The JL Bar Ranch, Resort & Spa - Sonora, Texas

Natalie H.

Our family travelled around the US for 6 weeks in Dec/Jan, we swapped a lot of our plans around so we could experience the JLBar Ranch. We were not disappointed & had such an amazing time!
Beautiful ranch, the room was impeccable, the food was delicious and the staff were attentive and helpful.
A special thanks to Loren for taking us on the ranch tour & spending the day teaching us to shoot. He was so kind & encouraging with our girls & they absolutely loved shooting the rifles!
Cash the horse also stole my little girls heart 💗
Thank you so much, our visit will be one that we will remember forever!

Benish S.

Great experience overall. The staff is super helpful and friendly. Chef Seth is amazing and he took care of all my special dietary needs and accommodated in every way possible. The activities are a lot of fun and rooms are nice with really comfortable beds.

Andrew F.

An absolutely wonderful time from start to finish, to include the beautiful drive to the Ranch. It was very evident that everyone takes pride in their job and the mission. The attention to detail by all was remarkable and refreshing, and probably the best part of the stay.

From Rebecca flawlessly coordinating our reservation and activities with her thoughtful recommendations, and her patience. The very warm and grateful reception by Derrick at the front desk of the Ranch). To Rosario the best cheesecake we’ve ever had, to the dinner staff (Ky and Tevin) with their wonderful suggestions and incredible knowledge of the menu (well done gentlemen) to the top-notch bartenders (Gabriella , Erin, and KY; we cannot say e nough great things about their superb margaritas and Bloody Marys; very creative (get those patented!!)

And to Loren (range master) and John (wine sommelier and equestrian instructor , and overall superb cowboy!) These gentlemen know their stuff and genuinely cared about our safety and that of others; that you cannot fake. Most impressive wine expert we ever encountered.

Last but not least was the leadership and oversight provided by the General Manager; he went above and beyond to make sure we were enjoying ourselves and were taken care of. Most importantly, it was clear it cares about his people. This is leadership and management at its best.

If you like nature, outdoor activities, absolutely great food and drinks, warm reception, attentiveness, iconic scenery, and superb leadership and management, the JL Bar Ranch is the place to come to; it will not disappoint.

Humberto R.

Lots of potential, but mismanaged… understaffed. Look at the low star reviews and those are the true reviews… activities are the only things worth coming here for.

Update January 1 2025

If you read the negative reviews even dating back from years ago, they have the exact same issues. We spoke to the GM Robbie on the way out, he tried to explain away all the problems and why they were having them. Here is the problem I have with that, it’s not at the fault of the consumer. We paid our money and for what we received it fell extremely short. All we got was excuse after excuse, and as apologetic as he was it doesn’t change that we spent 3k on a bust of a trip.

I hope that someone reads this and changes their mind about coming to JL bar ranch, spend your hard earned money elsewhere. Because this place just isn’t worth it.

Also if you read “Mark Litter Sr” review.. that is spot on.. we had all the exact same issues, and then read the owners response! It is ridiculous, the excuses flow naturally from these people. Do they offer any sort of way to make it right? Absolutely not, they just take your money and send you on your way… not their problem I guess. I will say as I said in the beginning, the potential is there, but it is mismanaged and that is unfortunate.

Roger B.

My GF and I stayed in Sonora on the 31st and attended the concert. Then, we stayed at the resort the 1st and 2nd.

Every aspect was awful.

We took the shuttle from Sonora to the concert. The shuttle should be clean! The trashcan in the shuttle between the drivers and passenger was overflowing with trash. The windshield was very dirty. It’s only a 10-mile drive. Clean the bugs off the windshield! First impressions.

There were two other couples on the shuttle with us that were totally obnoxious, drunk idiots with their bottle of Tequila.

