A Place In The Sun Garden Hotel — Hotel in Palm Springs

Check in was strange and the outside looks like some locked up compound - false advertising. Then the check in person told me to wait in the “lobby” and it was a dilapidated outside bar with a chain on it. They pretend to hook and unhood a rusted chain to be professional but there is no lobby just the outside bar where check in took literally almost an hour. The sun was going down and it happened to be Thanksgiving Day weekend, so it was getting cold and dark. Then the man came out and said room 18 is now ready for you. It was NOT the room as described or pictured in the photos or booking description. The person who checked us in was rude, slow and overall strange. He kept saying that I got the room booked on line and in no way shape or form would I have ever booked that room. There were NO windows... all the windows were boarded up and there were weird doors with strange code locks on them throughout the unit. 4 in total with signs saying “do not enter.” When I asked the man why were there all these doors…he said they were "maintenance rooms" 4 of them??? One looked like a closet and my husband saw a towel covering the bottom of the door crack and we could hear a person urinating on the other side and clearing his throat. It was a CLOSET...it had no other outlet around this closet and we took a video of it. I thought I would open the curtains to a larger area because the unit was dark and the roof was low so I opened the curtains and they had what looked like a two way mirror and there were no real windows. I was so freaked out I hurried and wish I got a better video but I was hurrying. WE DID NOT STAY it was so unusual, the two way mirror was next to the bed...that strange locked closet was on the other side of the bed. I booked the King 1 bedroom garden bungalow with the kitchenette. It had some weird mini fridge and a portable heater in the corner. It was just one room with one bathroom where that window was boarded up and there was a mirror right in front of the toilet. There were no personal soaps there were large bulk soaps and lotions that were used and a hall with all these locked doors and neon lighting. I did not want to put my pet down on the dirty cement floors. It looked like some strange place that held hostages at the very least it was a fire hazard. The man gave me a receipt for a full refund but then when I contacted Booking.com he only refunded me a partial payment and did not honor the receipt or his word. He said that my review as full of “hate speech” and defamatory. He is most definitely in need of educating himself with the definitions of these words. An honest review is NOT hate speech and the instances are factual NOT defamatory. I have pictures and videos for proof. I have found many other reviews that are similar, I found one review that said their mattress smelled like pee and the motel’s response is the same “hate speech & defamatory”. I hate to break it to the “managers” but we have freedom of speech here so if you cant handle the truth about your gross motel then I suggest you find another business to rip people off with. All the “positive” reviews weren’t even that positive and some of them said that they were offered money to leave a good review. The reviews on Yelp were so upsetting one after an other telling their horrific experiences was so cringe. Some people were saying it was some sort of nudist resort which is fine just let people know so we can skip over it…but that is insulting to nudist because it was dirty, false advertising and unsafe. We left and I am trying to get the money back but I was personally afraid for my life. There was nothing like in the description, garden, kitchenette, patio....nothing. It was the most disgusting place I have...

The property itself was good, the layout could use some work, the real problem is with Alex the manager, he's the only staff member you'll interact with and he's extremely rude. He walked me through his check-in area which is the bar in the outdoor cabana so I had to navigate through pool furniture with luggage to which he didn't offer to help or even move the obstacles, and even though I have stayed with them previously, he insisted on taking the $100 cash deposit on a card which having recently gone through identify theft I was devoid of with exception of my digital card sent to me by my bank while i wait for my physical ones. After pulling teeth with him he finally accepted my cash deposit and showed me to my room, more navigating through furniture, but the real reason for my rating being what it is was due to the following morning at checkout.

If I could give this place a negative star rating or at least "0" I would have. This was the worst hotel experience of my life, and being a traveling nurse I have had some bad ones, even stayed in post deceased rooms. The next morning I woke up at 10:15, I had forgot to set my alarm, I do amateur photography and had camera and drone equipment all throughout my room which takes great delicacy and care to pack, foreseeing this being an issue I texted Alex the manager to inform him I would need a late checkout time of 11:30, noon at the latest, he promptly replied with "checkout time is at 11am." I replied with "well if you’d like to come help me pack your more than welcome, otherwise I appreciate your patience in this matter!”

