Strater Hotel

Booked our family for a special occasion four months in advance. Total of 6 rooms in the hotel. Made it clear we wanted rooms to be near each other and told we would be accommodated to be near senior family member. Stayed first night in hotel quite happily. Key card issues for us from the first moment of arrival, but we found the rooms as promised next to each other and across the hall.
–Returned following afternoon after train trip to find our reservation of 4 months negated and that all our belongings were moved to another room far from our previous night’s room for no apparent reason. We were blamed for not noting the room number properly in card envelope the evening prior. We showed that this was not accurate and we were in the room as previously promised near family. They moved no one else in our reservation, just us and WE MADE THE RESERVATION in the first place based on proximity to each other. They simply gave our room away to someone else and moved us out against our wishes, request and in spite of our long-​standing reservation making a special 80^th birthday celebration a disappointing and stressful event.
— We ended up moved from our king bed room overlooking street to much smaller room overlooking dilapidated roof. HUGE step down, but certainly not in price. Offered comp but our beautiful room was STOLEN OUT FROM UNDER US and no more rooms very near our family remained. We ended up down-​grading bed size to remain in proximity. Real let-​down from where we slept the night before.
— This is AFTER we spent HUNDREDS of dollars with our large party dining in the hotel restaurant with courses including appetizers, entrees, spirits and even desserts. Our patronage meant NOTHING. We no longer dined there after this forced re-​location.
— Parking is a fair distance to bring luggage. Valet service was not offered and is a burden on elderly or special needs individuals. You will be told «Well, we have an elevator.» The elevator is too small to easily deal with multiple guests or their bags effectively.
— Asked for a safe way to dispose of used insulin injection needles! Told to simply drop into trash! Grossly unacceptable.
— Management felt we were too «unforgiving» for questioning why we were moved after already sleeping in a room and then being forcibly removed for their mistake. Unlike them, I am forgiving, but also brutally honest. They gave our room away in spite of our being there first and comfortably settled near our family as promised. All the comping in the world doesn’t fix our disappointment and how poorly it was handled.
— The Final Straw? After we settled in to our «new» room and return from dinner out, management knocks on door to tell us neighbor hears «water running or pouring» in our walls and they need to check our room.
NEVER AGAIN!

We walked up and down Main Street looking for a place to have a steak. So glad we ended up at the Strater! Four steaks, all great!

Loved it. So beautiful. My husband didn’t like the room, but I did. I also though the front desk help could be more welcoming. Out of the 3 – 4 that we spoke with. I think only one smiled. But the breakfast is nice and the whole place is just beautiful. Hung out in the bar and the service was great.

After witnessing the Bronco’s near win (what am I saying, that’s EVERY week, am I right?) last Sunday, the family and I needed a cocktail — off to the Strater it was! My dad — being the historian he is, has always wanted to sample the cocktails in the lounge and reminisce of the olden days. Here’s what you need to know:
1. The staff is ultra friendly. Very helpful and genuinely fun. most were laughing, singing along with the live music and seemed to enjoy their job.
2. Martini’s are $ 5 AFTER 6pm. YASSSSSS.
3. Live music each Sunday… and it’s impressive. He passes around a «menu» of different songs he will sing/​play guitar to — and it’s well over 100!
I really liked this historic hotel. I would love to stay here next time in Durango!

Stopped in on a family road trip and had the best lunch! Servers Grant and Nick were friendly and efficient. Salads were fresh and delicious. Everything was a 5-​star rating! If you are in Durango stop here for a great dining experience and a step back in time to the good ol’ days!

This historic hotel was so much fun to stay in! The rooms all have names and are so individually decorated. The lobby has old fashioned phone booths and a saloon type bar. But, the check in procedure is very inconvenient. Not knowing where to park was the first hurdle. Then we had to carry our luggage up four steps and hold open the heavy door to get into the lobby. (I asked about handicapped options and was told, «we can put out a ramp» if needed.) Having an electronic door would have been the least they could do for an able-​bodied person trying to get their luggage in the door. Parking was provided, but it was 2 blocks away in an ungated area. The breakfast, which was delicious, service was painfully slow, which is unacceptable in a tourist town where the staff should know that we don’t want to waste our time sitting at breakfast, but rather go out and enjoy the main street.

