Ouray Co. and Arches National Park, Utah
 

Can't find anything here at all recent on this. Am going to be in Ouray end of Sept.
and am looking at places to stay. Want clean, convenient and somewhere around or under $100. Only there one night. Has anyone stayed at or know anything about the "Hot Springs Inn" there? Also looked at the Best Western Twin Peaks Lodge and Hot Spring. Any input would be GREATLY appreciated. I always count on Fodorites opinions and comments.
Thanks.
Oh yeah....also staying one night near Arches National Park. Ever heard of Big Horn
Lodge in Moab? Opinions?

Lots of luck finding a room for under $100 in Moab in September.

I can advise you to not stay at the Best Western Canyonlands in Moab, which is over-rated and overpriced. The folks at TripAdvisor aren't too thrilled with Big Horn Lodge, either: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...Moab_Utah.html

In Ouray, Hot Springs Inn sounds like a winner: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Colorado.html

Look at http://moabutah.info/hotels.htm.It will have a map of Moab hotels. You will find the hotels are along a three mile stretch and barely nine minutes for the gate of Arches National Park. Aarchway Inn is spacious and has recently been refurbished. River Canyon Lodge has smaller rooms in the heart of Moab to walk to dining. The people at Big Horn Lodge are good-hearted, I haven't looked at Trip Advisor, I wonder what the balance of weary traveler complaints is to the positive aspects. Best Western Canyonlands continues to get Best Western awards for the attention to maintenance and polite/helpful service. I have read reports that the BW canyonlands inn is a surprisingly luxurious gem.

Ever hear of the Orvis Hot Springs north near Ridgeway Colorado? You can camp or there are a few rooms, if it is not too late to reserve. They go fast. At Orvis, clothing is optional.

<I have read reports that the BW canyonlands inn is a surprisingly luxurious gem.>

I didn't like our tired little room, the noisy AC, the tour bus crowds, the over-crowded breakfast room, the awkward way of getting from one building to another (tiny, awkward elevator and mis-matched levels of the two buildings), or the manager who told me he couldn't hear the noisy AC.

HTTY

Gee, we stayed at the BW Canyonlands in Moab this past April, and thought it was fine. We especially liked the hot breakfast that was included, we thought it was pretty good. It saved us a lot of time in the mornings, not having to go out to a restaurant to get a decent breakfast. The location was good, within walking distance of a lot of restaurants and shops. Our room was pretty comfortable, as I recall. I do agree that having the building we stayed in on a different level from the elevator, so that we had to negotiate a few steps with our luggage, was a small, but manageable, drawback. I would stay there again.

We stayed at the Aarchway Inn in Moab for 2 nights in June 2009 and it was very accomodating although we really didn't spend much time at the hotel. Loved rafting on the Colorado River, Arches Nat'l Park, and Dead Horse Point.

B,

If you like B&Bs, try either of these,

Dreamkeeper Inn
Calli Cochita

They are in a great location, off Main Street, but just a couple blocks away so you can walk to the restaurants, etc. However, both are small and very popular, you might get lucky. Dreamkeeper has central air in the main home and wall units in the cottage, where there are 2 larger rooms with soaking tubs. Calli Cochita has wall unit A/C which is always noisy where ever you are staying.

What Sara said. While I would never describe the BW Canyonlands as luxurious, it was perfectly fine for my family. Since our stay was in the fall, AC was not an issue (slept with the windows open though) and we did not have to deal with tour bus crowds, so I can't address those issues. As far as the "awkward" split level layout, unless there is a mobility issue or you're bringing a lot of luggage, it should not be a big deal navigating several steps in a smallish 2-story hotel. I'm impatient so I never wait for the elevator at 2 - 3 story hotels anyway. I'm not sure if it is in your budget range, but the location was great for walking around town in the evening.

There are two Best Westerns in Moab -- the Greenwell and the Canyonlands. I have always like the Canyonlands.

That said, I think the best way to enjoy Moab is to rent a condo. Because of the cleaning fee they can be a bit more expensive than a motel room for one or two persons for one or two nights, but you get three bedrooms, luxurious baths, kitchens, barbeques.

If you want to check it out look at moabrents.com. Cathy Mattingly owns the company and has really helped me out on a couple of occasions.

