We booked a week in June to join a large family group. Asked for the River House, which was purportedly on a small river a bit away from the main lodge, on its own acreage. Supposedly two bedrooms, as we were sharing the house with my sister. We found the second "bedroom" to be 2 twin beds on a tiny porch smaller than an inside cabin on a cheap cruise line.
Cut to the chase: River House is very close to a MAIN road with lots of trucks going by using their "Jake Brakes" (very noisy compression brakes). I timed one - I could hear it approaching, passing by and going away for a minute and 15 seconds. Add to this ANOTHER road on the other side, and peace and quiet is not what you are going to get. The little river doesn't stand a chance to muffle the noise.
On top of this my wife got over 40 bites during the night from some insect - enough to cause one eye to swell nearly shut.
We put up with this for one night, and asked for a room change. They were full, and had no alternative for us. We decided to leave the hotel. My sister, who is a bit hard of hearing and a sound sleeper, decided to stay. We got no help from the management regarding our deposit or a significant discount on the price for my sister to stay as a single - I had to make up the difference. A VERY expensive bad experience!
As there were no other 6-night accommodations in the Durango area, (which would have been a half hour away), we decided to leave the gathering and head to our next stop, southern Utah. There we were warmly welcomed in the little town of Torrey, at the Torrey Schoolhouse Inn (see review) for a stay that was the exact opposite experience.
Given our bad lodging experience and ultimate treatment by the management, we would NEVER stay at Blue Lake Ranch again nor recommend it to anyone. They do have some quite nice newer accommodations close to the main lodge - maybe they don't have any bedbugs?
