input on Durango itinerary, pls
 

Durango lodging up in the air for August trip w/ 5 & 7 year old boys. Flying into Albuquerque and driving to Durango 8/4. Have railway and Melodrama tix for Aug 5 & 6th so assume we'd want to be downtown the first few nights. Would also like to do a cowboy dinner ride (Southfork stables?) and Bar D dinner, plus a day at the resort area for alpine slide etc and maybe raft trip. Strater not avail, and we prefer at least suites anyway so we don't have to go to bed at 9 w/kids. Kids would love a pool. After Durango, have reservations at Mesa Verde Far View 8/9, driving back to Albuquerque for Hotel Blue 8/10 before an early flight out 8/11. Any ideas for in-town, ie Jarvis v. Best Western Rio Grande or the Best Western slightly farther out (does walking distance to historic stuff make a difference?) Should we stay in town the first three nights, then move to resort area for two nights before Mesa Verde? If so, any suggestions on where to stay? Not seeking budget accommodations, but don't want to pay more than necessary (Best Western Rio sounds high at $215/night per suite). Any info on any of this is very much appreciated!

Well I personally wouldn't switch hotels for the last two nights. Purgatory is only about 15-20 minutes away from town so not worth it in my opinion. Doubletree has a pool and mainstreet is only a couple of blocks over. I think Best Western may have a pool. The Sheraton is closer to Purgatory but has a pool, horseback riding, golf on site and is a little nicer and more expensive. The side of town where the Strater Hotel is likely where you would want to walk around. The opposite side of town, heading towards Purgatory wouldn't be ideal for walking. Otherwise, your itinerary sounds pretty good.

I agree with Lenleigh that you shouldn't split your stay up into 2 places. The Best Western Rio Grande has gotten a bad review on this site before. The other BW is a little too far from the center of town for my taste. A somewhat off the wall choice might be the Leland House (800-664-1920), which is associated with the Rochester B&B across the street. They are just a block from Main Avenue, convenient to the train, restaurants, etc. The Leland House has suites, but I doubt it has a pool. The Doubletree has a nice indoor pool, and is across the main drag from downtown, but still fairly well-located.

This may sound like a wild idea, but the KOA north of town is one of the most picturesque camping spots I've ever seen. What about a Kamping Kabin? They have the beds, electricity, and even heat. You'd have to pack linens or sleeping bags. There's a pool and used to be a great pancake breakfast offered. We used to alternate nights in hotels with nights in KK's and the kids loved the "adventure". It is easy "camping" because you are sleeping on beds or bunks. The boys would probably have a blast!

On a winter trip we took a sleigh ride near Purgatory and it was fabulous. They stopped at a cabin for a steak or chicken dinner. It was fabulous. Don't remember the name - it may be what one you listed.

I checked the website. They have Kamping Kabins and Kottages (with bathrooms). Free fishing in the Animas river, heated pool, movies at night, Full service cafe, espresso bar, and ice cream shop. The location is beautiful.

My "kids" loved their KK experiences so much that the boy asked that his birthday party one year be a KK party. We loaded up two vanloads of boys to the closest KOA to us and they had a blast. Did a pizza run and roasted marshmallows.

One time at Grand Sand Dunes NP I was too tired to build a fire so we made s'mores by roasting marshmallows over a hot plate plugged into the electric outlet next to the picnic table. The pictures are crazy!

I can't imagine their childhoods without their KK experiences!

Great suggestions, thanks. Definitely won't book but one Durango hotel, which will make DH very happy. I particularly liked the KOA idea, which never would have occurred to me...unfortunately, they are sold out for those dates. So is the Doubletree. Couldn't find a Sheraton in Durango, even on the corporate web site, and I'm checking into Leland availability. Does anyone know about Jarvis Suites? Sounds nice, but is it on the "wrong" side of town? Any other suggestions? Thanks a lot, everyone.

There are two KOA's. I was referring to the North location, but I think the other is "East". Worth a try.

Sorry, I think it's no longer a Sheraton (which is likely a good thing). It's now The Lodge at Tamarron. Here is a link to the website:

http://summer.durangomountainresort....ammarronportal

Tamarron is pretty close to where the KOA campground is and the other poster was correct about the surroundings. It's a really pretty area. Another option is to stay in a condo at purgatory. I did that once and it was nice. During the summer you can take the ski lift up and hike, walk, mountain bike or just ride it back down. It's about 30 miles away from town. Most hotels near the train station are smaller and less likely to have a pool but that's where all the shops/walking are. On the other end of town, you'd just have to take a short drive.

