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Red Sands Hotel & Spa is a lovely up-to-date accommodation that is within minutes from Capitol Reef National Park. The hotel offers an array of services and elegant amenities for a very reasonable rate and it’s also pet-friendly. It’s the perfect location if you are visiting the Capitol Reef area.

FIRST IMPRESSION

We pulled up to the front of the hotel and was pretty impressed with their door entrance. It wasn’t your typical automated glass door entrance; instead it was a grand oversized door with huge handles. The reception staff was very friendly and we received the keys to our room within minutes.

LOCATION

Red Sands Hotel is your gateway to Capitol Reef National Park. It’s a quick 10-minute drive to Capitol Reef’s Visitor Center and the scenery along the way is absolutely gorgeous.

The hotel is right in the center of a little town called Torrey, which is where you’ll find shops, cafes, and restaurants. We had amazing burgers on the first night at Capitol Burger which is a food truck that had outstanding reviews. There were a couple of other cafes we wanted to try out, but they either closed early or closed unexpectedly. We’ve experienced this in other small towns we’ve visited where things close early or just close without notice.

THE ROOM

Our room was on the first floor right next to their onsite restaurant, The Rock Garden. We stayed in room 112 which had a parking lot view. We wish we could have had the view of the gorgeous farm field in the back, but that may have cost more, or perhaps it wasn’t a pet-friendly room.

The room was updated and had modern bohemian decor that matched the theme of their lobby. We had two different size beds in the room, a king and queen, and both were pretty comfortable. There was a little dining table in the corner of the room and it was definitely nice to have while we ate our dinner, but we only had one chair, so we had to take turns using the table.

There was also a dresser, small TV, refrigerator with freezer, microwave, coffee, tea and a closet section with some hangers. There was an iron, but no ironing board to be found. We’re guessing we had to ask for the ironing board, but since we needed to iron at odd times when the staff was not at the front desk, we managed to iron our clothes on the bed on top of a towel.

We saw some guest photos online of updated bathrooms; however, our bathroom was not renovated. It was outdated and the tub had an awful squeaky sound when you moved around while taking a shower. The squeaking wasn’t a deal breaker, but we just thought it was funny how much noise it would make every time we made one little move in the tub. Everything else worked great. The water pressure was strong, the tub drained properly, and the water temperature was great.

The sink countertop was located outside the bathroom, which was nice since the bathroom was pretty small. The sink is brand new and quite large, which took up most of the counter space. It’s a lovely sink, but it wasn’t the best since the water would spill out every time we turned it on. It would splash water everywhere and we had to move our stuff off the counter. The mirror was nice and large, but the lighting was dim, so it was a bit of a challenge applying our makeup.

The toiletries were fantastic. Probably the best part of the bathroom. They even provided a bottle of sanitizing spray to use throughout the room should we need it. We definitely used it to wipe down the remote control, dining table, and end tables.

THE AMENITIES

Spa, Yoga Room, Gym, Star Gazing Deck, & Guest Laundry

For a budget-friendly hotel, we were pretty impressed with the amenities. We would have taken advantage of them if we had time, but we spent our days exploring Capitol Reef National Park and would crash right when we got back to the hotel after we had our dinner.

Map Room

We suggest checking out the map room. This is where we found some useful information and tips about the surrounding areas. There was a board on the wall where employees suggested their favorite hikes and parks, which was such a great resource. We ended up going to one of the suggested parks called Goblin Valley State Park since it was on our way to Arches National Park. You can also grab coffee and tea here throughout the day. However, they only provided decaf coffee for some strange reason.

Pool, Hot Tub, & Fire Pit

The pool was absolutely gorgeous as it overlooked the view of the farm fields. We didn’t go for a swim, but we did enjoy the outdoor seating area right in front of the pool. We had lunch here one afternoon and it was so peaceful.

The Rock Garden

The onsite restaurant is located on the first floor and had mixed reviews on TripAdvisor, so we were a little hesitant to dine here at first. However, on the second night of our stay, we were low on dining choices, so we decided to order carry out. Our room was within 100 feet, so it was super convenient. Unfortunately, the food was terrible.

Crystal ordered a prime rib steak that had to get sent back twice for being overcooked. On the third and final attempt, it was undercooked and by this point, we just gave up. Candy’s meal wasn’t that great either, but she didn’t have it as bad as the steak.

The manager agreed to take the steak off the bill, but when we checked the credit card statement later, it was never taken off. The server was great, but everything else about this place was horrible. Needless to say, definitely go somewhere else to eat. We highly recommend grabbing some fresh burgers from Capitol Burger. It’s not even a mile down the street and our burgers were fantastic.

PET FRIENDLINESS

The hotel provides specific pet-friendly rooms, so make sure you check that option when you are booking with this hotel or let them know in advance if possible. They had some dog treats in the lobby, but no other pet amenities were provided, so so make sure to bring your own dog bowls.

The beautiful farm on the back of the premises had a grassy area to walk Kuma; whereas the front part of the property only had a parking lot.

HOTEL COST

The best part about Red Sands Hotel was the budget-friendly price. We stayed at this hotel in late August 2020 and it was only $100 per night for a pet-friendly room with two beds.

Parking is free and the pet fee is $25 per stay for one pet.

Check current rates HERE.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Despite the horrible dining experience and some minor issues in the room, the stay itself was way more than what we expected. The property did a fantastic job with the renovations in the lobby and throughout the premises.

The staff is friendly and accommodating to your needs, but there is no onsite staff at night and in the early mornings, so make sure you have everything you need before they leave for the day. If we ever make it out to Torrey, Utah for another visit, we will definitely stay here again. The location is a remote exotic utopia with accommodation at a bargain.

RED SANDS HOTEL
@redsandshotel
ADDRESS: 670 UT-24, Torrey, UT 84775 (MAP)
PHONE: 1-435-383-4048