You definitely want to stay at the
Furnace Creek Resort. (the ranch is more like a motel). Personally, I liked the place (been there 3 times) but remember, you are in the middle of nowhere so it's not gonna be a 5 star anything. The net access was iffy...
There are literally a ton of places to shoot before 10AM and after 4PM...the light kinda sucks in between because, well it's down and not across...
The one place that is worth the effort but tough to get to is
Race Track. The reason why it's tough is that it takes a LONG time to drive from Furnace Creek to Race Track...and the road into Race Track is really, really rough (all-wheel or 4-wheel with good ground clearance required, don't even try it in a "car"–seriously!!!).
There are a lot of places to shoot, but some are better at sunrise and some at sunset. Some are easy to get to: Zabriskie Point, Artist's Palette (sunrise or sunset) and others take a trek: the sand dunes & Badwater Salt Flats (perhaps either sunrise or sunset). Remember, Death Valley is in a valley, so getting light on things happens after sunrise and before sunset...
Dante's View is a pretty long drive but gives a high view of almost all of Death Valley. Scotty's Castle is a tourist trap (Google it) and the ghost town Rhyolite is prolly a waste of time (the buildings are now fenced off and look crappy).