"Horsepitality" is the foundation of the Mayan Ranch which is located in Bandera, Texas, 48 miles NW of San Antonio in the Texas Hill Country. Come experience our superb food, great accommodations, enthusiastic staff, horseback riding over picturesque trails, and swimming in our Texas-sized pool. Learn how to spin a rope, crack a whip and pitch shoes. Or, just sit back and enjoy a wagon ride around the ranch property to see the wildlife.Bring your family or your business (we are a great facility for conferences.)The Mayan Ranch is full American Plan. Rates include all meals, lodging, ranch activities as well as complimentary beer, wine, sodas and coffee.There is a little 'cowboy' in all of us - Find yours at the Mayan Ranch.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
We stayed here as two couples road tripping in the USA together. Honestly this was the best experience ever, I love horses and had always wanted to stay on a ranch, this stay was absolutely brilliant, the rooms, the saloon and on site shop are very in keeping, the staff are the best, so friendly and chatty always willing to help, you also get to spend time with real cowboys riding horses, riding on the back of tractors, amazing food inc breakfast and the best steak nights outsides.
I'll 100% be coming back!
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Date of stay: August 2023
Value
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Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:This place has everything you need!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Kelly Orion, General Manager at Mayan Dude Ranch
Responded Oct 19, 2023
Thank you for sharing your positive review of your recent stay with our family at the Mayan Ranch. The best compliment we can receive from our guests is their desire to come back on the trail with us. We look forward to having you again. I will pass on your praise about our friendly staff, your experience riding horses, and our home-made food. We know you have many choices when it comes to your vacation plans, and we appreciate you choosing the Mayan Ranch to make
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Thank you to the Hicks' family, we had a brilliant stay at the Mayan Dude Ranch. We met some fabulous people including people working on the ranch and guests staying ( I can totally see why people return year after year for their holidays). The food was fabulous, varied and plentiful. I think I went up a dress size . I will remember for ever riding a horse down to breakfast cooked outside and wish I could start everyday like that. We threw ourselves into the activities and had a great time even though we are quite shy as a family. We did cowboy bingo, dancing, fossil hunting (if you go please do this, it was so interesting and Judy is amazing) and hay rides to name but a few. Some of the evening entertainment whilst we were there included a champion roper and country singer, both were great. We stayed for 4 nights and I wish I could of stayed longer. The wranglers were all really great and so helpful even accommodating requests for certain horses where possible. We met some great characters. The land, scenery and wildlife we experienced on the horse rides was amazing. Our accommodation was really in keeping and a lot better than I was expecting being ranch accommodation. My teenage son loved his stay. Sadly we did not have the best weather so didn't use the pool but the pool looked great. There was so much to do here but I also just felt so relaxed, I would highly recommend a visit. We did walk into Bandera town that took us about twenty minutes to have a look round the shops, have a couple of beers and play pool in a couple of local bars. There is absolutely no reason to leave the ranch and everything is included there we just like to explore a little so if you are like us I would recommend a visit into town.
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Date of stay: April 2023
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Kelly Orion, General Manager at Mayan Dude Ranch
Responded Apr 17, 2023
Laura, Thank you for sharing your positive review of your recent stay with us at the Mayan Ranch. We are so pleased you enjoyed the Cowboy Breakfast cook-outs, dinosaur track and fossil experience with Judy, and the relaxing trails with our horses and wranglers. I will make sure to pass on your compliments to our staff. Our greatest testament to our hospitality is to hear that our guests wish they could have stayed longer. We hope to have you and your family on the trail with us at the Mayan Ranch again soon.
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We went to the ranch after a couple days in San Antonio and immediately wished we were staying longer than 2 days. We loved it. Carley, Ryan, Trey and the whole staff were incredible. Very accommodating to the kids and lots of activities for everyone. Even on colder days, there are things to do. We loved the cowboy breakfast, horse rides, hay rides, dinosaur tracks and seeing all the animals. It was nice that the parents could hang out in the saloon while the kids felt comfortable in the kids room relaxing before dinner. We will definitely go back for a longer stay. Thank you, Hicks family!
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Kelly O, Owner at Mayan Dude Ranch
Responded Mar 4, 2020
Courtney, Thank you for sharing your positive review of your recent stay with our family at the Mayan Ranch. The best compliment we can receive is that you wished you could have stayed longer. I will pass on your compliments to Carley, Ryan, and Trey. We are pleased you enjoyed our activities, and we look forward to having your family on our trail at the Mayan again soon.
