It is a long and detailed story, but please be sure to read the entire thing before you risk taking your family to this resort. Planning our trip to Klamath Falls, Oregon, we spent hours researching appropriate lodging. We had several requirements: family friendly, a pool and activities for our children. Many of the accommodations in the area have a 3 star rating or less, which we do not consider adequate. When, we learned, of Running Y Ranch, we looked through their entire web site.
They boast they are a, “Resort Community,” that is, “peaceful, serene, a paradise, that will make your vacation dreams come true.” We were impressed by the sites representation of their property. Next, we called to verify what was included with the stay. The front desk clerk advised that, “Admission to the Sports Complex and Equestrian Complex was included.” We were also told, the lodge had a restaurant. They boasted their sports complex had a pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and spa. We made our reservation and anxiously anticipated our adventure.
We arrived at the Running Y Ranch on Friday right at check in time. The grounds are massive and have a picturesque back drop. We pulled up, and were not greeted by valet, or anyone that could help schlep our luggage in for us. So, we parked the car and headed into the lodge. We were pleasantly surprised at the impressive beauty of the entry way. We checked in, got our keys and asked where the pool was located.
The pool was not located in the lodge, it was located in a separate building. They provided a confusing map of the grounds, with our location and the sports complex’s location circled. We headed back to the car so we could grab our luggage and drag it to the second floor. Our gear required two trips, with all four of us helping; because, they didn’t even have luggage carts readily available for lodge guests.
The lodges impressive features ended once we got past the entry way, the extravagance disappeared. The rest of the hotel was very basic and I would describe it as almost “Super 8ish” in the hallways and our room. I was the first one to enter the bathroom, and it had an unpleasant odor emanating from it. It appeared clean and I could not locate an obvious source for the smell.
We grabbed or swimsuits, changed and headed towards the sports complex. The pathway between the two locations was in complete disrepair. It was cracked, bumpy, hilly and basically a mess; but it was partially navigatable in the day light. I did, however, twist my ankle, irritating it a bit.
We signed in and headed toward the locker rooms. It seems appropriate here to note that the “complex” does have an exercise room but I would not describe it as a “Complex.” The locker rooms were large, well kept and had many amenities such as blow dryers, scales and more. The pool is by far the very best feature, that we used on the Ranch. We swam till we all were famished. Then headed back to the lodge, planning to dine in the on site restaurant.
The “restaurant,” is not a restaurant. It is a tiny bar, where the bartender had a typed sign describing the handful (quesadilla and a pulled pork sandwich were 2, of the 5 or 6 items) they served at the bar and you could carry to the dining room yourself. We were all so flat out repulsed by their selection, that my children flat out refused to eat if we were going to order Running Y food. The front desk provided a list of the restaurants that were available in town, which would take a 20 plus minute drive each direction. We were not happy but we had to load in the car to try to locate food, we would all be willing to eat.
Once back at the lodge, we grabbed our suits and headed back to the pool for the kids to get in a little more swim time, before adult swim began at 9:30pm. At 9:25 we gathered our children, dried off, put our sandals on and left the sports building. The sun had set during our aquatic adventure and the only lighting provided in the darkness, was completely inadequate. We could barely see, and tried to maneuver our way on the paved disaster trail. Our children were walking in front of us. Approximately, ¾’s of the way down the trail, we vaguely saw the outline of our son falling down. It was promptly followed by, his pathetic and perfuse crying and screams.
It was far too dark for us assess his injuries, so we carefully helped him limp his way, sobbing back to the front of the lodge. When, we finally reached the light of the lodge, we were horrified when we looked at our youngest child’s injuries. He had a skinned elbow that was bleeding. His back was skinned and scratched from his right shoulder blade to his mid buttocks. His knee was bloody and dripping down his leg. His toe was covered in blood where the flesh had been ripped off. His knee of his swim trunks, was covered in blood. His numerous wounds would needed tending.
As we were helping him, limp through the lobby his pathetic condition and cries, gained the look of the front desk clerk, who I briefly advised what had happened. I told her my son needed his wounds cared for, and that I wanted the manager of the facility to contact us immediately. We proceeded to our room, and I (it’s a good time to note that I was a licensed Emergency Medical Technician before I was a Mom) then began cleaning and bandaging, his numerous wounds, as well as documenting them. My husband and I calmed and cuddled him, until he was ready to fall asleep. We tucked him in, and at 10:30p.m. I was nail spitting mad and this needed to be addressed, in oh so many ways.
Nearly 45 minutes after the incident I headed down stairs, to photo the area where my son was injured. I wanted proof of the lighting and the horrific condition of the pathway. On my way out, I encountered a male employee (who I believe was maintenance or security), he was obviously sent out to deal with the situation. I started to explain, what happened and lead him to the area where it happened. While there, I began documenting. Shortly thereafter, another male approached us. He introduced himself, as the assistant property manager, Ellsworth. I again, went through the whole story, detailing it for the Manager.
