

We made reservations, and when we got there a sign was posted in the front stating they were only taking in reservation guests only. The hostess stared blankly at us when I told her the name ours was saved under. I finally had to look at the screen myself and point it out (wasn't even that hard of a name, LeBlanc). The restaurant was practically abandoned, only about five tables occupied. Nonetheless our server didn't show up for almost twenty minutes, and then she just mumbled "What would you like to order?" Literally it was as if we were in line at McDonalds. We pointed out we hadn't even been asked for our drink order yet. She sighed heavily and reluctantly took our requests, and it took another twenty minutes to get our drinks and for her to finally take our order. Keep in mind this is an establishment that charges $32 for a steak, we aren't picky however we expected some level of courteous service if we're paying for it. We were brought a basket of rolls, only four of them. There were six of us at the table. The server told us an extra basket would cost $5. We pointed out the obvious, that there were six of us so why would they bring us only four rolls. She just sighed again and said it was their policy. Wow. Even Olive Garden doles out the rolls complimentary, this place couldn't be bothered and didn't care either way. My husband and I each ordered a Fireball on the rocks. They charged us $10 FOR EACH!!! I didn't find this out until the end. I tried pointing out to the server that the price was ridiculous even for a tourist restaurant, but she refused to even go back and question the bartender. This place is beyond a tourist trap. They did have a decent country band which performed quietly on stage for the twenty people total that were there. When we left we saw people walking up to the steakhouse and reading that the sign that said they were full and leaving. This place was turning people away for an empty restaurant!! I cannot for the life of me figure out the business strategy of this restaurant, because it's surely not customer service or profit-oriented. I suppose they get by well enough just charging the hell out of those they do actually let in. The steaks were good, I will give them that, but certainly not worth the $110 bill we were given for two people. Run away from this place, unless you have expendable income and loads of patience. The shops and atmosphere of the rest of Rawhide was charming. The Blacksmith shop and the jail staff in particular were awesome. Just make a wide arc around...

Attended the Chainsmokers concert at Rawhide on 11/30. Very unhappy with service and set up at the venue. To park it was $10 cash only, no signage was visible until physically at the “booth”; prior to event no parking details were provided. Also would like to note, there was a very long line to even enter the parking lot. Very frustrating to wait in line to get to the parking “attendant” and then be told it was $10 cash only. To obtain cash there was an ATM very conspicuously placed right by the “booth”. Required you to park your car on a side lot, wait in what was now a long ATM line, pay $4 withdrawal fee (now $14 to park), and then hand over $10 to some girl wearing a vest. There was no system in place to determine who had paid the $10 to the ATM girl, I noticed multiple cars wind around claiming they had paid her. Once parked and outside the venue, there were long lines for “ID check”. This was an all ages show, there should have been a separate line only for people who wanted drinking wrist bands. Why make the rest of us wait if we’re not even drinking? On the website it said doors opened at 7PM, and show started at 8PM. Again, this was an all ages event, some DJ played for too long, then a small opener at 9PM, then Chainsmokers finally came on at 10:15PM. Between 8-10:15PM, we were subjected to radio hosts promoting their Snapchat and some businessmen from Rawhide and the casino tooting their own horns for putting the show together. I feel this is the kind of promotion that only needs written marketing. Chainsmokers performance was great. Leaving the show was a new nightmare. Parking lot had a long wait to even exit, and security had blocked off roads forcing drivers to circle through the nearby Casino rather than giving everyone access to the nearby 101 via multiple on ramps. Very, very frustrating. The Chainsmokers were great, but I ultimately left feeling very duped into a large scale, poorly designed marketing scheme. This was my first concert at Rawhide, and my last. Not happy with the logistics...

We visited Phoenix from Chicago with our four kids (ages 6-12). My daughter is totally into the late 1800s dress and so she wore her "Laura Ingles" dress, bonnet, and apron. The fact that everyone there was dressed in period garb was a really cool thing. She was in her element.

The place was quiet when we were there, not many people at all (this was late February). The gun-fight shows were fantastic, the actors hilarious, and everything was very well done.

The kids had a blast looking at all the "wild west" stuff, panning for "gold," climbing the rock wall, perusing the toy shop, and riding the "bucking bronco" rides.

My only criticism would be the steakhouse. I freely admit that I possibly missed something on the website stating reservations were required. But, on a night where the place was practically deserted, the steakhouse was jumpin'! It was full. After we'd walked around the "town" for a while, we popped in to the steakhouse for dinner. The hostess at the front asked if we had a reservation, and we didn't. She said we needed a reservation. I asked what was the earliest time I could make one for and she said their first opening wasn't for another hour and a half.

We wanted to catch the next gunfight show and this would have conflicted. So, we politely declined and headed back up the street where they have a pizza place (in the wild west? Just have to kind of get over that, I guess) and a fried chicken/hotdog place across the street from each other.

We got their family pizza deal. The pizza was not bad. It wasn't a cheap frozen pizza or anything but, we're from Chicago and have our thoughts on what pizza is and what pizza isn't. If you're familiar with the "Little Caesar's" chain of pizza places, it was on par with that. So, not horrible, but not exactly fine dining either.

Overall, a very fun experience. Would recommend this to families for sure, especially if the kids like to dress-up in...