I have to say how disappointed I was with my visit to Desert Reef Hot Springs in the Florence, CO area. It's about 45 minutes SW of Colorado Springs, which is why I decided to go there to keep my adventuring costs to a minimum.
http://www.desertreefhotspring.com/
The dirt road was difficult on the RV and if it'd been wet at all or snowy I'd have turned around and said forget it. Their website should really mention the dirt road as it's not suitable for all vehicles.
When I arrived there was a list of rules to adhere to, many of which I didn't agree with on principle alone. It's a "family friendly" clothing optional place. They have a policy that prohibits single men from attending because they think they are predators apparently. In my experience, this is not necessarily true as I've run into several couples who are far more assertive and intrusive than a lone man may be... at any rate, I think this type of policy is sexist. I was not so sure I wanted to support these people but figured I give them a try. The lady checking me in said I was the 15th new person to visit them that day, and I congratulated her on that. I've worked enough service jobs to always treat people serving kindly, until they prove that I needn't bother.
There was one pool and it wasn't terribly big. There were kids playing not so quietly and just a general lack of maintenance and upkeep on the place. The view from the pool... there wasn't one other than dirt piles and unpainted fences. The changing rooms were cramped and I nearly hit my head on a shelf 3 times for lack of room. There was one shower and one toilet. The shower didn't get warm enough, there was no pressure so my hair didn't rinse and I hit my head on the sprayer cause it was so low.
All of the aforementioned flaws could be tolerated until the exit, which was not pleasant.
I'd had the RV started and was looking at my phone for routes to head out, where to park that night, etc. It takes a certain amount of time to roll up and hit the road when you've got your house with you. The owners obviously have never had an RV. It was an older couple working there, the woman was ok but the man was short at best but completely rude at worst. At 2 minutes till 6pm (when they close, which is insanely early!), I get a loud knock on my door and he yells, "You've gotta go!" The man walks away before I can get to the door let alone open it. So when I go to turn around and head out, I stop and walk into their office to let them know what I thought about being rushed off. I told them that I didn't appreciated getting the bum's rush, at which point he tried to interrupt me and say, "You're on my time now!" I didn't stop talking but kept my calm tone and increased my volume. I was looking only at the lady now as I kept explaining to her that it really was uncalled for, that I was clearly trying to plot a route out of there as I'd never been there before (as she knew) and I would have been on my way soon. I let them know that it was terrible customer handling basically and that I'd be sharing my experience to let others know what they might expect upon their farewell. The woman only said I can see how that is upsetting or some such nonsense... neither of them apologized.
The cost for such treatment: $20 for about a 2 hour soak (no discounts for late arrival or short soaks).
In short... avoid this place, it sucks. It's well worth the time, effort and cost to delve into the mountains and hit REAL hot springs that know how to maintain their establishment and properly treat patrons.
