Sorrell River Ranch
 

Hi, my husband and I are taking our two adult children (33 and 29) on their first trip to Moab Ut. We have booked 4 nights at the Sorrell River Ranch which seems very luxurious and wonder if anyone has had the chance to stay there. Also we are looking to: horeseback ride and possibly try (the guys) repelling. Naturally we will visit Arch's and Canyonlands and since my husband and I have been there before we wonder if we should take a bonifide tour through the two parks or just do it on our own as before. Many thanks to all for your help. We will be travelling in the first part of October.

Hi,
We have just returned from our 2nd trip to Moab and the SW and both times we stayed at the Sorrel River ranch.
It is a very luxurious resort and the setting is perfect. The drive into Moab is a good 20 mins, but the scenic drive is spectacular.They now have a spa and we both enjoyed a massage,with Tricia.
The restaurant is excellent, buffalo ribs are a must. I would advise to take provisions for breakfast as you have a microwave, coffee machine,fridge and all the flatware etc , it is nice to sit on your private porch and have your breakfast.
We did a tandem kayak trip down the Colorado river, organised at the ranch $42 per person. 6 miles down stream, rapids I/II.
We both did a canyoneering trip with Desert Highlights to Tierdrop canyon, 3 rappels, amazing. Check out their web site deserthighlights.com.
We did our fav hikes once again to Delicate arch in Arches and Whale rock in Islands of the sky.
This time we travelled to Lake Powell, Valley of the gods and Monument valley.
Highly recc VALLEY OF THE GODS B&B.
Rainbow bridge, antelope slot canyon wonderful.
Need any help please e-mail
Angie

Delph 17 -
We'll be staying at Valley of the Gods B&B for 2 nights in Sept. Glad to hear you highly recommend it. Just wondering where you ate lunch/dinner while there. I know it's "out there".
Thanks for your help.

Glad I could help, we drove from Page to the Valley of the Gods, taking in Natural bridges national park and arrived 6 ish. We had brought provisions and had a picnic. I highly recommend buying a cooler for drinks etc and you can by ice everywhere.
The breakfasts at the b and b are great.
We stayed in Bluff one night and had a horrible meal at the only place in town twin rocks , looks great outside but was not very happy with the service and cold chicken and ribs that had to be reheated and then the sides were cold aswell.
In mexican hat there is a diner which we had breakfast on a different trip and the food was good, a little slow , I beleive they are open at night it is near the gas station.

Take a drive up the moki highway to murphy pt for a sunset, the road is a long dirt road and do not miss the GOOSENECKS, they are fab !
please give our regards to Claire, we stayed in the east room, great stone shower !!!! check out the visitors book for tips and comments.
Angie and Mike

Angie and Mike,
Thanks so much for the info. We're leaving this Friday for 8 days in southern Utah. And we'll be at Valley of the Gods during a full moon! We'll be coming from Moab to Mexican Hat, spend two nights there, then heading up Rte 261 to Natural Bridges. How long of a drive is it from the B&B to the Moki Dugway? Anything else nearby that we must check out? Thanks again.
Sharon & Peter

Hi Sharon,
if you are in Moab you must take the chair lift for a superb view of Moab and Arches , I think it is $10, there are a few trails at the top and places to stop for a sit down. It is located near Macdonalds just follow the signs. The ride up is great but the return trip is a little scary, hope you like heights!
We stopped at THE HOLE IN THE ROCK, it is a 5,000sq ft home some crazy guy built, worth the little detour and also we did Needles in Canyonlands.
The Moki dugway is 5 mins from the B&B, we did it 3 times.Great views of Valley of the Gods and also the remoteness of the B&B. Goosenecks is before you get the B&B.
Enjoy your trip, it will be fantastic!
Angie

Hi Sharon,
will you be going to Monument valley, it is about 50 miles south, ou could easy do it in a day and then stop for a meal in the early evening at Gouldings Lodge.
Angie

Thanks for the great info! We can't wait til Friday. We're already cramming too much into a week so we'll probably skip Monument Valley this time and spend more time exploring Valley of the Gods.

