Del Marcos Hotel — Hotel in Palm Springs

The website recently received a much needed overhaul, which is great to see because booking was a nightmare (directly & 3rd-party). Very nice job on the site 👍.

We bunkered down here during Hurricane Hillary. It was an adequate shelter but not the functional & convenient stay we envisioned for a $40/night resort fee. For comparison, that's 25-40% of room rates--quite steep-- for services, amenities, & staff we didn't have access to. The important ones (massage therapists, restaurant, spa services, etc) are actually facilitated by the sister property next door. It's a strange fee structure.

CHECKIN & SERVICE Positive checkin experience, albeit lengthy due to all the information to cover. No fee for early checkin & uncovered parking is available ( didn't use).

ROOM (s) This property has accumulated many awards & popular mentions but the rooms were not in the best of shape. That made the disappointment more potent than expected: paint chipping/cracks, lots of rust in the bathrooms (no ventilation & windows sealed), leaky AC units, dead pests. We tried two rooms: "William Cody Corner Room" & "Hope & Crosby Room". Functionally, neither was designed for us (average height & weight Americans): small robes & hotel stock, low door knobs, tiny fixtures. The patios provide a great view & have seating options with more traditional/modern sizing.

WI-FI Good Wi-Fi for remote work is important to me so this was a surprising reprieve & I wish there were more incentive to stay longer. Nerd stats: 143-180 Mbps down 123-136 Mbps up 0% packet loss 16 ms latency 3 ms jitter Performance: Video streaming - good Online gaming - average Video chatting - good

FOOD & DRINKS Receptionist was really nice on the phone & enthusiastic to provide info on GF items since I have multiple food allergies. She advised that due to road closures they had low staffing & were running a limited menu & would transfer me directly to the restaurant to discus GF menu items but call went unanswered. This was the norm for phone service.

VERDICT I really wanted to like this place and spend a week or so exploring different rooms, but it's more of a passing-through/novelty experience IMO. The views are very picturesque & if you're into boutique hotels with deep & rich history, then it's worth a look, but not an extended...

My first time in Palm Springs, and i had the honor of staying at this hotel for the weekend.

Just about two blocks from downtown Palm Springs, this is definitely the place to be. It has a pool, ample parking spaces and very friendly staff who are available to accommodate your needs. They also serve margaritas during happy hour between 5-7pm. They also have some snacks and fruit on the table if you want to grab a bite. If you want to rent a cruiser bike a out, just fill out a form and youre set - you can borrow a helmet if you want one.

When booking your room, indicate that you have a pet with you because there are some rooms that are more pet friendly than others. I havent seen what the other rooms look, but its also for the purposes of cleaning and whoever the next guest will be staying in the room. Its just courtesy so the person who stays in the non-pet room isnt allergic to pets and so they can clean differently for pets.

I stayed in probably one of the larger rooms. I think it was the Desert Oasis Room. It comes with an outdoor patio - the walls are kinda high, so you wont be able to see outside, but you do get a dose of sunshine without the other people. It also has a full size fridge - refrigerator and freezer already cool and ready to be stuffed. A kitchenette - microwave, stove, oven, yup - you get all those. The cupboards have glasses, plates and stuff for your dishes. Internet - you can stream some movies, too! username and password is on the cards on the round table when you enter. Bathroom - its a stand shower, and its stocked with everything you need and a dryer if you forget a toothbrush, they were able to provide. A walk-in closet - yup, definitely feels like home.

I wish I had stayed for more than a weekend. The pool stayed warm, there was a side to just lounge at - towels at your leisure and its just chill to be here.

In the lobby, they have board games you can borrow and use for your guests and family. You can take it to your room, too and play with the board games there.

They provide complimentary breakfast. The usual stuff, fruits, cereal, oatmeal, juice and coffee.

Overall, im very happy i booked this place. Im looking to come back here again and...

The Del Marcos was recently acquired by new owners. We’ve been visiting for years and honeymooned here so we have many good memories. This was our first time staying since the sale.

Positives: New fridge, toilet and hand basin in the Errol Flynn room Still playing good music Kept the beautiful pool area as it was The one front-of-house staff member we saw was friendly and helpful, but clearly running things single-handed

Negatives: Fewer staff (there was no one to tidy up in the evening so towels were strewn about on the walkways until 9am the next day, the fruit water station was empty all afternoon, there was a smoke alarm going off in one room for about half an hour until we notified the front desk (to be clear, it was just a flat battery, not a fire)) No more happy hour No more hot breakfast buffet items, just yoghurt, apples and basic muffins No more chilled water in the room’s fridge No more Del Marcos branded mugs (replaced by Amazon Commercial brand mugs - depressing) No more loyalty discount

This is a really special historic hotel. The fundamentals are still there and Kirkwood is clearly investing in some in-room improvements which are great. But I hope they will reinstate some of the Del Marcos’s special features like higher quality hot breakfast items, and a friendly staff member circulating a tray of happy hour drinks in the afternoon, so people have a reason to choose it over other Palm Springs hotels. It felt a bit quiet and lifeless during our stay, in a way it never has before, with a lot of empty rooms. I don’t run a hotel, but it seems a shame to buy a special place and strip out its unique experiential elements to save money if by doing so you also reduce revenue. We would return cautiously, but Palm Springs has no shortage of boutique hotels to choose from, so I really hope Kirkwood reinstates the Del Marcos’s differentiating elements and keeps its...