He stated, that he walked these trails thousands of times, during his 13 years of employment at the property. I asked him, if he was aware of the numerous cracks and pits in the walk ways. He emphatically stated that, “he was aware of the cracks and the property had tried to repair them with tar but it didn’t work.”
This infuriated me! I demanded to know, did you try to repair them in the last two weeks? He said, “No” I further pressed, did you repair them in the last month? Again a he replied, “No.” I was getting madder by the minute. I continued questioning, so exactly how long has this property has known about a hazard that has caused injury. He did not want to answer that, instead he asked what I expected him to do.
I told him I expected the following things: Provide your patrons better lighting on your walkways, repair the walkway; and make things right for my child, who was most likely going to be scared from head to toe for life. Ellsworth, made excuses why the property could not put up better lighting. I tried to explain that they could provide more of the type lights that they had on the sidewalk area and not just on the opposite side of the lot. Ellsworth, then stated, that I was being unreasonable, expecting them to fix the walkway at night.
So, I demanded that he shut it down until it could be repaired, so that no one else would be injured. We argued and I was insistent that he shut it down. I felt he would not resolve the issue. So, I requested that he contact his boss and apprise him of the situation, and requested to speak with that boss. Ellsworth, stated he would do that. The last question I posed was, what would you do if this happened to your child? He snidely told me that, “he would be cuddling his child and not talking to a manager.” I knew this was going nowhere, so, I continued photographing the area.
When I headed back up to our room, Ellsworth, was speaking on his cell. He covered the mouthpiece of his phone and told me, that he was on the phone with his boss and that he would have him call me in our room after they finished speaking. I sat waiting like a fool, for that call until 12a.m. I foolishly assumed, that a patron being injured due to a property hazard, would be a major concern to the resort management.
In the morning, we got up and ate out of our cooler. Because, the “restaurant’s” breakfast menu was no better than their dinner menu and we did not have time to travel into town, for food before check out time. I asked person at the front desk, to please make sure that the manager contacted me before check out time. Of course, that call never came through. While there we noticed a flier on the counter that detailed the Equestrian Center was featuring a petting zoo at noon. The flyer which is also featured on their website states, proclaims there will be a Belgian horse king, goats and a pot belly pig. We asked the clerk the details and were told this was a “Free” event for lodge guests. At check out, I got the managers name and contact information, which was given on a hand written and torn off piece of paper. I was told he could not be contacted until Monday at 9am.
We headed to the Equestrian Center, hoping petting the animals would cheer up our injured baby. Note, we had to drive a few miles from the lodge to get there. So, please remember, if you do decide to patronize this resort, you must have a mode of transportation if you plan on trying to make use of the amenities. We arrived at the dusty, small, and not particularly clean stable. There was a crowd of parents and children waiting to filter into the office, which was run by one frantic employee.
When it was finally our turn, we told her were there for the petting zoo. Without pause, the attendant stated, “That will be $10.” Shocked, because we had been told it was free, we out right asked. She told us, “It is only free if you buy a riding or ATV package.” We were not happy, but were not going to disappoint our children, so we paid the fee. We were told to go back in the barn into a single stall. Crammed and visible in that single width stall, were 4 goats, one large dog type crate and 2 other families with children. We all helped our children try to shift around the tightly packed area while they tried to pet the goats.
The attendant, finally made her way into the feces riddled pen. She had us all press against the walls, while she raked the excrement out into the yard opening, at the edge of the stall. She tried to lure the pig that was hiding in the cage out. The pig, would simply not leave its cage, and was not in a position that seemed to welcome the children to pet it. We made our way into the yard area, because, the stall was to packed, dusty, hot, and stinky from the poop that had been pushed just outside the door. We then simply could not stand the situation and started to leave. There had been no “Belgian Horse King” in the pen to pet. Another major disappointment, we felt cheated in many ways.
Monday, I of course, called Mr. Andres the property manager. I detailed the story. He advised me that an incident report had been filled out and sent to their company’s “Risk Management,” who would review the report and the property. They were supposedly, the only ones, that could make a decision regarding a repair and more lighting. He was not apologetic, sympathetic or empathetic. He had no exact time line, of when the “Risk Management Team” would respond, or how they would handle the situation.
I am mad, as a mother, that my son was a physical mess for weeks after the incident. I am almost positive, that he will have lifelong scars. I am even madder, that the property did nothing to repair the pathways, that have already caused injury to one child. We are left wondering, exactly how many children, will have to be injured on Running Y’s pathways, before they will bother to repair them?
We recommend, that all travelers AVOID Running Y Ranch. While, the pool and Jacuzzi were fabulous, it was simply not worth all the problems and dangers of the resort. We give them a big thumbs down, combined with a DO NO RISK INJURY ON RUNNING Y’S Pathways.
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