Do not recommend. Clean, lovely, but outrageously noisy due to some kind of very loud grinding reverberating machine. The whole room vibrated. Called front desk and was offered ear plugs. The noise was part of the problem. The vibration was the major issue. Not from any typical kind of mechanical source like a fan or air conditioner. Someone else complained about the wallpaper… at least it doesn’t make noise!

This place was pretty disappointing. My husband and I stayed two nights for our one-​year anniversary, and we were unhappy with the overall service. The staff were not friendly or welcoming, and they did not explain certain aspects to us upon checking in (e.g., where to park if the designated parking lot was full or how to purchase breakfast tickets and how to redeem them.” We had to ask three different times for a fan and towels. The staff just didn’t seem to care. For $ 200 a night, we definitely expected the staff to be more attentive. Also, to charge for breakfast is ridiculous, and it should have been complimentary. They even charged extra for a side of toast. The hotel was cool to stay at once, but we definitely will not be staying here again and will give our business to another hotel who actually cares about their guests.

In a kind of cooling off period for customer service complaints, I’ve waited a week to send this. I didn’t want to fire off some kind of irrational screed about something that maybe isn’t a big deal. Instead, everyone I ask tells me it’s a big deal, probably because it’s a broader reminder for the service industry in general.
This particular incident didn’t leave me stranded anywhere, none of my possessions were stolen, and I pretty much have my integrity intact. As a matter of fact, the Strater Hotel doesn’t even know what they did. And that’s the problem. They don’t know because they never cared to listen.
I had rented a room for my friend’s mom at the Strater. I was excited about this. I wasn’t excited because I was renting a room, and I wasn’t exactly giddy because I was paying 200+ dollars for a place where I wasn’t going to stay. I was excited because I was going to do something cool for a woman who was my second mom. She was that mom – you all know this mom – who was the town’s mom. Kids streamed through her house, ate her food and trampled her privacy, so I was thrilled to do something nice for her. And I know the Strater because I’ve used it before as a cool place to send people in lovely downtown Durango. It’s usually a great gift.
That’s what I told the Strater Hotel when I booked it just after noon on Thursday, September 24, 2015. I gave them my credit card and explained that I was going to pay for the room. I even told them to call me if there were any problems. I stressed, in the way that even kind of annoyed me, the importance of my paying for the room and not the guest.
Because, again, that’s the whole point of doing it.
A day after the stay my friend texted me to say that she hoped I didn’t get double billed because the Strater had charged her mom for everything. I had to pull over to do some emotional grappling before calling the hotel.
Granted, Kevin, who I initially spoke to at the Strater, isn’t feeling what I’m feeling. He isn’t angry like I am because he has other things going on. He’s trying to get through his day and, if Durango wages are the same as when I lived there, I can understand why he might have been drifting into space as I drawled on about my claim. He said it seemed there was a mix up and sent me to Alicia.
Alicia explained what Kevin had explained in that I had needed a card authorized to pay for the room. I told her that I gave them a card authorized to pay for the room. I even had an email saying that the hotel was authorized to charge my card. And I explained that the whole reason that I bought the room wasn’t really about the room, about some single occupancy in the mountains, but about doing something nice for a woman who used to work nights at the Mini Mart after a long day as a social worker so she could keep the heat on for the wayward juveniles of Walden. The very last thing I wanted was for her to be accosted with a bill for a room she would have never rented in the first place. But not only was she asked to pay, she also found out how much the room cost. Those are the only two things I wanted to avoid to make her trip (one she’d made to comfort a friend who’d just lost a relative) as freakin’ breezy and enjoyable as possible.
Now to be fair to Alicia, she didn’t know all of this. She’s not supposed to know. But she needs to know to find out.
I got to the part where I reminded her that they had my card and they should have charged it because I’d explained that’s everything in all of the great universe that I had wanted to happen. That’s when she cut me off and told me to give her my credit card number again. That lead to the most painful part about this interaction. After I gave her my card she said – as if she put a band aid on a child– «There, it’s all fixed.»
In one tiny declaration she managed to make me the kind of angry that has to be escorted out of the room. I wanted to say something but all of the words jammed to the front of my face, and I knew that whatever was going to fly out first wasn’t good. So I said goodbye and wondered if I should be as ticked as I felt.
Things get overlooked. It’s the nature of our busy lives, but those things can be remedied if you take time to listen and observe. I wasn’t asking for anything in return, except some acknowledgement that they understood my argument and that, despite being the potential nut pulled over on a busy section of urban interstate, I wasn’t crazy.
The irony is that I chose the Strater because I wanted a great person to enjoy the customer experience of nice hotel. I’m sure she did. From experience, I know she’s able to tolerate all kinds of surprises. I was just hoping this one would be a more positive one.

