Great Christmas Week with family and friends

Guest: Faith Families (Southlake, TX)
Date of Stay: 12/26/11 Review Submitted: 01/03/12

This house was excellent for what we were looking for. You need four wheel drive to get there, but location is excellent. (Very close to DMR) House is in good condition with large comfortable living areas. Views are wonderful offf back of house. Great living area for our teenagers down stairs. Pool table and ping pong table provided many hours of entertainment. Great electronics in all living areas. Hot tub was very nice after a day of skiing. Good kitchen facilities. Large dining area. This house sleeps 10 easy. There are actually beds for 12. Property is better than pictures. Try the open face Meatloaf Sandwhich at Ken and Sues for lunch if you make it to Durango.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers.

Very close to perfect

Guest: Bryan H.
Date of Stay: 10/22/11 Review Submitted: 11/19/11

Rent this home without any reservation at all. The photos actually don't do the place credit. Spacious, spotless, exremely well equipped kitchen, top notch linens, ceiling fans in every room, hot tub just fof the Master bedroom, killer views. The gas jets for starting the fire work perfectly and take the mess and stress out of getting a good fire going. Fair selection of DVDs, DirecTV, puzzles and a few games give you stuff to do on a stay in day. The downstairs toys are very high quality, the pool table as true as can be, a really nice ping pong table with plenty of paddles and lots of actual good balls. The in floor heating, if you haven't experienced before, is so awesome. Of the many homes we have rented this is probably overall the nicest, best equipped and comfortable. Literally at the ski resort if you are skiing, close to Ouray and Silverton, less than a half hour back to Durango for shopping and groceries. The walk down to the lake is a bit tough, NICE JOB building the path tho, owners, but worth it. Sit in a chair by the lake, light a camp fire and enjoy a beverage in total solitude. The storage cave down there is a treat. We could not have been more satisfied with a vacation home rental. 100% recommended, no complaints at all.

Recommended for:

Summer heaven haven

Guest: Stuart (Joplin, MO midwest USA)
Date of Stay: 07/11/11 Review Submitted: 07/18/11

The house exceeded expectations of spaciousness and comfort. The upstairs bedrooms are far larger than the photos indicated. After leaving the 100's of the midwest, it was pure joy to waken every morning to 51degrees in July! The lake is blue-green and tranquil. Expecting to catch trout, we caught salmon...can't explain that. I grilled the best tri-tip steak ever on the grill. We went to Mesa Verde on Thursday, took the Durango-Silverton train on Wednesday, and white water rafted on Tuesday....chilling out on Friday at the house was as enjoyable as any other day. I would highly recommend the lunch at the "Last Run" restaurant just north of the ski resort entrance. I had a gorgonzola steak sandwich that was incredible. We were just overwhelmed with the whole experience.

Recommended for:Sightseeing, adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers.

Perfect Ski House

Guest: Clay (San Antonio, Texas)
Date of Stay: 01/02/11 Review Submitted: 02/05/11

My grown kids and some friends of ours go sking in Durango every year and we have for about 15 years. We have stayed in a number of houses and condos and we all agreed that this is the nicest and best located house we have stayed in. It is very private and just a beautiful house. It is always a gamble renting from an individual because you never know what you are going to get. In this case, the pictures are not well staged exagerations and the house is bigger than it seems in the pictures. It is beautifully furnished. The lake was frozen, but I'm sure it is magnificent in the summer. The drive to the ski resort took about 5 minutes and that was with tire chains (going slow). We all agreed that we would be staying at this house next year and, I am sure, many years to come.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, sightseeing, pet owners, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Wonder White Christmas

Guest: Deb (College Station, Texas)
Date of Stay: 12/23/10 Review Submitted: 01/23/11

My kids wanted to spend Christmas in Durango so my mother and father-in-law found this great place for us to stay. The view from the house was sunning, it look just like all the Christmas cards you receive and wonder where these pictures are taken; well Granny and Pawpaw found the spot. It was close to the ski resort perfect for the kids and my husband to hit the slopes. While we enjoyed day trips to Durango and Silverton. The home was clean, spacious and well maintained. The owners of the property was very helpful, we made several calls to the home owner and he was quick to answer questions and more than accommodating. We would recommend this home to anyone. We've seen the area in the winter now we need to return and see the area in the spring and or summer. We loved our Christmas vacation.

Owner response:We enjoyed having these guests at our home and would love to welcome them back for their next visit to Durango!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

White Christmas

Guest: bub (Cuero,Tx)
Date of Stay: 12/21/06 Review Submitted: 01/22/11

My family and I being from Texas had never had never had a true white christmas. We had over four feet of snow. The house was every bit they said it was. We skied, played pool, played dominoes, played in the snow, and enjoyed the fireplace. What was so great was our host. What ever we needed they were accomadating. I would like to see how beautiful the area is in the summer.

Owner response:(This guests Date of Stay was actually Christmas 2010.) Our Blackjack Lodge at Lake Purgatory is a winter wonderland, but just as beautiful all year round!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, sightseeing, adventure seekers, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Traveling grandma

Guest: Sugie (Checotah, Oklahoma USA)
Date of Stay: 07/31/10 Review Submitted: 10/22/10

This is a lovely home to stay in with plenty of room for adults and children. This home was clean and comfortable with beautiful views as advertised. My family and grandchildren stayed in August, and there was plenty of outdoor activities for all. Part of our family went horseback riding and we enjoyed the fun at the Purgatory ski slopes. There are several beautiful drives close by with many things to do and places to eat in Durango and surrounding towns. We took the Narrow Gauge train ride from Durango to Silverton which the grand kids really enjoyed! We were very impressed with the area. Great place for a family vacation!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, sightseeing, adventure seekers, families with young children, families with teenagers.

A little piece of heaven

Guest: Marsha (McKinney, Texas)
Date of Stay: 08/07/10 Review Submitted: 08/18/10

What a wonderful time my family and I had on our family vacation. We were excited about being in the mountains and having a break from the HOT Texas heat. It was so much better than we could have asked for.The pictures do not do it justice because everything was beautiful and the lodge provided everything we needed and was very well maintained.We all enjoyed the deck, the hot tub, the dozens of hummingbirds, and the slower paced meals at the outdoor table that we all loved to sit at and drink in the views.We got up in the mornings to the sun shimmering on the lake and marveled at the MILLIONS of stars we viewed at night. Thank you for one of our most enjoyable vacations so far.After seeing all the pictures we all posted on Facebook there are lots of friends and co-workers who plan to contact you. :) Marsha

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Amazing Vacation!!

Guest: City Dwellers (Dallas, TX.)
Date of Stay: 08/07/10 Review Submitted: 08/17/10

What a wonderful time for our family! The house is absolutely gorgeous and had everything we'd possibly need. The setting is picturesque and the views are breathtaking! An amazing week away from the city to unwind and breath. We loved every minute of it and we will definitely return :)

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Great Family Vacation

Guest: Ellen (Wichita, KS)
Date of Stay: 05/29/10 Review Submitted: 07/05/10

This was the perfect house for our small family reunion. There were eleven of us and plenty of room to spread out and relax. The house is far enough from town to enjoy the quiet peacefulness of the mountains, but close enough to run in and pick up groceries. The amenities were terrific: ping pong, pool, hot tub, canoe...we enjoyed them all. The dining area was large enough for all of us to sit together and enjoy a meal then play games later. The location was perfect for day trips: We visited Mesa Verde, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Ouray, and we rode the Durango/Silverton train...awesome! We also took advantage of the lake and did some fishing while others played golf. The property manager and the owner were great to work with and I highly recommend the BlackJack Lodge for the perfect vacation.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.