The Retreat at Silvies Valley Ranch

We are seasoned travelers and recently stayed at The Retreat at Silvies Valley Ranch. Unfortunately, our experience was one of the worst we’ve had — exorbitantly priced and not at all as advertised. We want to share our honest impressions so others can make informed choices. If you are remotely considering traveling to this very remote location please read this review. Background The Good • The property does offer a variety of multigenerational activities. • Staff members were kind and tried to be accommodating. The Not-So-Good • Prepayment & Cancellation: We were forced to prepay with no cancellation option. When we had to reschedule in 2023 due to their generators failing — and again later due to a family member’s cancer — our request to cancel was denied. We weren’t able to use our booking until September 2025. They were not accommodating at all in rescheduling due to serious illness and we had to make several phone calls to work this out. Meanwhile they have your money the entire time - full amount. • Billing Issues: The billing process was messy and confusing. Upon arrival, we were charged $565.80 for incidentals without explanation (typical hotels hold ~$100). Even staff struggled to explain or adjust the folio. • False Advertising (Goat Golf): Their marketing shows each golfer with a goat caddie. In reality, there was one goat for four golfers, and we had to share clubs. While the handler (Savanna) was wonderful, this was a major disappointment and the primary reason we booked. Our goat Mulligan was very cute. • Food & Beverage: • Social hour advertised as a charcuterie board turned out to be a small shared plate with strangers at the bar. • Drinks were $20 each, and dinner was subpar (bread, watered down soup, and an enchilada which we which most were left uneaten). • Arrival & RV Experience: • No instructions on where to park or check in. Arriving in our RVs, we had to walk nearly a mile down a dirt trail to the office. • RV park is poorly equipped: partial power, no individual dump stations, and even a porta-potty that appeared never serviced. • Activity Pricing: Prices are wildly inflated to put it mildly. • Sourdough class: $200 for 1 hour (a 4 hr NYC workshop costs $170). • Painting a birdhouse: $36 for a $7 Michael’s craft. • Welcome & Service: The overall welcome to the property was poorly handled, with little to no communication, no tour of the grounds or where anything was or how anything worked. * We tried to go to the gift shop and was closed Final Thoughts Between the false advertising, excessive pricing, poor infrastructure, and lackluster food, this was not worth the time, effort, or expense. Both parties in our group agree: we cannot recommend Silvies and will not be returning.

We have been on many vacations, all over the country. Silvies was hands down our most memorable. This is a magical place, like no other in this world. The golf experience was 2nd to None. We made memories that will last our life's time. Bring boots and a Stetson! You'll fit right in.

We had an unfortunate experience during our weekend at Silvies. I am so disappointed to have to leave a bad review, because the property itself is so beautiful. However, at the price you pay to stay and experience Silvies, the service we received was nowhere near what it should have been. There seemed to be constant miscommunications happening between the staff and misinformation being provided to guests. While all the staff were very friendly, many of them were very unprofessional and didn’t seem to know how to do their jobs. A huge disappointment for us was the food. Just about everything was bad. Which is such a shame, as I know that Silvies ranch prides themselves on their goat and cattle. Every piece of meat we consumed over the weekend was overcooked, under seasoned, cold, and just simply not good. The chef was doing no favors to their farm. Multiple of our (very expensive) activities were major misses as well. Silvies seems to have such great potential but unfortunately the staff provided us with a poor experience.

We had an amazing time at Silvies Valley Ranch over the Fourth of July weekend! We had high hopes for the weekend and they did not disappoint. There's a lot to love about this place, including the following: -The best part of our stay was definitely interacting with the staff. The Campbells have hired excellent folks this season and we had so much fun throughout our stay. From Savanna and Amanda, who helped us with goats and horses, to Michael and Nico, who provided excellent service in the Lodge and behind the bar, everyone was friendly, fun, and accommodating. We also were treated in the spa by Sandy Campbell herself, and she was lovely to chat with! -The location is stunning, obviously, but we were really impressed with the construction details in all the facilities. You can tell a lot of thought went into both design and execution. Our room was incredibly comfortable--from a comfy king-sized bed to an in-room jet tub to the best robes around, we were pleased with every detail. The Lodge and Spa are incredible buildings and the grounds are amazing. You never lack for things to look at throughout the Retreat! -Obviously, most people go here for golf, and we did play one round on the 9-hole par-3 course with goat caddies (you have to get the goat caddies! Thanks, Putt Putt and Savanna!) But we wanted to try other activities, so in addition to this one round, we went on two horseback rides, did a delicious tequila tasting, got a treatment in the spa, took a wagon ride with the Clydesdales, and took a hike around the property. There's a lot to do here in addition to golf, so don't shy away if you're not a big golfer! We want to come back in winter to try out the cross-country ski trails, in fact. -For the most part, the food at Silvies was excellent, but it's very red-meat heavy. Expect to eat beef from the ranch at every dinner. We really loved the Chevon sausage and meatballs, made from goat! (I'd love to be able to eat that at home, so I might look into where to get it.) If we had any complaint, though, it would be the timing of dinner. We tend to eat earlier in the evening so waiting until 7 p.m. to have a large, heavy meal was a bit much. Perhaps in the future they'll be able to have an early and late seating, but we understand how that would be difficult for them right now. Clearly, there's a lot to love about The Retreat, but they've only been open a few years and are still working through some issues. We had a few problems ahead of our stay with scheduling our activities, but that turned out to not be an issue at all once we arrived. And they were short-staffed during our stay, but that didn't impact our enjoyment at all. They've got some great folks there now who I am sure will help smooth out these issues. We're pretty easy going guests and don't expect perfection, especially if staff are responsive and accommodating, which was the case at every turn. All in all, we couldn't have been happier with our stay!

The Silvies Valley Ranch was absolutely beautiful with amazing accommodations, the most luxurious sheets and bedding and the nicest people. However, the cost of the activities did not match the experience. It was quite overpriced for what we received. If you go, make sure you check the prices AHEAD OF TIME of everything you sign up for so you won't be shocked at the end of your visit. It is a no cash/credit experience so you don't pay for anything until the end.