I recently stumbled upon this ranch by accident as I wanted to go on a vacation by a national park before heading to a conference in Denver. I came at the end of Oct/beginning of November, which for Zapata is the bison roundup, and I was actually the only guest there the whole time!
It turned out to be a great experience - almost the entire Phillips family and their friends were there for the roundup (if I understand correctly, only a select few of them are there for the remainder of the year) so I ended up having a bit of a different experience than other guests would - eating with the cowboys, for one! That made it a lot more interesting than I could ever have experienced elsewhere, and it was a nice feeling to feel like part of someone's family.
I stayed in the Bison room, which was in the Bunkhouse. It was a tad dark, but had a nice rustic flair to it - log cabin style, with a clawfoot tub and a nice pedestal sink. Also with a beautiful king size bed with tons of pillows. There were additional lamps stowed away in the cupboard, and no TV, which was actually kind of nice to detach from the world (actually, the entire ranch makes you feel like you've gone back to another time.) However for those people who don't completely want to escape, there was also wifi (I didn't have to completely renounce my city ways!)) Another point to note is that you can sometimes hear people in the adjacent room, but that only occurred one evening. The nicest part is probably that there are often deer in the area, passing right by your window!
The ranch also has a hot tub (which unfortunately I didn't take advantage of) and shared laundry facilities, which were super nice especially when you have been riding for a couple days and you're a bit mucky.
The chef in the kitchen, Mike, is self-taught, and cooks up some mean meals, mostly American style food. For days away, he packs huge and delicious lunches. I was really grateful for his cookies too!
My guide for the entire trip was Margot, and she was great in making sure I was comfortable with my horse and ensuring that I was safe, and great to chat with. She also went hiking with me up the giant sand dune close by. Janet Phlilips, who does reservations, was fantastic in describing the history of the ranch and the family and some of the physical geography close by.
My experience probably wasn't standard, but whatever your experience is there, it is highly recommended!
Also to note: fantastic sunsets, and by around 3PM you get pretty tired (breakfast was at around 8 or so, and I got to bed around 8PM.... long days!) Also they do one night stays with no food included. And, if you want to visit Great Sand Dunes National Park when no one is there, I highly recommend Oct/Nov - not a soul in sight. read more