Very disappointed that this hotel has gone corporate with none of the perks and nice amenities of years past. Breakfast was minimal, yogurt and muffins, no happy hour drinks or snacks, NO housekeeping, beeping alarm half the night, TV had to be turned on manually, and AC barely adequate. Management is next door at sister hotel. We are definitely not returning!
We greatly apologize that your experience didn't meet your expectation. We do indeed have housekeeping services that are available everyday. The beeping you heard was due to a low battery in a smoke alarm and has been addressed with a plan of action to not happen again. We'd love the opportunity to make up for this experience. Please reach out to us directly on your next visit to Palm Springs.
It's a diamond in the rough but the manager Alexandra is so sweet and accommodating it's definitely worth a stay and for so many reasons you'll most likely return. The pluses are the quiet and peaceful rooms and pool and that the rooms are very large. It's also directly across from so many restaurants and an easy walk to the heart of downtown palm springs. With a little paint and sparkle, some better space planning and furniture touch ups, and a better breakfast with some protein the Del Marcos caneasily be a $300 experience per night.
We are thrilled to hear that you had such a lovely time, and thank you so much for the kind words and feedback! We look forward to having you back again... hopefully sooner than later!
We've been going to Palm Springs for the past 15 years and have always stayed at the Del Marcos. In fact, our (past) love for the hotel was one of the main reasons we kept returning to Palm Springs. Over the years we've referred several people.
Our recent trip was the first one since the hotel was sold to Kirkwood. We were expecting that there would be changes but were not expecting things to be as bad as they were.
The room was shabby and dirty. Our suite was advertised as having a kitchen but there was no sink. Only one one of five bulbs worked in the main light fixture. Our white socks were grey on the bottom after walking around the room. Neither of the two heaters worked in our room thus it was freezing. (This was eventually fixed part-way through our stay). On one of our seven days, despite requesting housekeeping, it wasn't done so we returned to our room after a day out and about (and after hotel reception was closed and housekeeping had gone for the day) to a dirty room. This meant that we needed to wash our dishes in the bathroom sink, using hand soap, so that we had dishes for breakfast in the morning. (Keep reading to learn why we opted to buy groceries to make our own breakfast rather than partaking in the free breakfast provided). The fireplaces by the pool didn't work and we decided not to hang out there regardless because the furniture cushions were so grimy.
Finally, while we paid a daily $39 "hospitality" fee for what we assumed, as returning guests, would cover a similar breakfast as before and happy hour, there was no happy hour, and breakfast was a complete joke. The first morning we arrived for breakfast at around 8:30, only an hour after it opened, and there was no cereal (see
photo), no coffee, and no coffee cups. The breakfast was completely underwhelming and clearly done with minimal effort and care. We ended up going to a grocery store and purchasing our own breakfast items. Further into our stay, we wanted a cup of coffee to go with our breakfast and despite advertising that breakfast opened at 7:30 am, at 7:41 it was still not ready. We checked again at 7:45 then gave up. Happy hour was one of the biggest letdowns. We looked forward to this daily event. It created a camaraderie among guests and made staying at the Del Marcos unique. Removing it, yet keeping the hospitality fee, made us feel misled and disappointed. And for this, we paid 20% more than we have in the past since they removed the returning customer discount.
We talked with several other guests during our stay. The consensus among all other guests who had been to the hotel before was that we all felt let down and that none of us would return. The changes made by the new company have zapped all of the soul and personality out of the hotel.
When I expressed my feelings mid-way through our stay to the management team (via the survey I received via text), I was told that the changes were made for "business reasons". I suggested that they look at these cost-cutting changes from a long-term perspective. Yes, in the short term they be saving money but it's going to come at a long-term cost because finding new customers is considerably more expensive than retaining existing customers. And based on our experience and our conversations with other guests none of us will recommend the hotel thus they will no longer benefit from free word of mouth advertising.
I've emailed the hotel and Kirkwood's head office an email expressing our disappointment but have not received a response from either. We ended up changing our flight to go home early and spending part of our stay looking at new hotels to stay at in future visits.
We apologize that your return to Del Marcos was not as expected. Thank you for all the feedback as it only help us become better. With transitions there is always going to be changes, but we are making room for more to come - which is exciting! We'd love for you to give us the opportunity to make up your previous stay, and please do not hesitate to contact us directly when you do.
We had a very enjoyable night at Del Marcos
* The Nat Reed room is super cool
* Linens, duvet & bed are very comfortable
* Extremely clean
* Pleasant pool
* Nice continental breakfast to get your day started
* Pleasant and polite staff
* Chill, retro vibe
Thank you greatly for all the kinds words. We hope to see you again on the next trip to Palm Springs!
I will start with the good: Staff friendly,(when they are there). Pool area nice, fridge worked well, hotel in good location for tours, walk in town.
The bad: This room was ridiculously overpriced, uncomfortable. The Las Palmas room was very claustrophobic, small, resembled a college dorm room, no decor but a couple of orange lamps and pillows. The Hollywood Retreat room photos are misleading. Two of these rooms have private balconies supposedly, but the Las Palmas does not. Overhead windows out back had no window coverings so the room was bright all night with light from in the pool. People in the pool at night caused the water to move in front of the bright pool light causing a flashing light disco effect in the room. There is NO dresser and NO luggage rack. The safe was broken or disabled. Doors and remotes were sticky. The balcony is really a walkway where people in the Errol Flynn suite next door were constantly walking by. You have to keep the shutters closed so it felt very confining. There is no phone and staff are not present after 6pm. If you have a problem you must call the security guard at the next door hotel. The bathroom has a shower and a very small toilet, and sink is so small you have to keep the liquid soap container on the back of the toilet and the door hits the very small toilet. The lighting was not good at table or in bathroom. Breakfast is coffee, apples and yogurt, no juice. We feel we were overcharged for the dorm like room. Fool me once.
Thank you for the feedback, and all things considered hope you decide to give us a second chance. Las Palmas is a smaller unit but we do have a variety on site. We would love the opportunity for you to experience (and would recommend) Oceans 11 - it's one of our favorites. Let us know when you do plan to return!
