Marriott's Shadow Ridge II- The Enclaves — Hotel in Palm Desert

It was a classic bait and switch. We were supposed to have a view of the pool and mountains. After checking in and getting to our room we had a view of neither. We were on the third floor at the end of the building very noisy, a tree with a be hive/bees swarming around the patio deck and a view of a vacant undeveloped field off to the side of our deck. The Marriott property had their prearrival team contact me in February to discuss where we would be located. After discussing possible locations somebody by the name of Dana suggested we would have a view of both the pool and mountains, along with a quieter location if she put us in the middle of the building on the top floor. I agreed that would be perfect and thanked her so much. Also called the property back on March 7th and spoke to Giovanni to give her my Marriott Rewards number in order to get the points and see my reservation on the Marriott Rewards website. She also confirmed our location as being top floor middle of building with views of the pool and mountains. She also confirmed I would get get Marriott Rewards for every night of our stay. Now I find out that was the second bait and switch as Marriott does not give points when the stay is not booked directly with them. If that was the case I would have cancelled through Travelocity and rebooked with Marriott. To top it off the day we checked in my wife and I were checked in by a gentlemen wearing a badge that said Front Desk Manager and we also confirmed with him that we were getting the view we were promised. After getting to the room I called the front desk to complain about the bait and switch. Spoke with 4 different supervisors and managers over a 2 hour period. Christina, Claudia and Byron all said they would try to get us switched to a different room. Finally after being jerked around for 2 hours the 4th manager-Haphez called to tell me all they could do is give me a $30.00 credit towards drinks at the resort. Let's see that would be about 2 drinks at this resort. I politely said "thanks but no thanks and I would like to talk with the GM." Haphez said the GM is gone for 2 weeks on vacation but he will transfer me to his voicemail. Guess what? Haphez disconnected me so I said to myself this is enough, I'll just go to Hilton Vacations for my next trip. I get back home and try the GM-MATT Barker on 3/20 and his voicemail said he would return to the office on 3/13 which is when I was staying at the property. In other words he was on the property and his people lied to me and said he was gone on vacation. Well I left him a detailed message on 3/20 and haven't heard from him yet. Apparently my money is just not green enough for him. Very weak my friend as I will never set foot on your property again! It's simply amazing my last trip to Palm Dessert I stayed at the JW Marriott and I would have given that property 6 stars if I could have and this one a zero if that...

Great stay. My parents so kindly gifted my sister and I a week of points here. Our family usually stays at the JW Marriott down the road and I must say that the JW is a superior experience to this hotel, but we still had a lovely time. If anyone is comparing the 2, these shadow ridge villas are definitely more family friendly and filled with kids, while the JW has always had a balance between young families, grown up kids, all generations, and has more separation at the pools as well.

That being said, we had an awesome time here. We had 5 adults in an adjoined 2 bed with one sleeping in the master living room pull out bed and we were all very comfy, but the living room guest definitely was a little squishy as far as storing things and living closely with 2 other couples for a week. If you like your friend it’s super doable lol! We like our friend so it was fine haha. Im glad we didn’t invite another friend, that would have been too much. Would be excellent if you have up to 2 young kids along with you. Despite Covid restrictions all of the staff was incredibly helpful. We made friends with the bartenders and servers at the pool, when we had an issue with one of the front doors unlocking, security came very quickly to helps us out, and check in was a breeze.

Through record breaking 118 degree temps in June, everyone was SO NICE. I kept thinking that I wouldn’t have been as nice as the staff was while working outside during a heat wave and a pandemic, truly excellent. Through the tail end of Covid (mask restrictions were lifted while we were there so I’m not sure how much applies!) a couple of the restaurants and amenities were either closed or restricted so that was a bummer, but my expectations from receiving that info to what my experience was were exceeded.

If anyone has been to the JW Marriott down the road, you might understand this. I was under the impression that we could have skipped renting a car as the other hotel and villas were super drop off friendly for Uber or Lyft with a centralized location and easy to access all amenities. That was not the case here at allllll!!!! This property is incredibly spread out so it was very difficult to navigate without a car. Instead of being in a circle, it’s more of a straight line and does not have a manned security booth at the gate. They do have a shuttle that you can call for but it was just more of an ordeal than I had expected. Just a note if anyone is in the same boat as we were, rent the car while you’re still at the airport. Also, there isn’t a grocery store right across the street, there’s a Ralph’s about 10 minutes away and a Trader Joe’s I think about 15 minutes away. Not at all walkable especially in the heat.

Clean rooms, awesome beds and pillows, plenty of towels. Lovely staff. We had...

This Marriott was definitely not for us. We found our room to have quite a bit of damage throughout it. Crack in the stove, mold in the shower, writing on furniture, and dents in walls/doors. The bedroom is next to the walkway so people can definitely peek in if you don't have the curtains secured just right. The rooms also don't look like the pictures on their website. I've included photos for your reference. 2. Check-in was a nightmare. We were yelled at for standing in the wrong part of the lobby despite there not being signs. The gal who checked us in made a lot of odd comments about the room we were getting such as, "It's a unit in the middle, because, end units are icky" and "you can't see the sun rise or set but its constantly on you!" even though we had a sunset every night from our room. We were also told our room would be ready in 20 minutes but it took over two hours. 3. All of the pools and hot tubs were flooded with children. If you are looking for a family vacation, this place is great, but not if you are an adult looking for some peace and quiet. 4. They charge an insane amount of money in their on-site store. $12 for 4oz of Pepto. I'm not opposed to marking items higher than what they paid at Walmart for the convenience, but that was outrageous. 5. We were here with several other groups, about 35 of us total, and many of friends had issues as well like the Enclaves being sold out so they were put elsewhere on the property in a tiny studio that was a supposed "upgrade". Issues with parking, getting checked in late, and so much more. The only things we liked about this was the location was convenient with 10ish minutes to the airport, zoo, shopping, etc. and housekeeping was lovely. They were so friendly and helpful, and they deserve way more money than your front desk staff. Although I enjoy staying at Marriotts, this one will not be a...