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First the pros-you can't beat the hospitality and the food. Everyone is so super nice and accommodating. All the ranch hands were phenomenal, especially Ryan. The food was really good. We had BBQ one night and it was THE best brisket I have ever eaten. Breakfast was great, lunch could have been better, frozen chicken fingers are not my thing, but overall great food. The deer and wildlife was just beautiful too. The horses were great, calm and easy going, No fear! Now the cons-while this property is really beautiful, the accommodations were lacking. Very run down and old looking. From the office area to the cabins, everything was so old. The furniture was old and the cushions were sunken and worn out. Our cabin was OLD and tired looking, the toilet flushed but took forever to fill back up so you could flush again. The ceiling fan didn't work in one of our rooms and in the other it was so off balance we couldn't use it. (We had adjoining rooms) I'm not sure I have ever seen TVs that small, and both or the remotes didn't work. The rooms were large which was nice. The blanket, if you can call it that was a thin as an old sheet and provided no warmth at all. Pillows were flat and the bed frame stuck out so far that if you were not careful you ankles and shins would suffer greatly with every bump! It is a shame really, the place gave off an old and dirty vibe. It just wasn't very clean. In light of the Corona virus and the flu season I was disappointed that the staff didn't serve us, but instead it was a buffet which I think was wrong! This place could be fantastic, if it were not so run down. They need to spend some money and spruce up the place. It did look like there were some newer cabins but not sure. We had a mixup with our room and were put in wrong room, which was fine but they acted like it was my mistake and it wasn't. I have emails to prove it, but anyway, we did have a wonderful time. It was a trip for our 9 & 7 yr old grandchildren and they had a blast so it ended well, however, it is hard to recommend this place when there are SO many dude ranches in the area that appear to be much nicer and not so run down. It is very $$, which is fine but for the the money, I expected it to be a little nicer. I didn't expect the Ritz, but I also didn't expect an old Motel 6 either.
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Date of stay: March 2020
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:chose a new cabin if available
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
If I could give it a 10, I would. I have spent some time reading reviews before posting this one. As you can see, this establishment has an excellent reputation. But there are a few bad reviews that I would like to address. First of all, this is not a fancy high class resort, nor do they claim to be. This as an honest western guest ranch. Do not expect luxury here, just expect a real western ranch experience. The lodge and rooms are very rustic, but also very roomy and comfortable. This is not a hotel. Expect the normal stuff that happens with a large family but also the best parts of being with family. The family here felt like the family that I have always wanted.
There have been a few issues mentioned. One with the housekeeping, another with the horses. I can confirm that any issues with the rooms have been resolved. The same thing can and has happened with me several times at numerous hotels that I have stayed at. Instead of being outraged, I have put myself in the shoes of the proprietor and can understand how it can happen.
As for the issues with dogs spooking the horses, how can anyone control stray dogs. Horses do not like unexpected noises so if you are going to ride, you need to understand that. What I can say is that we had an incident with a barking dog and Tommy was very cautious when he heard a dog barking and ordered everyone off the horses. There ended up to be no issues but the ranch hands were very prepared.
Please be aware that due to insurance and Texas law, the ranch can not let anyone over 240 pounds to ride, nor can anyone under six years. But the wranglers will let youngster ride on a horse while they are led around.
The horses were awesome, and enjoyed our attention. I recommend Whiskey, Grinch, Tank, Cinco, Trigger, Champ, Harley and Faith. The food was awesome and the games and other activities were great. I want to thank Cowgirl Kel, Jurassic Judy and DJ Ricochet for the awesome customer service. The experience was worth many times what we paid for. WE WILL BE BACK!
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Date of stay: January 2022
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Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Kelly Orion, General Manager at Mayan Dude Ranch
Responded Feb 3, 2022
Thank you for your positive review of your recent stay with our family at the Mayan Ranch. We appreciate your compliments and are thrilled you enjoyed your "best vacation ever" with us. Thank you for your candid feedback regarding previous posts. We want our guests to feel like family, and we are glad you felt the love we have for each other and our passion to exceed our guests' expectations. I will pass on your compliments to Tommy, Jurassic Judy, and Ricochet the DJ. We look forward to having you with us again soon.
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I had been to Mayan Ranch about 20 years ago and raved about it to my wife and was anxious to take her there. We visited San Antonio in April this year and decided to spend a few days at the ranch. While our visit was “nice”, it was a little bit disappointing and didn’t live up to expectations. So what changed? 20 years ago, there was a range of entertainment options that kept us busy throughout the day. We attended mid-week this time around, and there was very little—of course there was horseback riding and a pool, but limited other activities. 20 years ago, coffee and juice was served to your room in the morning—a really nice touch. That practice seems to have stopped. Most disappointing of all, however, was the horseback riding. We went in 4 rides while we were there—3 lasted 30 minutes and one lasted 25 minutes. Although you’re told to arrive at the corral 10 minutes early, they don’t begin loading the horses until the allotted time. 15 minutes later, you’re left with a very short “loop” type horse ride which is probably fun for small children but disappointing for adults. 20 years ago, the rides went up into the hills or down along the rive. This time around, one of our rides never left the sight of the corral and a second ventured to the barbecue area which is a 10 minute walk from the lodge. A little disappointing when the property is sold on the basis of its horseback experiences.