We went to the dinner at the resort prior to the concert. $142.00 for two plates! All the food was awful. We were in line for 10 minutes at the carving station and the quantity of meat kept getting lower and lower. When it was our turn, he had no meat or plates. He replied, “I didn’t see it running out on me”. Really? How many times have y’all done this? Then, he would not go get any more meat. He said he needed to stay there. There was no meat to serve. Then he finally gets some meat, and what does he do? He cuts the fat off and puts it on my plate. Are you kidding me? Where did you get this guy?

The rest of the food was just below the quality of a Luby’s restaurant. A total waste of money, not resort quality!

The concert was good.

The concert ended and my girlfriend and I got on our shuttle to return to Sonora. The host, or whomever the announcer was, then told lodge guests to get on our shuttle and told the driver to take us and them to the lodge and then come back for the other two Sonora couples. We get back to the hanger and that obnoxious man tries loading more lodge people on the shuttle and he walks away. I got off and questioned him about it. He said he had to take care of the “Lodge people”. I said, “What about us, we paid a lot of money for this, and we have to wait longer because of them”? I turned around he started walking away, and he said, “Hey, get over here!” I turned and said “What?” He said nothing.

Behind the jet, in front of the hangar you had 4-6 suburbans sitting there, and a hangar full of staff. Why couldn’t they take the lodge people back to the lodge instead of making us take two trips to the lodge, then the ride to Sonora

Then we had to ride back to Sonora with those two idiotic, Racist couples, listening to their racist remarks and comments while they are still drinking Tequila. I was there to try and relax, not put up with all this B.S.

The next day, January 1st, we went to check in a little early. Of course we were told our room wasn’t ready. We went out by the pool for a while, then back in and we were told our room was ready. We walked into our “Ready” room. There was a coffee cup on the desk that was ¼ full of coffee, trash in one of the trashcans, the room smelled like Vape, and there was a wet towel on the shower door! I was so upset, but my Girlfriend convinced me to stay. Why did the lady at the desk tell us our room was ready, when it obviously was not?

The rest of the night was ok.

The next day we went to the range. It went well.

I have no reason to return and have nothing good to say about your place.

Chris D.

2021 Aaron tippin concert was total trash , next yr Aaron Watson was great, then they rebook the same concert again and will not let us cancel reservations for new yr on November 20! Mindy was rude and obnoxious on the phone call!
Can’t recommend this place to anyone!

Keela D. M.

The JL Bar Ranch, Resort, & Spa is truly heaven on earth! As a hunters wife, I appreciated being able to relax while my husband did his thing. The ranch took us in and made us feel like family. The staff are genuinely kind people and made us feel welcomed. I ate meals alone while my husband was hunting; staff kept me company with great conversations. The food was to die for!!! You have to try the pecan French toast. I had my first massage and facial at the spa; I have never felt more relaxed. The scenery is breathtaking including special sightings of wildlife. Our room was comfortable and clean. We dream of coming back in the future. Thank you all for everything!

Andrew M.

Hard to describe just how good this Ranch and destination is! You are welcomed with open arms from the minute you check-in at the security gate right up to departure. | Even though we were told there were quite a few other guests on the property it felt like we were the only ones there during our stay of 4 nights.|The staff are brilliant. They are very kind and patient and we found that this was even more evident when dealing with our 8 and 13 year olds. |The property is visually stunning, the lodge and dining areas are grand in scale but very intimate and relaxing at the same time. |The activities are well planned and physically spaced around the property to again make you feel like you are the only ones at the Ranch! The staff were safe, informative and 100% experts in their field.|Food was excellent at both the cafe and restaurant. Drink options and cocktails were terrific - perhaps a little light on some of the wines but I was told they were in the transition and resupply. Mezcal was scarce so if anything maybe adding a bottle or two to the bar would help for those non tequila drinkers!|The rooms were large, very comfortable, tastefully decorated and again very private. Our only suggestion would be to include slippers alongside the dressing gowns in the room. The pool and recreation areas are again very well planned and comfortable. |We will return to this Ranch. I cannot wait to experience it all again in the near future!