The facility had 4 guests on the lot, it being Christmas Eve and an online search listing several vacancies for that day on the property, I don’t see why it would be a problem giving me an extra 30 minutes. Promptly at 11am the house keeper showed up starting she needs in the room and I told her I had texted management about a late checkout and at that moment Alex came out of the shadows to harass me and explain their checkout policy, I told him I understood but unless he’s a genie and can instantly make my belongings go into their designated spots, he needed to wait. I really didn’t see the problem since they seemed devoid of guests, yet he Sid they needed the room and were “busy today” I spent the next 15 minutes frantically packing up the room due to the multiple harassments by Alex and, at his behest, the house keeper, so much so that I didn’t even get to finish my breakfast which I had to throw away, I had to throw everything in randomly and disorganized, and didn’t even get to shower. I started shuttling things to my car and became a sweaty mess in fear manager Alex would harass me further, I don’t do well with confrontations and have been bullied in the past so my anxiety was through the roof. Much to my surprise I looked across the “busy day” courtyard and there were no other guests, just manager Alex sitting behind the bar flirtatiously carrying on a casual conversation with a female friend on site. While the house keeper was busy in another room, you would figure on such a busy day he would lend a hand right? I finished packing my car and indicated to him I was moved out of the room all to which he leisurely spent 10 minutes stalling to come to the room and survey it, which he then gave me my $100 deposit back. I have never been so insulted and demeaned as an adult in my entire life. This is what customer service is to “A place in the sun”? And when I asked for his bosses information to complain about the experience he stated “I am the boss” and refused to put me in touch with his supervisor. I will never be back again to this place and recommend you...

Why such low rating!? Myself, fiance & small dog stayed 8/22-8/27 in the 1 BDR King Bungalow w/a small kitchenette & large garden patio backyard; booked through Booking.com. The entry to the grounds at 1st seemed odd, but I actually came to appreciate it as it felt like added security. Once you arrive at thw property, you do a "mobile checkin." You text the number provided on the entry sign, you're greeted with a friendly text from Alex. He'll ask you about your reservation & pets before providing the entry code combination. When you walk through the center (pool area) it truly is like a little paradise! You'll finish your checkin by the pool bar area (outdoors) which I didn't mind at all. Alex will then walk you to your room to assist with the key/front door. From there it's all relaxation. Now look, if you want "traditional hotel" then go get you one. This place has some "old school" character which I rather loved. Although...It did give subtle 70s-80s adult filming vibes. Haha. Again, loved it. The owners & staff clearly take pride in their little oasis investment. Was very clean, comfortable, affordable, safe, welcoming & relaxing! The pool is open 24hrs, pet friendly, & I'm pretty sure kid friendly. Pet fee nightly $30. Pets not allowed on court yard area/grass/pool. Which all seems fair. There is a walking area literally across the street. The room was equipped w/hand soap, dish soap, paper towels, 2in1 shampoo, body wash, dishes, microwave, fridge, kcup coffee maker, blow dryer, ceiling fans, AC, TV, & Internet. They also provide pool towels & will provider more if needed. Lots of food & shopping within a short drive (5mins maybe). 1000% will stay again if ever needing to travel that way. I very much hope my review convinces you to check this hidden gem out. Again, if you want traditional "hotel," this ain't it. It's so much better though! Thank you Alex and you team for creating & maintaining such a chill neat little spot. Small suggestion, a lighter for the stove would be helpful. But wasn't an issue for us as we only used the microwave. Wee little recommendation, service the AC units & check filters. We didn't mind buying a new filter to replace the old one. It helped a lot. The AC in our unit seemed to have a very old thermostat up where the filter goes. Which sucked only because it was much cooler in that area causing the AC to shut off based off that area's temperature. I'm sure there's a reason for this...