Fairfield Rocky Mountain High

The area is beautiful and it was wonderful to escape a Phoenix heat wave of 110 degrees in favor of this 7500 foot mountain area where daytime temps were in the 70s. Our favorite things that we did were to utilize the miniature golf course (twice), ride the Durango Silverton train, and do a horseback ride. The rest of the time was spent just relaxing and enjoying the view.

Quick Tips:

We reserved our tickets ahead of time for the Durango Silverton train by using the internet. There are several sites that sell the tickets all at the same price. Getting the tickets ahead of time insures that you will get a seat on the open air gondola cars which fill up quickly. However, note that these seats are tight with each section supposedly seating 3, but in most cases three adults will not easily fit. Buying an extra child seat (even for a non-existent child) will give you some much appreciated room. Otherwise count on someone standing most of the time.

Best Way To Get Around:

You need a car to get to most activities in this area. Most of the time we drove between a half hour and an hour to get to the things that we wanted to do.

Best Things Nearby:
There are several things nearby from the famous Pagosa Springs hot springs (which we did not do) to hot air balloons to the Durango Silverton railroad to all sorts of horseback riding, etc. There is more to do here than can be done in a week. But be sure to take time to just relax and enjoy the scenery and the quiet.

Best Things About the Resort:
The best thing about this timeshare was the amount of room. We were in the older Eagle's Loft area right next to the lake. These are huge units listed as two bedrooms which are on the main level (up a flight of stairs from where you park in the carport). Each of these rooms has a queen bed. The main level also has a living room and dining area as well as 2 bathrooms. Then there is the loft which has two double beds and another table and set of chairs. The lower level has a private large whirlpool tub. Each unit is free-standing and were impressive units in their day.

Resort Experience:
We liked the amount of room, but were again disappointed in Fairfield's total lack of housekeeping and maintenance. These units are literally falling apart. On the outside we noted many areas of bare wood siding, torn or missing weatherstripping, and even windows that were falling apart. Inside, there were cobwebs everywhere, one of the toilets ran all of the time, and one of the tubs dripped constantly. Apparently the only housekeeping done is to change the linens and towels, and to clean the bathrooms. This is the second time we have noted such substandard maintenance and housekeeping at a Fairfield property leading us to conclude that this is most likely pervasive at all Fairfield properties. It makes one wonder what happens to the $25,000 or so of maintenance fees that are collected on these units each year. Nevertheless, we did not allow the poor condition of our unit to spoil our time, and would even consider going back while hoping for some improvement between now and then.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Good
• Amenities: Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Fair
• Family Friendliness: Good
• Service: Fair

We had a great time going both up and back on the Durango Silverton railroad. Our open car gave us complete visibility to all of the marvelous scenery. The ride takes about 3 1/2 hours each way, and we all had a great time, even our nearly 4-year-old daughter.

Be sure to purchase your tickets early, by using any of several internet sites or calling ahead--the open cars fill up early, and the closed cars didn't look nearly as much fun. There is a concession car to buy food and drinks, or you can bring your own. Note that on the open cars, you are sitting on cushioned benches looking outward.

Each bench supposedly seats three, and all seats are assigned. However, the seating is very tight and in most cases three adults will not have enough room, so you may even want to purchase an extra child ticket for a non-existent child to have some more room. Although we did not have to purchase a child ticket (she could have sat on our lap the whole way), we were very glad that we did. If you don't have enough room, plan on standing most of the way, which you may often want to do anyway to get the best views. This was a great time and one that we enjoyed very much.

Back Country Outfitters offers horse trail rides (among other hunting activities) at a very reasonable price compared to other places in the area. Our guide Sonny was about as laid back as you can get, and it was fun to listen to him talk which he did almost the entire 2-hour ride. It was $34 per person for 2 hours or $20 per person for 1 hour. It was the only place we could find that would accept our nearly 4-year-old daughter riding tandem with her mom. Other slightly older kids were able to ride by themselves with one being led by our guide. It was a great day to ride up to the top of the mountain and back down again. We were all a little sore, but had a great time. I certainly would not have wanted any longer than 2 hours though. Be sure to call ahead to reserve your day and time. They pretty much schedule according to what you want as long as they don't already have someone else scheduled. There were 7 in our party and we were the only ones on the ride. After we were done, he was going out again with just a party of 2.