The view of the Three Sister's mountain range is stunning -- a meadow lake, surrounded by horse-dotted meadow, a tree line, and then the three peaks jutting above.

The pace of this place is perfect for families. It's not crowded, the development seems to put a premium on fostering tranquility. Perhaps it's a little too tranquil for some.

Looking forward to coming back again and again.

We just came back from a four night five day wonderful family vacation at Black Butte Ranch. I initially booked a two room suite online (condo lodge #43). From the web, the room looked okay. In person, it was frankly horrible. It looked like we stepped into a time warp. The decor, the furnishings, the linens looked like circa 1970s. I would rate the room one star at best. I have stayed at Motel 6s which were nicer. Luckily, we started talking to other families and discovered that not all rooms are the same. Because the condo lodges are individually owned, the level varies wildly. We went back to the Welcome Center and spoke to Jennifer who frankly admitted that some of the rooms are not worth the money. Unfortunately, Black Butte does not have any direct control over the units. Luckily, we were able to switch to another room immediately. We got upgraded to a two bedroom condo which had just been remodeled. It was beautiful, comfortable, and even somewhat luxurious. Even better, it was only about another 25% more for a much bigger unit with a full kitchen. Thank you Jennifer!

Once we moved, we were all very happy and had a terrific vacation. My kids loved the pools and the bike paths. My wife, who doesn't even like American food, was very pleasantly surprised by the food at the restaurants. The stables were very reasonably priced with one hour rides for $43 and 90 minute rides for only $10 more.

Why is it better compared with its big brother Sunriver? Two major reasons.

#1) From Portland, it's at least 45 minutes closer. Always a plus when traveling with small kids.

#2) It's far, far less crowded. There are approximately 4000 homesites in Sunriver compared with only 1200 in BBR. That means far fewer people in the pools, no waiting times in the restaurants, and far less traffic to contend with on the bike paths. At Sunriver, I feel like I just spent 4 hours driving to get away from it all only to end up surrounded by other people who did the same thing!

We had such a wonderful time that we plan on making it a yearly family tradition!

Stayed at the ranch for the 4th of July, received poor customer services, late check in, had to check in three times. Staff didin't know what they were doing. Rented two condo rooms, were informed with partial view, no view, rooms were dark, smelly and filthy. WILL NEVER STAY THERE AGAIN. Worth 4th of July ever.

I would recommend going to Sunriver, BUT NEVER THE RANCH.

Staff not informed that when you check in they hold 7 times the cost of the room. Paid security deposit of 70 dollars and was left to pay 70 some dollars, the ranch was holding 480 dollars on the 70 charge on each room. :((((( poor customer service. Employee Amanda needs to work iwth animals and not people.

Our family spent Christmas week at Black Butte Ranch, a pricey resort outside of Bend, Oregon. Our problems were several beginning with a lack of amenities that cater to families. The food at The Lodge Restaurant is overpriced and pretty bad. One person heard from a resident that the Oregon Department of Health had closed them down and assigned the establishment a health rating worse than all other inspected restaurants in the area. We ate there anyway because it was the only place to eat in Black Butte Ranch. Beware: This place does not cater to kids or young families. The service was so-so and the food arrived cold. Everything was far overpriced, and interestingly, the time we ate there was not even crowded during a holiday week. Our friends from Tacoma had warned us.

We were not impressed with our rental, either. We did not get a good nights sleep, not sure why because we usually do. The house was dirty and yet we paid our cleaning fee. What came with the rental was not all that impressive, either.

What one comes here for is golf. Top courses my wife and I could not play, obviously, during the winter. We have been to nearby Sun River and we found it to be much nicer all around, from what we paid for to how we were treated. We filled out a comment card citing some concerns and heard nothing back from Black Butte Ranch.

If you visit, especially with a family, we would suggest avoiding the food altogether. Also bring your own towels unless you like bottom of the barrel towels that scratch the skin that came with our rental. The beds were not much comfortable, either.

This summer we would love to give Black Butte Ranch another try. But on second thought it seems as if no one there wants our business. If I am fortunate I will return to play golf.