My husband and I spent eight luxurious nights at the B&B at Saddlerock at the beginning of October. I booked this trip with Fran in June. One of the main reasons why I chose to stay at a B&B, as opposed to a hotel, was to have the extra “human” touch that is lost when you stay at a hotel.

Concerned about a notation on TripAdvisor regarding construction happening at the site, on August 16th, I called the toll free number and encountered some crossed lines issues and a recorded message of the phone number being disconnected. I then placed a call to Arna’s cell phone number (at 1:00 p.m. NY time) and left a message that I would like to speak to someone regarding my reservation.

Four days later, on August 20th, having not heard back from anyone, and having had the same problems with the toll free number I finally got through to Arna on her cell phone. She said she was unaware of the phone problems. Arna advised me that any construction that was going on was completed..

Approximately four days prior to our arrival, Arna called us at home to confirm our reservation, advise us that there was not going to be any full time on-site personnel (she in fact lives in the Los Angeles area) and that the pool table in the main area had been removed. We would still receive a full breakfast and there would be someone for a few hours in the morning, and then again in the afternoon to answer our questions. She also referred us to her healing destinations website, so we could “see for ourselves” how well the off-site personnel works. For the most part, we would be left alone.

As all the previous reviews have stated: the place is magnificent. The views are jaw-dropping, the house is beautifully decorated and quite peaceful.

The first night we were there, we were visited by a small mouse. We complained the next morning at breakfast (there was no-one available to talk to at 8:00 p.m. when we saw it) and mouse traps were set about the cottage. We did not see any mice for the rest of our stay, but we were nevertheless vigilant in keeping our suitcases zipped up.

Three telephone calls made to the inn by a family friend wanting to surprise us with a bottle of champagne for our wedding anniversary went unanswered. We did not find out that these messages were left until after our anniversary and we spoke to our friend. Upon our return home, I was advised by a family member, that a letter had been mailed to us c/o Saddlerock (also in anticipation of our wedding anniversary) which was never given to us. The letter was mailed to Arizone the day we left. I really don’t see how the post office would not be able to deliver a first class letter from New York to Arizona in less than seven days.

Late in the week of our stay, workmen showed up at the entrance to the cottage saying they were there to replace the air-conditioning unit and advising us that they would also have to be back the next day to cut out the old one and do all the electrical work. Needless to say, we started to get a little agitated. We contacted Arna and advised her, under no circumstances, were there to be workmen allowed into the room while we were staying there. We told her we would be up and out early Friday morning and gone all day, and Arna even went so far as to start to ask if we would mind having the work done if we would not be in the room and I cut her off and said no. No workmen. Not while we are staying here. She agreed. I however, did not feel reassured, as Arna, in our opinion, did not have a great track record in returning phone calls. I was starting to feel stressed again. Extremely counter-productive for our vacation. I also did not feel confident that Arna would be in touch with the workmen. Gee...owning an inn seems to be a full time job.

For the aggravation, Arna did offer us both to have an on-premises massage on Saturday. There was no mention if they would be free or not. But we had made other plans to meet up with friends that day, which could not be changed, so we were not able to take her up on the offer. We advised Arna of that when we spoke, but there was no other offer of compensation.

Overall, as I said, the place is beautiful. Any questions we had of Mark or Douglas (the two on site, part time concierges) were answered immediately. They had great suggestions for hikes and dinner reservations. We had the cell phone numbers of both Mark and Douglas if we had any questions when they were not there, however, as we found out, when we tried reaching Mark after the a/c unit fiasco, we only got voice mail and did not hear from him until the next morning, as Mark had another job to go to that night.

This is not the first inn that Arna owns. She made that clear when she called us prior to our trip and referred us to the Healing Destinations website. Evidently, she feels this set up works.

My biggest gripe about the B&B at Saddlerock, is that for the price that we paid, we felt there should be a full-time on-site person to assist the patrons. I have stayed at enough bed and breakfasts to realize the difference between an overbearing presence of the owner, and the peace of mind of having someone on site to troubleshoot anything that crops up at any time. The lack of interest that Arna has for her guests is evident.

I would return to Sedona, however, I would not stay at the Saddlerock Ranch.