What a disappointment! They describe the ranch as a luxury guest ranch & nothing could be further from the truth. This ranch is very simple & plain. The brochures lead you to believe the ranch is on a lake with access to boats. The ranch is not within walking distance of the lake, you have to take a car to get there. The cabins are described as "luxury" but what you get is a cabin with fake log siding on the outside & the insides are decorated with all different types of furnishings. The bathroom was so small you literally couldn't turn around in it. The swimming pool was a mess. The concrete on the bottom was peeling off & floating in the pool.

The ranch manager was contacted as soon as we got there on Sunday afternoon. We expressed our concerns & asked to have a refund. We were told that he could not do that but he would contact the owner's family & have someone meet with us. We continued to express our frustration at being misled but no one came to talk to us. We had to spend the night & the next morning we asked again to have our refund but no one would talk to us. The person that I reserved with would not answer the phone so we waited until 10am when someone finally showed up & he instantly said he does not give refunds. We argued for over an hour with him insisting we should just leave but without a refund. We travelled from Florida so leaving without a refund was not an option for us. I promised the young man I was speaking with that we would not be leaving without our $$ back & I assured him I would be at every meal & on every trail ride all week long telling every guest how misled we have all been & what they should have gotten from a "luxury guest ranch". Shortly after that he gave us our refund & we left.

This ranch is not a member of the Colorado Dude Ranchers Association. They do not meet the criteria. I obviously did not know this at the time so when selecting a ranch look for that.

We just returned from a week long family vacation at Wit's End. This was the first time in many years, that my parents, brothers and sisters and all of our children were going on vacation together. Our experience was nothing less than spectacular.
Our ages ranged from 9 to 78. Each of our families had separate cabins. The cabin in which we stayed is thought to be one of the oldest in the area dating back to the late 1700's. It was perfect for our family of 4. If you are expecting Ritz Carlton accomdations, that isn't what you will find. Instead you will find very comfortable accomodations with all the ameneties you need - from wood burning firelplaces, to down comforters, small kitchens to beautiful porches - perfect for reading a book or just watching the incredible views of the Vallacito valley.

The meals are served in the main lodge - an incredibly restored structure. Each night you have several main course options from which to choose, we found the variety and quality to be outstanding. The breaksfasts were a wonderful time to meet up with other family members, have a cup of coffee and chocolate pancakes and discuss the days plans.

The staff was outstanding. It is obvious that each and every staff members goal - from the General Manager, Phil, to our wonderful housekeepers - is to help you have a perfect vacation. They were flexible, courteous, available but not overbearing in any way.

Honestly, I was concerned that we wouldn't all be able to find things that would keep us all interested. I was so wrong. The proof lies in the comments made by three of our family members - my 14 year old neice and the other from each of our 9 year old sons. My neice - who prefers shopping over anything said "this was WAY better than I thought it would be." And from one of our sons, he's now made an edict that we are not allowed to mention the name "Wit''s End" because it was so much fun that he doesn't want to be reminded that the vacation is actually over. And from our other son, my wife noticed him sitting on our couch shortly after arriving home - he was very quiet and had big tears starting to form in his eyes. When asked what was wrong - he said "I'm just so sad thinking about the people checking in to Wit's End and the fun week they are going to have - and our vacation is over."

PS - I highly recommend that Overnight Horsepack trip - it was tremendous!

The owners of the Wit's End Guest Ranch and Resort, Jim and Karen Custer, made our experience in a word, incredible. Mr. Custer personally picked us up from the Durango airport which made us feel truly special. On the car ride, we got to know him intimately and his knowledge and expertise made us incredibly excited to get there! My husband is an avid fisherman, and I an avid horsewoman, so as you can imagine, this was a dream vacation for us both.

To say the least, we were not disappointed. Our accommodations were excellent. We had a spacious cabin with a huge living area and cozy fireplace. At night we would have a glass of wine and play Scrabble before dinner and just talk. We welcomed the change of pace from our hectic lives. Some nights we would go early to dinner, have a cocktail at their full bar and play pool, which is located upstairs with a dynamite panoramic view of the property.

During the day, we would fish or ride. The fly fishing guides were knowledgeable and extremely helpful. I sat on the bank and read my book and watched my husband reel them in! Other days we would ride. The views were breathtaking. Another day we had a competition where we herded cows into a ring, this was heaven for me. The instructors fit me with a horse that would really go and my husband, less experienced, was given a horse that made him feel comfortable and relaxed.

Another day we took a boat ride on Lake Vallecito. Gorgeous! Gorgeous! Gorgeous!

We stayed for 5 nights. Other activities in nearby Durango were shopping, restaurants and a great train ride. Mostly though, we loved relaxing on the ranch.

From the views, to the gourmet food (I had the best rack of lamb there in my life), to the various activities, we had our second honeymoon. I would recommend this resort to any one I know.

Have fun! You WILL NOT be disappointed.

Morgan and Oliver Green
Boca Raton, FL

This was without a doubt the worst vacation we have ever been on.
I also could not find a review of Wits End before we booked. I am however , a believer in "You get what you pay for." Not here!
We have been to other guest ranches and had a certain expectation of what a $13,000.00 vacation at a ranch should be like.

Wits End descibes their accomodations as luxury. This is truly false advertising. Our cabin was filthy! I barely wanted my children to sit on the furniture. These cabins obviuosly have not been renovated in 20 our more years. Sofas and chairs were ripped and broken, linens were stained, carpets were dirty and pulled up in some areas. The bathrooms were disgusting! I cleaned them myself before I would allow my children to use them. Even then, they were so stained, they still seemed filthy. To top it off we had mice ,along with their droppings. We asked for traps, and caught three in the first hour. I literally started looking around for the candid camera.
There were dozens of dead flies in all the windows. It was like a cabin out of a horror movie.

The grounds overall were rather seedy. There seemed to be old
junk lying around everywhere. The valley itself is beautiful, but the Wits End had a trailer park quaility about it that took away from this natural beauty.

The brochure described advanced riding. This did not exist. My daughters really look forward to loping on our ranch trips. They were not allowed to do this. Riding was nose to tail, certainly not what one expects at a quest ranch. Also, we were told that we would get our own horse for the week. This did not happen either. We switched horses everyday, so no one ever felt a connection with the animal, something the kids really look forward to.

The staff did the best they could, but there just were not enough
of them. Meal service was slow and activties limited because of lack of staffing.

There are much nicer quest ranches out there for the money, we were very disappointed.