What a fabulous historic hotel. It is truly first class in every respect. Even though it is old and historic, the owners have obviously poured a fortune into maintaining the ambience in every detail. The staff was extremely accommodating and thoughtful and our room was truly first class. The location is very near the Durango & Silverado RR station and all the beautiful high quality shops, stores and restaurants. This is the third time we have stayed there.

Nice clean, historic hotel on our stay in Durango (and right on the Main Street) on 9÷7÷2015. The room was very quaint, clean and appeared to be recently updated. The TV did not work at first but was quickly rectified by their staff. Nice little breakfast in the am (if you chose to pay an extra $ 5 per person when checking in) but was well worth it! Nice to see they do take AAA. Sure do LOVE this little town and will definitely be back!!!

Considering the age of the hotel, it’s nice but not worth the rate of over $ 200 per night. Having worked in hospitality at a four star and staying at plenty of three & four star hotels, this one did not meet the mark. Being an old hotel I expected a small room, which it was. There was no mini bar, no big deal. What caught my eye was the dark entry/​hall leading to our room due to burned out bulb. Some of the walls in the room were dirty. The cable shut off. ?? The old furniture is charming but could use a good cleaning and polish. The carpet needs replacing. What I can say is the staff was friendly and I felt safe. Would I come back? Perhaps. Just not for what I paid.

No! Furniture in the room was so beaten up. Lots of nicks and pulls broken. Inside the drawers were dirty! Bedspread was dirty. Front doorman didn’t know where to park. No area to pull car up to check in. It is just a no! Plus the town has so many vagrants it is scary to walk on the Main Street.

Great old, beautiful hotel. The bar is superb, and an actual proper bar. The drinks were spot on and the food very reasonably priced and tasty. Don’t miss this gem.

The Strater is the jewel of downtown Durango. Obviously, a very beautiful, majestic and historic hotel, the Strater exudes character. This hotel has a bar, restaurant, free parking, decent rooms and great service. If you want to burn a few extra calories during your stay, the super steep stairs provide a great cardio workout. The location can’t be beat, especially if you’re here to ride the train or explore downtown.

This hotel is truly a piece of history. We loved the lobby and all of the interesting historic relics around the hotel. I think they’ve done a wonderful job of maintaining its old world charm, but also keeping it up to their guests’ needs. Our room was quaint– it was big enough and had a queen bed and single bed. The bathroom was a little rough, but it was ok and certainly met our needs. Each morning we were awoken by the train– it was so cool, we could see it out our window and loved it. The staff was extremely friendly and we really liked the coffee service on each floor in the mornings. It was a treat. Definitely walk around the hotel and take it all in. It’s quite beautiful and so much history is here. The restaurant and bar in the hotel are also amazing– I will Unilocal about those on their respective pages, but definitely don’t miss them either! There is free parking about 1 block from the hotel and plenty of spaces. We also were able to check– in early and enjoyed the access to other restaurants, bars and adventures we took. The best place to stay in Durango! Check it out!

