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.

This is a wonderful place with incredible natural beauty surrounding the property.
My parents took my family of three and my sisters family of four so there were 9 of us total. Our ages ranged from 63 to 4 years old. We stayed in a 4 bedroom cabin that was about 50 yards from the main lodge ( where all the meals are served).
Our cabin was nice and clean. It had two bedrooms downstairs with 2 bathrooms downstairs. The second floor was more of a loft and had NO bathroom. This was a bit of a problem for the 4 people sleeping upstairs. There is no A/C so you leave the doors and windows open during the day and keep your windows open at night.
There are hottubs scattered around the property. The pool was heated nicely and was quite large.
Meals were very good. Breakfast was a continental until 7am and then you could order omlettes, pancakes, french toast, sausage and bacon. Lunch had a set menu of 3 salads, 4 hot sandwiches and 3 cold sandwiches. There was also a daily special and soup. Dinner was "fine dining" Mon,Wed and Fri. which was limited to only 3 entrees and only one dessert. The other nights it was a buffet of barbeque and italian food.
All of the food was very good. Even though it was a bit limited , the quality of food was excellent.
The staff is made up of mostly college kids and they were all very friendly and helpfull. They also provided your transportation to the offsite things like the Silverton train, river rafting, Durango trip. They are not always on time to pick you up or drop you off.
Whits End is not really geared for a family with young kids. On fine dining night they prefer they children to not eat with the adults. The do have a great childrens acitivity center and my 4 year old son fortunately prefered to go there than fine dine. Also alot of activities you cannot do with your young children. They dont alow children under 7 to go on the "family horse back ride".
Chidren are not allowed on fishing trips either. Many families had Nannys and others seemed pleased to drop there kids off ath the Childrens Center at 9am and pick them back up at 9pm, but we were there to be togther and do activities together.
Horse back riding was great. My favorite was the horse riding games called Gymkana. It involves going thru an obstacle course on horseback in a timed event. Children are able to participate! They also have cattle sorting which was a blast for me and my family. It involves teams of 3 riders sorting out cows from a herd. You must try it.
Fishing was not the best. The only stocked trout pond never produced any fish for us or anybody else I talked to. Josh the fly fishing guide is great and tries to get you on some fish. We lake fished one day with Josh and my wife caught a nice 5 pound Pike. Unfortunately it was the only fish we caught all week.
Every adult gets an hour massage and they are top notch.

The beauty of the valley is awesome and we loved to swing on our porch and just enjoy the view. I would definitely go back again. But I might wait until my son is older and can participate in more activities with me.