On December 5th, 2024 I reserved a Deluxe Kiva View with 2 queen beds since there would be 4 of us, two adults and two children ages 14 and 12, traveling from Chicago. I received a couple of "looking forward to your stay" emails prior to arriving. I arrived and was told I could not have my reserved room, some rooms had failed a park service inspection in April. I had never received any indication my room would not be available nor that there were issues with rooms at the lodge. I was told I could have a room with two double beds if I wanted. Since we were booked on the "700 Year Tour" early the next morning, I agreed, but did ask for a refund of the difference in room price, WHICH I HAVE NOT RECEIVED. The room looked as if it were hastily repaired. There was new drywall unfinished under the sink and spray foam insulation in all sort of joints and cracks of the walls, baseboards and floors. There were many insects in the room which we set about to remove before settling in. At dinner in the lodge, we learned that more that 60% of the rooms were not habitable due to the park service inspection. After turning in looking forward to our tour, around midnight some mice were heard and when we turned on the lights at least two mice were running the floor. I called the front desk which said the best they could do was to move us to the only vacant room left in the park which was the same type as our previous room. We packed up, being careful not to bring any mice or other insect with us, went to the front desk and moved to our new room. Because of the late night move, we missed the 8:00AM start of the "700 Year Tour". Not wanting to stay and risk more middle of the night unpleasantries, I went to the front desk and asked to check out and have a refund of my second nights room payment. The front desk people said that was no problem, they seemingly have had this happen before. But I have YET TO RECEIVE MY REFUND FOR MY SECOND NIGHT. Overall, Mesa Verde is a wonderful park which I have visited several times. Overall, Far View Lodge was a horrible failure and should not even be considered anything other than a cheap budget motel, albeit with a high price tag at this time until they can professionally bring the lodge up to it's former self.

It’s good enough for a night or two. The rooms are scattered around in different motel style buildings, but half of these buildings have been condemned because they are deemed structurally unsafe. There are two room types, “Kiva” and “Kiva Deluxe View,” but all of the “deluxe view” rooms are in the condemned buildings, so do not try to book one of these rooms even if Aramark tells you it’s available. There is a huge disconnect between the property’s room inventory and the reservations department. The problem is that Aramark is still accepting reservations for the “deluxe view” rooms, and the reservations department has no idea that these buildings are out of service and condemned. As a result, guests arrive to suddenly learn that their reservation has either been canceled without notice, or, like me, arrive to be told you’ve been downgraded to a regular room, despite my multiple pre-arrival calls to re-confirm and assured that I was confirmed in a “deluxe view room.” The regular room was ok enough with a balcony and a pleasant view. But, there are mice in the room (so leave all hiking snacks in the car) and the window blinds are all broken, and management doesn’t care. When I told the front desk that there was a mouse in the room, the agent asked “oh, how big was it?” The big question is: how can a huge company like Aramark fail to maintain these buildings, and run them into such a state of disrepair, that they become structurally unsafe and condemned? And, how can Aramark continue to accept reservations for these rooms? Aramark should lose this contract and that GM should lose his job. But, it is the only option located in the park, and the closest other hotel is 45 minutes away. Cortez may be “10 minutes” away, but that is from the entrance gate, and all of the “main attractions” in this park are a good 35 minutes drive down from the entrance gate. So, this lodge is good enough for one or two nights for the location alone, just read the reviews and understand what you’re getting into. And, the restaurant on-site is quite nice with a rooftop lounge and million dollar views.

As this is in the middle of the park, it’s ideal if you want to hike all the trials etc and just want to get to sleep, which may be hard as the walls are basically wallpaper you can hear everything nect door. It’s very minimalist (no tv, no lights) which i found very nice as it allowed for great views of the stars at night. There is a cafe building next to the main lodge reception/restaurant. The food in the restaurant was abit pricey but was worth it as delicious. Overall if you can spend the day in the park and then find somewhere else 👍

We had a reservation-arrived at 6:30pm after touring the park. Our reservation was cancelled when we arrived. they offered no other room or option. They had failed a health inspection and the check in area had an awful smell. So, here we are at 6:30pm and NO ROOM. NO phone call or e-mail. Just a cancellation. So we had to scramble to find another place to stay 30 miles away. NOT HAPPY. Called management -still no call back.

I have stayed at seven hotels in National Parks and this one was by far- by far- the worst! First of all, I specifically booked a king bed room with an unobstructed view. It was the only reason I decided to stay in the Park. After I checked in, I was told as an aside that there were no king unobstructed view rooms available and I was given a lesser room. I received no notice in advance nor even before I checked in. Had Aramark had the courtesy to do so, I would have cancelled my reservation and made plans for an alternate hotel in the nearest town. They offered me nothing for this mix-up except an apology and a refund of the difference - which I am still waiting for. When I say lesser room, it really was. Not scratches on the walls but whole sections needing a paint job. Water running in the sink that couldn’t be turned off. The shower had no label/instructions and produced hot water first. Save yourself frustration and do not book a room at this hotel. There are plenty in the town not from the Park and at much cheaper prices.