I love historic hotels, and this was as good as any I’ve stayed in. We went in the off-​season, (just before the busy season started), and got an incredible deal on a room. We only had the basic room, but found it to be plenty big enough, plenty comfortable enough, and plenty close to just about everything you would want to do in Durango.
The hotel is just minutes from the highway, and a short drive to the Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings. Also, it is two blocks away from the Durango and Silverton Railroad. As for dining, there are three places to dine right in the hotel, and all are good. One is upscale, but the other two are not, and both hove good food, and drinks at good prices. I especially liked the happy hour deals with things like 12″ pizzas for $ 5.50, and an assortment of cocktails for $ 5.00. Great service, too.
If the dining at the hotel doesn’t suit you, there are lots of other choices easily within walking distance, like my favorite, the «Fired Up» pizzeria with excellent, wood-​fired pizza, or «Sushitarian» with sushi and Japanese so good, you’ll forget you’re in a mountain town.
There are some important, other things, too, that, for some reason, isn’t on the hotel website, and they don’t tell potential guests about. One is plenty of «free,» nearby parking. We parked our car, and never moved it the entire time we were there. Another forgotten item is the «complimentary» breakfast buffet at the Mahogany Grille right in the hotel. It’s a great buffet that is normally $ 10, (and well worth it), but was included in the price of our room.
On the buffet, they had Posole, hash browns, link sausages, scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs with cheese and green chile, instant cereal, cold cereal, fruit cocktail, yogurt, and assorted sweet rolls and breads. Coffee, tea, and juice are included as well. What’s really nice about this buffet is you eat in an actual restaurant, (as much as you want), instead of in a commons area.
The historic hotel, itself, is beautiful, with great history, (Louis L’amour wrote a number of his stories in Room 222). I loved the woodwork, the decorations, and the various antiques located all about the hotel, even in the rooms. The rooms are decorated with antique furniture, even the beds. I love that.
I don’t know about the busy season, but, in the off season, the prices are great. The location is always great, (right near the highway, the Animas River, and the train depot), and there are a surprising number of activities to interest anyone, even if it’s just bar hopping. We found three bars right near the hotel that were great, filled with friendly people, and had good happy hour offerings, including food. The three were «Joel’s,» «The Irish Pub,» and «El Rancho.» At «Joel’s,» the bartender was very friendly, and the locals were fun to talk to. At «The Irish Pub,» it was nicely decorated, and, again, filled with locals. At «El Rancho,» we got two, great Bloody Mary’s, made exactly as we ordered, for just $ 6.00 each.
I’m sorry this hotel is kind of a long drive for us. If it weren’t, we’d be going to Durango more often. But, if you happen to be in the neighborhood, or you are planning a trip to the area, take the time to stop into Durango, and stay at the Strater. It’s cool.

What a delightful place to spend the night. If the old west speaks to your soul, this is the place for you. There are lots of period pieces and antiques throughout the hotel, so it’s easy to imagine yourself as part of a bygone era.
The staff was very helpful and the breakfast was a big step up from the usual hotel fare. There is a $ 5 charge for the breakfast, but considering the convenience and food quality, you get a lot of bang for your buck here. The coffee is locally brewed and delicious. If there had been fresh cream (half and half) it would have been divine. They also offered a selection of ORGANIC teas. :) Yea for anything organic: real food, it does a body good.
As an unexpected added bonus the Silverton Durango railroad station is right next door and we had the pleasure of watching that amazing engine leave the station and lumber right past our window. Now that’s something you don’t see everyday!

LOVE this adorable hotel! The old-​timey feel, friendliness of the staff, simplicity of the rooms, and good price are really great! They have little notebooks for each of the guests to write about their stay in each room. We had two rooms, so it was fun to read other’s experiences (some HILARIOUS «ghost stories»), and then add our own.
Will stay here again whenever I’m in Durango.

Creepy and charming! Definitely stay here if you happen upon Durango. It’s historical and beautiful complete with classic old rooms, a gorgeous foyer and time capsule saloon. You’ll forget what time period you’re in and be amazed that it’s not just staff but locals that dress in part, as an everyday hangout.
Didn’t experience any EVP or ghost sitings, but definitely take a stroll down the hallways and soak in the décor.