If you’ve ever wanted to stay in an enchanting Swiss chalet that overlooks a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains and mesas, this is it! The Sunset Chalet at Sweet Surrender Ranch offers three interior floors comprising a master suite loft, a second small bedroom, two full bathrooms and a partially finished basement with third full bath across 1,700 square feet of interior living space and 900 square feet of outdoor deck and patio space in a cozy vacation home perched majestically on a ridge overlooking the Montezuma Valley. In addition to stunning high-ground vistas, which you can view from the deck’s private spa hot tub, the Ranch has 10 private acres with trails for guests seeking a tranquil communion with nature, without giving up the comforts of home. During your stay at the Ranch, your privacy is guaranteed—you will have the entire property to yourselves—the Chalet is the only living quarters on the Ranch—no hosts, owners, or other guests will be on the property during your stay. The Ranch grounds and Chalet are also smoke/vape free and pet-free. Your host, David, a Mesa Verde National Park ranger, lives three miles away and will only show up at check-in or if you ask him to, though he is always available by telephone and is always on-call to assist you. The Chalet commands spectacular views of Mesa Verde National Park, the famed Sleeping Ute Mountain, and the La Plata Mountain subrange of the San Juans. The Ranch is nestled peacefully among the indigenous Pinyon Pine, Juniper, and Scrub Oak just 10 minutes/5 miles from Mesa Verde National Park, 20 minutes from Cortez, and 45 Minutes from the famous mountain town of Durango. The Ranch is only 4 miles from the U.S. Rt.160 Mesa Verde National Park exit and accessible by a well maintained subdivision gravel/dirt road, and the Ranch's own asphalt driveway. A number of local attractions are within minutes including the county fair grounds where rodeos are regularly scheduled and the exceptional Phil's World mountain biking area. This area is also a premier destination for hunters stalking deer and elk. For those guests who like to take walks or hikes, or who bring their ATVs or UTVs, the Ranch includes a trail system around the property and on the 2,000 acres of wild land surrounding the property. The trails are hilly and strenuous and in a natural state so caution must be observed when using them, but they are marked for safety and convenience. Please see the Ranch’s Hospitality Guide for a trail map and important safety information before using the Ranch’s trail system. The Ranch’s asphalt and gravel driveways can be used for easier walks. The Hospitality Guide is in the Chalet’s great room. The Ranch is also trailer friendly. No need to worry about backing up. The main driveway is supported by a loop driveway that was built to allow trailers and large vehicles like motorhomes convenient access. There is also a 30 amp outdoor RV receptacle on the loop driveway. Designed to fit well within the natural environment around it, the Chalet is decorated in with Dine (Navajo) art, and a southwestern motif, with traditional western accents. The main southwest facing exterior wall of the Chalet is a Swiss styled angled prow design made nearly entirely of glass 2 stories high—so even when you're inside, you feel like you're outside! There are dining tables on the deck and patio that invite you outside. There is also a western themed dining/game table and cozy sitting area next to a beautiful soapstone wood stove inside the Chalet. The coffee table in the sitting area has a top that raises up to accommodate laptop computers. Simply hold the edges of the table top and pull upwards. The Chalet was designed with tourists in mind who would be out and about or spending time on the deck and patio. In that vein, the Chalet interior is efficiently laid out, but not capacious. In the loft you will find the master bedroom complete with a luxurious two person whirlpool bathtub and an olympic/extended queen bed (six inches wider than a standard queen). Above the jet tub is a large picture window facing northeast through which the La Plata Mountainsh and the summer morning sun are in full view. There are also two small closets, double vanities, a shower and a toilet with bidet. Finally, there is a small smart TV with access to 200 channels on the Chalet’s Dish Network account, including local channels and some movie channels. Streaming internet services such as Netflix are also available. Wireless Internet service is the fastest in the area, though still not on par with urban areas. The morning sun makes an effective wake-up call for those who wish to rise with our star. For others, a window blind can be rolled down to block the blazing shine as dawn emerges. On the main floor there is a dining/game table for four, a sitting area by the wood stove, a very small second bedroom, a full