Rio Bonito Resort, Wimberley

This place is a dump. Enough said. PS: Cindy runs it like a task master. Her way or the highway. This is not the way to treat paying customers.

This has to be the worst place to stay in Texas. Rude lady that was in the office to start. Terrible cabin that we had. Heard others talking about theirs too. So outdated and smelled like old must furniture. Not sure the racoons don't live inside when there are not guest there. Dead and live bugs all over and scared we were going to have bed bugs when we got home. Unpacked and wahsed all our clothes when we got home and brought nothing in the house till we sprayed it down. As for the "pool" cut toes on our kids and more like a cement hole with strange blue?? Love Wimberley and shopping but not staying here again!

User Rating: 4 out of 5 stars by jdh 07/09/2011 My goodness----this saddens my heart to see all these negative posts. We haven't visited in years due to family health, but would love to return. My family also grew up at Rio Bonito with The Franklins ( Cindy Meeks parents) Back then the cabins were rustic, but always clean ( maybe a few cobwebs) I pray that Cindy will read this and wake up----" Cindy your parents would be so hurt and disappointed if they knew you are letting this place go down. It needed repairs before they passed. They were up in age, but you and your family have no excuse." Please do us all a favor and put it back the way it used to be. I'll bet if you asked that many of us with fond memories would be glad to come and help with cleaning and such----maybe some of the old faithfuls have extra furniture to donate, or could donate an air conditioner. There might even be some that have useable skills to donate----electricians, plumbers, builders. You might be surprised at what people will do to hold on to memories. How about fixing up the rec room---paint, AC, new furniture, some of the old books your parents had in there, put back the ping pong tables, a pool table, refinish the shuffleboard. Get rid of the junk that gives it a store room appearance. refinish the pool, get new patio furniture and lawn equipment. I know this sounds overwhelming and I'm sure a money problem----but give people credit----try asking for donations or fundraisers to start. Rio Bonito is a blessing----treat it like one and it will take care of you. Let's make Rio Bonito the little piece of Heaven we all remember. Instead of getting angry and turning others against you----ask for their help instead. God Bless you and I pray you will try------with God , anything is possible. Your parents would tell you that , you know! I noticed that your daughter, Lolly, did your website. Pull all your family together, look up the people that came for years and let's all get started. Each family could clean their favorite cabin. Then get others to either donate their own skills or make a monatery donation to hire electricians, plumbers etc. I know my name will be on your list to look up----and I'll be there. We loved your parents , their values, their compassion, and their love of the land and it;s history. Let's don't let their name and their memory be tarnished----make them proud!!!

My family has been going here for over 40yrs. We knew the original owners and now their daughter who runs the place. Between all of us we usually rented five to seven cabins for a week one or two times a year. It was a family tradition so we pretty much overlooked the condition of the cabins. My wife would spend a whole day cleaning and covering the couches and beds with our linens and such. On our last visit the owner accused two of my sister in laws of writing a bad review about a cabin they rented four years earlier. THE CABIN WAS UNINHABITABLE TOTALY COVERED IN ROACHES!!!!!!!!! I don't mean a few, a few thousand! they were everywhere. They kindly refunded their money and we moved them in with us, no problem. Cindy (owner) told us we were not welcome anymore so there you go, a 40 yr tradition down the drain. The cabins are distugsting, the pool is GREEN, but the price is not too bad and we loved the river. Just so there is no confusion this time my name is RON TOOKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BY the way Cindy, Matt is a doctor not a plumber