I stayed at the Best Western in Ouray 2 weeks ago and really enjoyed it - was closer to $150 though for a King suite, but definitely reccomend a room on the 2'nd floor - great view of the surrounding canyons.

I'd pick the Hot Springs Lodge. We did find a beautiful spot instead at the Hot Springs Inn. While not right in town, it is a pleasant and comfortable 3 or 4 block walk to enter town and the city's hot springs are even closer. Windows open to the pleasant sounds of the river, rooms were spacious and beds were comfortable. While the bath products and the junk breakfast included left much to be desired, the lodge itself was good value and just lovely. I'd happily go back just to spend a few nights to hear the river purring outside the window and to wake up to coffee on the deck.

I'd stay away from the BW like Superman to Kryptonite. We had a terrible experience at the BW Ouray this summer and I vowed I wouldn't ever look back. It has the potential, the rooms are lovely once you can get past the kitschiness of the Tiki Bar idea and the sign claiming the Switzerland of America. Really? I'm from Colorado, and while I've been to Switzerland and think it is gorgeous, we have our own loveliness to boast about to the world. This is not due to the BW's owners, I'm sure, it's what Ouray city uses on its literature. I've been meaning to write a review on this hotel and haven't had time to do so, but in summary, their windows are *locked* and you can't open them and the room smelled so bad of cleaning fluids. There was no way to ventilate, and this is rather unusual in Colorado mountain towns. It is decent for the money if you don't mind staying in a place that had clearly been smoked in, the smoke was covered up with the odor of cleaning fluids and some sort of scented spray. Yuck. To make matters worse, I tried to discuss this with the manager who proceeded to insult me in front of guests by asking if they'd ever heard anyone complain because they couldn't open a window. Yeah, I think many of us who live here in Colorado's mountains and don't use A/C would. It was a huge turnoff to not only receive a brushoff but to be publicly insulted. These people needed to be schooled, but I'm grateful because we left and then discovered the Hot Springs Lodge that I review above. That place is a gem.

We stayed at a wonderful small inn in Ouray called the Wiesbaden Hot Springs Inn. The room was small but reasonably priced and there were larger rooms available. It's location off of the main street was quiet and close enough to walk everywhere. The hot springs-fed pool area was really nice and we loved the vapor cave. Here are some pics:

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/49926589

Scenic Ouray: http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/49900195

We walked to Box Canyon and checked it out, and roamed the back streets checking out the ornate houses. Ouray is a beautiful little town.

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/49900191

Check out the Wiesbaden at: http://www.wiesbadenhotsprings.com/

I've also been checking out Moab lodging for a trip next year. We stayed at the River Canyon Inn back in 2007, and may stay there again. The room had a small kitchenette area w/ microwave, refrig, sink - I think we had a jr suite. We also enjoyed the pool/hottub. I liked that the Inn was off of the main street which is pretty busy but it was located right in the heart of Moab so we could walk everywhere. Back in 2004, we stayed at what is now the Sleep Inn (can't remember what it was back then). It was really inexpensive - about $50/night and it was just fine for our needs. The place was relatively new at the time and had a pool/hottub that we enjoyed. You might want to check trip advisor to check reviews of the Big Horn Inn - I'm not familiar with it. We don't spend very much time in our room, especially in Moab, so I don't need anything fancy - although my sister loved the Dreamkeeper Inn (as Dayle mentioned) and it is not very expensive so you should take a look at their website. Enjoy your trip!

Thanks everyone for the imput. Gives me a great basis on which to make decisions. As someone said, we probalbly wont be in the room much, but nice to know that when we are its clean, accommodating and comfortable.
Sharon: Will let you know where we stay and how it was when we get back. In any case, have a great trip.
And thanks AGAIN for all your comments.

A bit late to this, but we really like St Elmo's B&B in Ouray and Cali Cochita in Moab. Not sure you can get your price point in either, but worth a try.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ong-report.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rip-report.cfm

We stayed at the Box Canyon Lodge in Ouray in the summer of 2008 for a couple of nights and had a good experience there. It was close enough to Box Canyon that we could walk. The room was clean and comfortable but as with Deb (above) not sure if the price fits your parameters.