I think Tamarron is nice, but more for a golf vacation, less for kids, since it's about 20 minutes north of town. There's more to do in the middle of town. Jarvis Suites is well-located, in a historical building right on Main, a couple of blocks from the train, and near several good restaurants. I haven't stayed there, so didn't recommend it in my first post, but I think it would be a good choice.

lenleigh, I have a question. It sounds like you are very familiar with the area.
If you are heading north out of Durango, there's a hotel on a hill on the left (maybe a mile out of town). It has a big indoor pool. What is that now? (It was a Days Inn/ Best Western type of place)
Also, on the other side of the road (right side) is a B&B kind of off the road. Is was up for sale right after we stayed there a few years ago? Do you know where I'm talking about.

We also ate at a very unique restaurant that had been around for a long time. It had a tree growing through the middle of it and had been added on to time and time again.

Thanks for any help you can give me naming these places.

I bet Travellyn can answer that for you since she lives there. I visited a couple of times and then I went to school at Ft. Lewis. I lived there for about 6 months and I worked at Tamarron and the General Palmer. Things seem to change though, Purgatory was taken over by the city and 3 years ago the Tamarron was still a Sheraton.

Thanks to all for the advice. We now have reservations at the Jarvis...reasonably priced suites at $149 night including breakfast. The manager was super nice, told me that while they didn't have a pool, they own several other hotels in town and we could swim at one of those if we wished. I'll post our experiences when we return. Next time we'll plan a little more in advance to have more choices.

Just got back from a GREAT time in Durango. We stayed at the Residence Inn. Suites, Clean and nice - Not bad, but I think the best location looked like the Doubletree in the building closest to the Albertson's. It was right on the river and many people were out on their balconies in the early evening. Looked nice and it is a short walk to town. The Best Western backed up to a BUSY road (550) so I know we would not have wanted that.
We were VERY, VERY pleased with our horseback riding at D Bar G. Victoria was super accomodating and Joe our tour guide was great and very competent. They are located by Lemon Resevoir and you ride in the San Juan National Forest. Very nice and reasonable rates.
Rafting we took "Mild To Wild" and again had a great time. Their tour guides are great. Again we were pleased.
Took a Hummer out with Get Out Adventures right there at Albertson's. Jason and Glen bent over backwards to make our trip everything we wanted it to be.
We did our homework and really had a great time. Would use all these tour guides again and highly recommend them to you.
Loved the mexican (authentic) food at Tequilla's. Breakfast at Oscar's. Dinner at Season's was great. Ore House is VERY overrated and way too pricey for what you get. Stay away from there. The French Bakery was yummy and the Chocolate Factory was a nice treat too.
The alpine slide was closed by the time we got there (11:00am). They say go early, but it was already closed. The Durango Mtn area was very overpriced ($2.85 for a small Iced Tea!) and I was NOT impressed with what I saw.
Walking distance to your hotel was not a big issue for us. We drove into town and could always find a parking place. If not right on Main, then on one of the side streets.
We did Mesa Verde one day and drove over that morning from Durango. Again, we got there early because a line forms after about 10:00am. We had no problem seeing the Mesa Verde sights and eating lunch there. The hotel looked fine, but don't know if you want to pack, repack, etc for a 36 mile drive.
Hope this helps. Have fun. We sure did.

Gracieb: I live in Durango, and not to usurp Travelyn (great expert on Durango, I wonder if I know her) the places you were asking about are, 1) Yes, Days Inn. 2)Iron Horse Inn 3) Sweeney's Grubsteak. I worked there for a couple of years back in the '80's and it is still going strong.
Anniemac, I hope you have a great time in Durango. There's lots to do. Plan for a little rain maybe every afternoon, our monsoons have arrived...
I think the La Plata County Fair is that weekend, if you are into that sort of thing, pigs, sheep, chickens, rabbits, 4-Her's and small time carnival. Also there is a pro rodeo by the fairgrounds (on North Main) during the week. Always lots of cars there.

Trip report - what a great vacation! The Jarvis Suites were a good choice for us - convenient location, accommodating staff, good value. Our corner room looked out on main street, great for people watching. Rooms not decorated historic-style, but clean and comfortable with free breakfast and laundry. Took the bus up to Silverton, and train back and glad we did - gave us time to do a mine tour and pan for gold. The boys were bored silly at Melodrama, despite the best seats in the house (DH had to leave with 5-year-old). River was so low we skipped guided tour and rented tubes - twice it was so fun! Did a trail ride through beautiful scenery with Hole in the Wall stables, good for kids but an experienced rider might want something more (horses walked nose to tail entire time). The boys loved the alpine slide at the resort, and my husband enjoyed riding a diggler down the mountain that day. Mesa Verde was amazing, and we were glad we stayed in the park lodge - watched jackrabbits, deer and hummingbirds from our balcony, and were right there to start touring first thing in the a.m. (visitor center and ruins are a long drive from entrance.) The restaurant at the lodge was excellent, I had elk tenderloin that was fabulous. Thks everyone for their advice!