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Date of stay: April 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Kelly Orion, General Manager at Mayan Dude Ranch
Responded Apr 13, 2023
Thank you for sharing your recent review of your stay with our family at the Mayan Ranch. We apologize that your return trip was a little disappointing. We take our guests’ feedback very seriously, and this review is currently being shared with the owners and our staff. While we have transitioned away from coffee and juice delivery in the morning, we have several new offerings for our guests, including our petting zoo, Pickleball courts, and remodeled pool. We will be meeting with the staff at the corral to discuss ways to showcase our beautiful Texas Hill Country on our trail rides and to offer guests a longer experience in the saddle. We hope we can host you again soon, and we appreciate your constructive feedback.
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We had such a great long weekend celebrating my Birthday in May at the Mayan Dude Ranch! It is a true gem run by a totally amazing family. Everyone works continuously to assure you are well taken care of. We thoroughly enjoyed the horseback rides, activities, beverages, and of course every meal we were served. The Hicks family and their staff go above and beyond to make it a memorable stay. Everyone is so friendly, pleasant and welcoming from check-in to checkout. I only wish we could have stayed longer but we will definitely be returning in the future. Whether you are going as a couple or looking for a family friendly vacation, this is the Dude Ranch to visit in the Hill Country!!
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Date of stay: May 2021
Value
Rooms
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We loved our 3 night stay at the Mayan ranch and would go back in a heartbeat. A memorable vacation! The food was so delicious - we loved the Mexican night, BBQ and the breakfasts. The trail rides were great and our favorite part. The cowboys took good care of us and kept us safe. The evening activities were fun - hayride, rope tricker, dj night. The staff was very welcoming and great with kids. My only suggestion, bring your own pillows - the pillows were in need of replacing.
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Date of stay: March 2021Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Kelly Orion, General Manager at Mayan Dude Ranch
Responded Aug 4, 2021
Thank you for your positive review of your recent stay with our family at the Mayan Ranch. We are thrilled you enjoyed a memorable vacation during your three-night stay. I will pass on your compliments about our delicious, home-made meals, friendly cowboys, and evening activities. We appreciate your feedback about the pillows in your accommodations. If you have time, please call or email us your room number, so we can have the pillows replaced. We value your feedback, and we look forward to having your family on our trails again soon.
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We just finished up a stay with our two boys and we all had a great time. The cowboy breakfast was the best breakfast I’ve ever had in my life. I loved having all the food on the open fire and I could put that hot pepper gravy on everything I ate. There was so much good food and always plenty of it and you were never rushed. It was my first time on a horse and the horses were so gentle and the cowboys were really great about getting everyone on and staying with us for the ride. They had a few cute nighttime activities and we spent the afternoon in the pool. I think my favorite part was going up to fossil Hill. The hill is really well marked off and if you get a chance see Judy before heading up and she will tell you what to look for. Our rooms Rustic look very clean. Overall A great stay and a lot of fun, something very different from what we get to do in New Jersey.
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Date of stay: April 2022Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Kelly Orion, General Manager at Mayan Dude Ranch
Responded Apr 25, 2022
Patty, Thank you for your positive review of your recent stay with our family at the Mayan Ranch. We appreciate your compliments about our delicious Cowboy Breakfast, our nightly entertainment, and Jurassic Judy’s trek to Fossil Hill. We pride ourselves on offering our guests unique experiences and our own special brand of “horspitality.” We look forward to having you and your family with us again soon.
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The Mayan Ranch was the perfect Texas experience for our family with 2 energetic boys! Welcoming family hospitality, delicious food and so much fun... hay rides, trail rides, archery, fossil hunting & actual dinosaur footprints preserved in the rock. We’ll be back for a longer stay next time. Thank you to everyone who made our stay so great!
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Kelly O, Owner at Mayan Dude Ranch
Responded Jan 21, 2020
Lucy, Thank you for sharing your positive review of your recent stay with our family at the Mayan Ranch. We are thrilled your vacation was the “perfect Texas experience for [your] family.” We appreciate your compliments about our welcoming hospitality, home-made food, and fun activities. We can’t wait to welcome you back for a longer stay on the beautiful Mayan trail.
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It is difficult to see. Honestly, I think the best thing is to figure out which amenities u want (fireplace, locations etc) and then call them, tell them what u want and they can help u. I would also research other properties, this one is really run down! If I was going back to the same area and wanted to do the whole dude ranch thing again, I With go somewhere else. Hope this helps! Have fun!!
There are more places to choose from in the Bandera area.
ALSO KNOWN AS
mayan dude ranch hotel bandera
LOCATION
United StatesTexasBandera CountyBandera
NUMBER OF ROOMS
68
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