I read the reviews, and still decided to give this place a shot since it was a family vacation that our in-laws were paying for. SO NOT WORTH IT! It is such a shame. Yes, the location was impeccable, but the cabins are SO DISGUSTING! I mean unhealthy dirty. Spray painted sinks, layers of grime, don't even get me started on the bathrooms. I think it would be more sanitary to bathe in the actual river then this place. It has so much potential if the owners would just spend a little money and fix the place up. No,not like a 5 star resort, but at least so people feel comfortable walking around barefoot and using the toilet. We had our 2 year old with us and it was so exhausting trying to make sure he didn't touch well, ANYTHING! I was in panic mood everytime he had to use the potty. The smell in them was horrid. I cleaned and cleaned with bleach and all kinds of cleaners but it was hopeless. I don't know who these people are that say this place is so amazing. You're better off staying in a tent then in these cabins of horror. PLEASE DON'T GIVE THESE LAZY OWNERS ANY MORE BUSINESS UNTIL THEY DO THEIR JOB AND MAKE THIS PLACE SOMEWHAT HABITABLE!!!!!!!!!!

For all of you who want an experience like no other, camp like surroundings, yes cabins are not like the Hilton, but we can pay for that any day. This is something wonderful that frankly might not be here all that many more years. Sitting in the river with friends and kids for the last 25 years has been a little bit of heaven. Our kids are all grown up now and all they talk about is the next year at Wimberley. We travel alot, have seen some fine places, 5 star hotels, but they always lust for this place. Also Wimberley is a great place, kids can still ride bikes to town, the outdoor movie theater, The Corral, is a must for any star filled evening (bring your own chairs) and the clear Blanco river is great for sitting, swimming, drinking beer and later at night a fire is always a must. In the days of TV, cell phones, and such, an old fashioned week or long weekend where a family and friends actually talk and commune with nature then this is the place. I have actually asked my lawyer to have my ashes sprinkled from the Wimberley bridge so I can always be part of this place.

We've been to Rio Bonito on three separate occasions and have enjoyed it immensely all three times. We stayed in "Samatanga" and while the cabin was rustic, it was clean (needed a little dusting) and comfortable. The location is amazing and the owners are very hospitable. I would return any time to this wonderful little spot in the world!

Please don't let the old-fashioned attributes of this camp ground turn you away. Remember the days of no telephone and businesses who were working hard to get by? This is a small town resort . . . not Barton Creek Country Club Estates. I choose to take my kids here because I want a little warp in my ping pong table, I want a little too much chlorine in my pool, and I want to be surrounded by people who are not monopolized by what "the neighbors" think of them. I love the "South Austin" feel of Rio Bonito . . . the love-your-neighbor-for-who-he-is-and-not-what-he-wears feel that I get at this place. This is why I have spent my hard earned money here every year for the last five years! I want my children to understand a family feel. I want them to know gratitude for simple things . . . which has become increasingly rare in Austin. Rio Bonito is a gem. Please don't ever change.

We have been vacationing at Rio Bonito for the past 8 years. We love it. It started off with just our immediate family, but the rest of the family has heard the wonderful stories and each year another family joined in. This year we have all the cabins rented. The cabins are rustic and could use a good cleaning, but it has never been anything unbearable. And our family is neither trailer trash or dirty people. The Owners are wonderful people and have always been nothing but very helpful with any issues that may arise. Even in a five star hotel I always bring my own sheets...as for the rest...nothing that a quick wipe down with clorox wipes and a little febreeze can't cure. We spend all our time outside and in the river, which is beautiful and relaxing. We will all be there next week, and we are really looking forward to another great year there.

This placed needs to burnt down. One would have to go to 3rd world slum to match the filth and rot. There has been no real maintenance on cabin 3 and the lodge. The furniture smelled like an arm pit. The cabinets were dirty. We washed all the dishes prior to using them because the cabinets they, in which they were stored, and the glass on the front were covered with grime. When the sink in one of the bathrooms was used the water backed up into the bath tub. The a/c vents were black with mold. They appear never to have been cleaned. The owners had a late model pickup and a cadillac in their carport. I could go on for pages describing the hideous conditions in the cabins. Obviously being a slum lord pays in Wimberly. They are low class scum bags. You have to pay cash because no one would allow a credit card charge to stand. They probably cheat on their taxes also. The positive reviews in this website were probably written by the owners or their children and are abject lies. This place is horrible and not fit for human habitation.