Thank you delph17 for your suggestions. We have booked a canyoneering trip with Desert Highlights and we'll give you an update when we return. I'm getting excited as October is getting closer and my kids still don't have a clue where we are taking them.

Stayed at the Sorrel River in April. Amke sure your cabin is as far away from the swimming pool as possible, our stay was marred by a family of screaming kids from New Jersey! Thought the restaurant overpriced, you are better driving to Moab and going to Bucks Grill House. If you need a packed lunch to take exploring try the Red Rock Bakery at 74 S Main in Moab for great sandwiches and cakes.

Angie - you mentioned the kayak trip. Was it rough? We kayak a lot, but not whitewater. Would love to do it there, but don't want to get ourselves into something we can't handle. How would you rate it? Thanks, Sue

we're going in March

Don't know about the facility (it looks nice) but my experience w/them was not pleasant-we had reservations for 2 nights in June-my husband became very ill while we were in AZ and could not make the trip to Moab-I called 6 days before the date and explained that we were unable to make the trip-I understand that at some resorts, you have to forfeit the first night for cancellation-not here-the room was prepaid and they were not willing to negotiate anything-I explained that this was not under our control and that I was willing to forfeit the first night and they had almost a week to re book the room-no way-not only did I think this was unreasonable but they were rude-made the statement that I should have thought about that and the next time I should buy travel insurance and then wouldn't have this problem-in all of our travels, I have never experienced such behavior-after 4 months and our travel agent contacting them numerous time (received the same rude treatment), they finally agreed to issue a certificate for credit that must be used w/in a year-guess that's reasonable but since we live across the country, not likely-just hope that nothing goes wrong for a month before and if it's prepaid, kiss the money goodbye-the place may be beautiful but I would never stay there just on principle

Hello Sue,
Sorry i did not reply earlier ,just been to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, WOW !!!!
We arranged the kayak trip with the resort and was our first time.The water is pretty smooth with about 5 I/II rapids, nothing we couldn`t handle even if we were going sidewards into the rapids a few times. I beleive the float trip is the same if you have a guide along with the large rafts which hold 12 or more people. We noticed people float down the rapids and then return to their boat.We met a family who had done the float trip and was unhappy with the cost and the non existent thrill,they agreed that we probably had the better experience just bobbing along in our DUCKIE.
Please post another question if you need more help.
Angie

Hello everyone, thank you for all your help and let me give you a brief travel report. We loved the Sorrell River Ranch, and only had a couple of mishaps with their establishment, however, given the upscale nature of this resort I feel I should mention them. First and foremost we called and told them we would be coming in after 10 p.m.,and they said they have an attendant on until midnight. When we arrived exhausted from an east coast flight and a long drive from Grand Junction, we found no way to get into the ranch grounds. The electric gates were locked and no one answered their phone. Fortunately our son is young and agile and he hopped the fence and ran the long distance down the road to the lodge. It was unattended and they left our key and gate code taped to the lodge door. He hotwired a golf cart (I never asked him how he knew how to do it)drove back to the gate and got us in!
Love that kid!!! During our stay we had a serious fly infestation as none of the doors had screens and they came in without us noticing during the time we were sitting out on the porch. We must have killed over 30 on the windows and called to let them know the situation....they were never cleaned up by housekeeping. Infact, housekeeping only makes up your bed every 3 days, they claim this is an enviornmentally better practice. I could live with that, however I believe cleaning up the dead bugs would have been nice. The restaurant acclaimed to be one of the finest in Moab but was very dissapointing. A+ for atmosphere and wait staff, however, the food was less than great, infact closer to poor and overpriced.
My recommendation is this: If you want a resort setting with nice amenities this would be a wonderful vacation. If you are planning to tour Arch's and Canyonlands you will have a journey of at least 30-40 minutes to do so. The ranch sits on a beautiful piece of property bordered by mountains and the Colorado River, however, it is somewhat removed from Moab and the National Parks.