The Getaway, Boutique Vacation Rentals - Desert Hot Springs, CA — Hotel in Desert Hot Springs

A member of our group tested positive for Coronavirus shortly before our arrival, and along with a majority of the group being in contact with this individual, it was apparent we needed to cancel our reservation to prevent the spread of the virus further within the group or onto the property of The Getaway. The owner Eric showed absolutely no concern for this. Eric's sole interests was to hold onto our money with no services rendered, or have a group who has come into contact with a positive Coronavirus infection onto the property. We desperately wanted to follow through with our plans when safe, but refuse to do so at this location when theres an abundant lack of hospitality or care for the health of paying guests.

I had reserved 5 rooms at The Getaway for a birthday weekend with friends. I paid the entire balance of $1,800 up front upon booking the dates a month out. From beginning to end I had consistently communicated with Eric about the occasion and plans. With California's social distancing restrictions to be fully lifted 2 weeks prior to my reservation, my group and I were excited to finally get back to a normal lifestyle. Unfortunately, as history has already shown, California's restrictions were lifted and then reapplied with the rise in Covid-19 infections and deaths across the state, including Los Angeles and Riverside county (the two counties my group and The Getaway are located). 2 weeks prior to the reservation I added additonal guests at the cost of $840, bringing up my fully paid balance prior to even arriving at The Getaway to a total of almost $3k.

9 days before the reservation, and right after paying almost $1k to add additional guests to the reservation, an individual in the group tested positive for Covid-19 and had been in conctact with the majority of the group, including myself. I immediately informed Eric of this occurrence, explaining we unfortunately would not be able to continue with the reservation in fear of further spreading the virus. I requested a refund due to the circumstances that was out of our control. Eric immediately refused.

I attempted to inform Eric of the risks of allowing a group, whos majority had been in contact with a coronavirus infection and that the situation was irrelevant to traditional cancellations outside of a refund policy window. Eric attempted to fix the matter by offering me a 50% credit of $1,320 to be used within 12 months with no refund. $1,320 credit at an independent hotel in the middle of re-rising cases of Coronavirus in its own state and county, along with reinstatements of government social distancing measures. Nobody in their right mind can guess when I would be able to use such a credit, after the states initial projected full "reopening" has been pushed back indefinitely. Add insult to injury, and my group would still be out the 2nd $1,320. I continued to try to inform Eric of the circumstances and pleaded that if he stepped away from being greedy and making a terribly uncontrollable situation worse he would be making the money regardless, if not more, from our business as we still wanted to continue with the plans when it was possible to do so SAFELY.

Eric offered an additional offer in response, he would refund the $860 paid for the additional guests added to the reservation, and "an additional refund for the portion of the balance based on other guests booking your cancelled travel dates." As though not offering a full refund, or even a full credit, in response to my group dealing with the infection, and potential infection, of coronavirus wasnt insulting enough; Eric informed me I had to give him an answer by the end of the night a week before the reservation or I could go screw myself because he would cancel the reservation and not give me anything.

I am sharing this experience out of concern for anybody who may have an interest in staying at The Getaway to understand that the ownership is only interested in your money and...

We saw the ad for $134/night Canadian and called the owner. He told us the price for 2 nights with our two dogs would be $175 including all taxes and pet fees. I asked if there was a minimum stay and he said yes, two days. But when we got there, he upped the bill by $50 a night saying the $175 was if we stayed for 9 days, even though his text said $175 with a minimum 2 night stay. So the actual price was over $200/night US. That was disappointing but we had driven two hours and decided to stay. The apartment was in a really sketchy area with a graffiti-covered abandoned house across the street. I did not feel safe walking the dogs. It was surrounded by vacant lots strewn with garbage and shards of glass. My dog stepped on the glass and hurt his paw. Sketchy neighbourhood notwithstanding, the apartment itself is great. Clean, comfortable, great mid-century vibe. There was nobody else inside the private, shaded pool deck so we let our dogs join us on the deck. Immediately my cellphone rang and the owner said he could see the dogs were unleashed. Realizing he was watching us on camera felt a bit intrusive but I understand it’s his property. He said dogs must be on a leash at all times, even if there is no one else outside. Our dogs are elderly and it was uncomfortable and unnecessary to tether them inside the small, empty, completely gated pool area. The next day I met one of the other guests and they complained about the owner “watching” the too when they moved the deck furniture and he called to say don’t do that.||||If you’re looking for a clean, comfortable apartment that can be a home base while you drive somewhere else this is a good place. Just make sure to get clarity on the price so you don’t get mislead like we did. I would not come back to this place because it is not pet friendly, not only because of the leash requirement but because there is no safe place to let your dog go the bathroom or take...

THE COST: At first the cost seemed high because we had the max amount of 15 people but it turned out to be one of the least expensive in Palm Springs & surrounding areas. Be sure to input the right amount of people so you get the accurate price. It was worth it for the following reasons. THE AC + POOL made our stay a breeze in 104 degree August heat! I was really worried about the heat, but it wasn't an issue. We even brought our hairless dog & kept his t-shirt wet & water bowl full & he was happy! BIG ENOUGH INSIDE + OUTSIDE: We reserved the entire complex with our friends + family (9 adults + 6 kids) which made for the ultimate private vacation. We kept the hot tub cool so it acted as the "little pool" to have enough room for us all in the water. THE KITCHENS: Equipped to make our grand breakfasts lunch & dinners which saved us $. It was also an awesome reprieve from covid distancing in restaurants. THE ROOMS were shear joy! It's like we walked into a MadMen apartment. Mid century furniture all the way to mid century melamine dishes for outdoors! Even the accessories, magazines, art, coffee cups were from the 1950's; remember the "View Master" you would look thru & click thru images... they even had one of those in every room! THE NEIGHBORHOOD is a bit desolate, but it's private enough to not see all that & to have fun without worrying you're going to disturb the neighbors. With all this said, this may very well be our...