Tatiana G.
Yelp
Unfortunately, it's trending down hill. I've been coming here for over a year - definitely not a multi-year regular - but in the last few months, I've been getting turned off. I understand there is new ownership, but it seems like the priority is to make money with higher volumes of people, rather than creating a relaxing experience.
Here are the noticeable differences in the last year:
- Way more people, to the point where there is a ton of hair swimming around in the water , the water is cloudy, and it's loud - in the pool and in the caves. I've come out of the water with clumps of hair on my body.
- Staff seems irrate and unresponsive; I get it, more people means more BS to deal with, however some of the attitudes at the front desk are off-putting. Recently I came up to ask someone to formally come down to the caves and ask people to keep it down - after asking those people myself with no results - and nothing happened for the remainder of the time I was there (somewhere between 45-60 minutes).
- Pricing has gone up with unfavorable terms. I understand the costs of everything are going up, but two things make the new policies a detractor. 1) Volume packages are only available to locals in two counties, for which ID verification is required. This is unfortunate as I have a 45 minute drive each direction - I would hope I would get some sort of perk to come back frequently, as I am spending time and gas to get there. My frequency of visit is going to go down because of this, which is bad for businesses as 60% of revenue typically comes from repeat customers. This policy is going to drive people away who live further away. And 2) They were charging full prices all of March (week days included) because of spring break, but this was not publicized (at least no where it was easy to find), so I got a snarky response from the front desk when I came in and unknowingly asked to use my remaining punch passes. Definitely didn't feel good to be talked down to.
My suspicion is there are new marketing efforts with new leadership, which is driving more attendance. The pricing is accessible enough that high volumes of people show up, but not high enough to create a balanced relaxing experience while maintaining profits. And the locals only package is just odd. Create another tier for Colorado/Denver residents. It's illogical not to offer something like that for anyone who chooses to frequent the springs.
It's unfortunate because this hot spring is the closest to Denver, and felt a little like a best kept secret for a while. And a visit to the hot springs was a nice relaxation experience I could enjoy during the week. Now, it's a gamble, with a strong probability of lots of people, noise, gross water, and frustrated staff. My intention with this review is to share feedback and hopefully inspire some change. I would pay more for a more peaceful space. Do with that what you will.