bathroom with shower/tub and toilet/bidet, a full kitchen and a coffee bar with a Keurig K-Duo coffeemaker along with complimentary k-cups, and fresh ground coffee. With the Duo, you can make a single cup of your favorite morning joe using a k-cup or make an entire carafe using the fresh ground coffee we provide. In addition to the Keurig, we have a Nespresso Vertuo espresso and coffee pod brewer, and a variety of complimentary Nespresso Vertuo pods. You will find a wide variety of coffees in the coffee bar including Starbucks, Gevalia, and Colorado’s own Boyer’s. We also now supply complimentary coffee beans and a new commercial grade KitchenAide grinder so you can grind your own fresh coffee if you wish to. Finally, we supply a French press as well as electric and stovetop espresso coffee makers and espresso coffee. The small second bedroom will have a small wall mounted smart TV in June 2024. There is also a queen bed, chest and closet. The 2nd bedroom is very small and there is very little room to place open luggage, and little room to walk around in (see photos). Those guests wanting a more spacious 2nd bedroom may find it impractical, especially for a limited mobility adult couple. On the flip side, the guests occupying the 2nd bedroom do have their own private full bathroom. In the partially finished basement you will find a large screen TV and sitting area, a clothes washer and dryer and a beautiful Vermont Castings direct vent propane faux wood stove that provides heat on those cold winter nights. There is also a working third full bath in the partially finished basement with a Jacuzzi bathtub, but again, the basement bathroom has not yet been finished. The Chalet’s water supply is public, but the public supply is enhanced by the Ranch’s own filtration system and pump. This provides better pressure and flow as well as better water quality than the public supply alone. While still not on par with urban areas, our guests generally find the water pressure and flow to be satisfactory. Outside there is a large redwood deck with a beautiful Artesian spa hot tub that stargazers will love. We also provide oversized bath towels for the spa, and an assortment of men’s and women’s swimwear for those guests who forgot their own. Under the large deck there is a well appointed covered concrete patio that will keep you dry during the occasional afternoon thunderstorm. The patio abuts a gravel courtyard where you can roast marshmallows in our iron fireplace, or have a romantic campfire. We provide complimentary sweet smelling juniper and pinyon firewood. For hunters, the courtyard can be used to sight in your firearms. We also have a working chest freezer on the patio that can be used for cold storage. The summer air conditioning system is an evaporative cooling system often used in dry climates. With this “swamp” cooler, rather than cooling air that is being recirculated, fresh outside air is pulled in from the roof, cooled and then vented back outside through an open window. This offers the benefit of open windows and constant fresh air that refrigerant based systems do not have. An additional benefit of evaporative cooling in dry climates is putting moisture into the dry air. If you are from an area of high relative humidity, you will likely find the dry southwest air refreshing and energizing, but potentially skin drying. Use of skin moisturizers along with the swamp cooler in summer will help alleviate this. The Chalet is powered by the local utility supplemented by our own solar and wind generation equipment. The Hospitality Guide gives detailed information on the operation of the Chalet’s systems including the air conditioning, whirlpool bathtub, woodstove, and lighting, as well as a map of the Ranch’s trails. There are a variety of brochures and books about the Four Corners region in the Chalet. We also provide a variety of teas, sugar, sweeteners, creamer, and microwave popcorn. In June, the juniper gnats do arrive and can be quite bothersome in this region. We provide head nets and picaridin repellent spray for those guests that need extra protection. The Durango-Silverton RR is less than an hour away. The Four Corner's Monument is an hour from the Chalet—where you can stand in four states simultaneously. During winter, all season tires and four or all-wheel drive are highly recommended. The dirt/gravel subdivision roads are partially hilly and will be slippery during or immediately after snowfall. If snow is forecast for your stay, you should consider 4 or all-wheel drive a necessity. Subdivision roads are generally plowed to a depth of 2 to 4 inches of snow, which while effective for 4 or all-wheel drive, may be ineffective for 2 wheel drive vehicles. Our cancellation policy is more guest favorable than the standard policy. If you cancel for any reason up to the day of check-in, we will ask VRBO to refund your entire reservation fee.
