Palm Shadow Inn — Hotel in Indio

=== TL;DR

Made a reservation for Coachella because the location was good. The person at the front desk screwed our group and made us pay for a night we didn't stay, taking advantage of us showing up on Friday and potentially being without accomodation. The actual room makes any other motel look like the Grand Hyatt. Do yourself a favor and don't make the same mistake as me; I wish I could give 0 stars.

Accomodation

We booked a room with two double beds and a sofa bed and we stayed for 3 nights. Some of the many problems (keep in mind, we were here for Coachella and really weren't expecting much, but this place managed to surprise us):

The air smelled vaguely like trash and smoke the entire stay, probably because there was a communal trash outside of our room, and in the mornings there were always people smoking outside as well. This wasn't pleasant. The shower drain barely worked -- after less than 10 minutes of showering the bathtub water level was ankle-high. Towels were very thin and left a cotton residue all over me after using them. There was a deadbolt but the key they gave us didn't lock it. This mattered to us because friends at prior festivals have had their stuff stolen from their hotel rooms when just using the door handle lock.

Getting screwed on our reservation

We were coerced into paying for a night we didn't stay, so we lost ~$400 dollars.

A friend not in our group (let's call them C) made a reservation originally for Thursday night through Sunday night. C transferred the reservation over to me, 2.5 months before the scheduled stay. I contact the hotel and we confirm the reservation change and my credit card is charged ahead of time. Accordingly, I also change the phone number on the reservation (but this is later disputed). I later contact the hotel to change the reservation start day from Thursday to Friday. The young man answering the phone says that it'd work fine, and that I should come on Friday morning to get the credit from not staying Thursday night. We get to the hotel Friday morning. The young man I talked to on the phone is at the front desk and claims that the hotel policy actually requires you to stay the first night of your reservation (meaning that we can't make the aforementioned switch). He claims that he called me, saying that he called C's phone number to inform me but there was never a response. I note that he called the wrong number, but he then disputes me ever changing the phone number on the reservation. In the end, because of the timing, we decide that it's not realistic for us to find alternate accomodation in 30 minutes and we end up just paying for a night we did not stay. I later confirm with C that she didn't receive any additional phone calls about this.

Save yourself the effort and don't deal with these scumbags. You won't even get pleasant...

First, let me say that we stayed here during Desert Trip and were lucky to get a room so close to the venue with no prior notice. The rate was a little high, for the room, but it was during Desert Trip. There are many good things to say about the room so let me start with that. The room was large and it had a comfortable bed and it was clean and there was more than adequate drawer space. The bathroom, though dated, was more than adequate. The room was quiet. There was a refrigerator and a microwave and wifi was free. My only real complaint is that there were no chairs in the room so sitting on the bed was the only option. The bed was a poster style and was extremely high so I, being a senior citizen and under 5'4" had a difficult time getting in and out of the bed. A footstool would have remedied this. We borrowed a chair from the patio outside and that helped. The room was also very dark, with only 2 night table lamps but we were able to open the drapes during the day. There never seem to be enough electrical plugs, in any hotel, and this was true here as well. I must warn you that the pictures here on Trip Advisor are not accurate in regards to the pool. The pool was filled in with dirt and is now just an eyesore. It appeared that there were once tables on the patio outside of the rooms but now there are just metal rods sticking up out of the ground. The only chairs are on the patio that is behind the office. There is no hairdryer, iron or coffee maker so, if you plan on staying here, you may want to bring your own. It's a shame that the pool was filled in... From the picture, it looks like it would have added greatly...

Stayed here for Coachella Weekend 1 (2015). After booking, I read all of the recent reviews. Richard K's reviews (on this website) made me extremely nervous. When I checked in, my friends and I received a warm welcome from Ken and his friendly staff (even though it was close to 9PM). || When entering the room, I was searching for chewed gum, trash on the floor and....bugs..... Fortunately, I didn't find any!! But I was not able to sleep that night since one of my friends taunted me with the fact that bugs will crawl out from the floor and attack me in my sleep (luckily no bugs attacked me during my stay). || The room is actually clean and honestly, it impressed me because the room also has a microwave, fridge/freezer, stove and sink, and a direct TV box (least in my room). I wouldn't have asked for anything more than a bed, bathroom, fridge, and TV. Also, I would like to mention that one of the staff member (unfortunately, I forgot to get his name) do come around once a day to clean the room. || The only downside I can think of was the shower water pressure. On the first night we stayed there, the water pressure was good (we believed it's because there are a few of us staying there). While on other nights (when there were more people staying) the water pressure was a bit weak, though I'm not complaining since the water was still hot. ||||I highly recommend this place for anyone looking for a budget friendly place to stay for a Coachella, StageCoach, for anything that is happening...