Shelly's cottages,

We decided to try Shelly's cottages for our 1year anniversary since we
had driven by it so many times. We had thought to stay before even
though our friends and family kept telling us bad things about the
place. Well, we found out the hard way that they were right. We
reserved one of their cottages for two nights (at a hefty price) and
were immediately disappointed as we walked in to our cottage. It was
dirty, smelled of natural gas, and the hot tub was not clean. We
asked for an immediate refund and were told that they would only give
us half back. This after pointing put safety hazards. They said that
they would not give us our money back because they had to turn people
away. There was nobody else on property and their vacancy light was
on.

In other words, they only wanted our money at the cost of our safety.
We will never stay there again and recommend that nobody stay there.
Hopefully there is some regulatory agency that will take interest in
this and ensure that it is taken care of.

We stayed a Fri Sat night and it was wonderfully quiet with no kids around. It is close to Lyons for food and gas and just a short trip to Estes Park. No dishwasher which was fine for us and no hairdryer. The best part for us was how quiet it was. The next best part was the gas fireplace and the private hot tub. We really enjoyed our getaway and a slow down for the weekend. Be sure to eat BBQ at Smokin' Dave's in town. On the way to Estes is Big Elk Meadows on the left for some hiking.

I was disappointed. For the price I expected more. I loved the grounds and the sound of the river could be heard from the porch. We stayed in the Cottonwood. I thought it was way overpriced. You were allowed a certain amount of towels for bathing and the hot tub. There was little room to dry them out. No dishwasher but an extra charge if the dishes weren't done. Trash had to be taken out too.The cabin was nice but nothing special. Kitchen and bathroom were very small. No internet and cell phone service spotty.The hot tub was private and ok but not worth the extra money. All in all I was very disappointed.

We didn't want to stay in Estes park nor did we want to stay in boulder so this was a good compromise. We were looking for something in 70 to 100 dollar range but this was a few bits over that mark. But looking at the room it was like our own house almost with our own small but walk in kitchen and full refrigerator. We only used it for our left over pizza but we at least used it as well as the dishes and silverware to heat it up in the morning. We also used the coffee marker which my fiancé liked.

The bathroom is what really attracted me with real tiling which also was tastefully done with nice colors.

We had not one double sized bed but two! I'd rather have had one king sized and a couch but this worked. It was comfortable and there were extra pillows and blankets if we wanted them.

One of my few complaints is the curtains. They were nice enough but left a gap as they were not close enough to the wall. I felt I we were giving the late comers, and there were surpringly plenty, a show.

Finally the grounds were beautiful and it was right by the river. There were signs not to venture over the property designated for the cottages which seem slightly unfriendly but it was fine. We didn't really have time to linger but took a very brief walk out to the river.

Also note this was not a b and b so no breakfast continental or otherwise. The woman running the place was nice enough though we had to run through the sprinklers to reach the office. Not a problem. It was kind of fun.

In conclusion the place was very nice but also what you should expect for the money.