Palm Springs Deauville — Hotel in Palm Springs

Our stay at unit 412 at the Deauville was awesome. You cannot beat the location for its proximity to downtown Palm Springs. Walking distance to just about everything. ||||The condo itself was pretty good. Large and roomy. The furniture was a bit tired but comfortable. The recliner was permanently in a half recline and it, along with the two comfortable side chairs, all could use a cleaning. The sofa was very comfortable and appeared to be quite new. ||The dining table was great but again the chairs upholstery could use a good cleaning. ||||The only thing stocked in the kitchen was salt, pepper and a half bottle of olive oil. For us this was fine because we actually prefer buying or bringing our own spices and staples. Electric range, fridge/freezer, toaster, coffee maker, electric tea pot, blender and dish washer all worked beautifully. More than enough dishes for four people and a good supply of Rubbermaid for leftovers. One cupboard (tall utility one) had one hinge that wasn't attached. It didn't affect the opening or closing of the cupboard though.||||Master bedroom was very large and had a private deck which got sun most of the day! Attached bath was also large and included a nice large shower. King bed was quite comfortable. Plenty of drawer space and large walk in closet with tons of hangers.||||Second bedroom was also adequately sized with a great attached bathroom that had a tub shower combo . A good supply of bath towels and hand towels the only thing missing was there were no face wash cloths.||||Our biggest concern or gripe if you will was the heating system . It was quite chilly in January and we needed to use the furnace and it was very loud in the living room . You really had to crank the TV volume to hear it over the furnace . By the way the TV was great large and easy to operate with the good instructions left by the owner . We also used the DVD player to watch movies the quirk with that was you had to operate it manually because there were no batteries in the remote . We could've gone to the store and bought batteries but it was easy enough to operate manually. ||||There were also a couple of lightbulbs out we called maintenance to ask for some but never heard back from them so we just made do .||||FYI: Although the condo is ground floor there are several steps from garage to the grounds and then several more to get up to condo door.||||There is also a good sized deck at front of condo but it never got sun so we didn't use it or the BarBQue. ||||Fitness center was small but had several machines. Stinky though without any ventilation. Pools and hot tubs were great. Only one pool was heated (the large one) but all three hot tubs were operating.||||Overall we...

I cannot review what an actual stay at a Deauville apartment is like, because we never got into the apartment we had prepaid for. Deauville looked like a nice property, but be careful what agency you rent through. I found Deauville on Homeaway, represented (and charged to my credit card) by Only-Apartments of Barcelona (!should have been my warning clue), and managed locally by something apparently called OpenDoor Vacation Rentals. One half was charged immediately upon my reserving; other half charged 10 days prior to our scheduled arrival. Received an e-mail confirmation from Only-Apartments with a "check in code" but no other check in information except a name, e-mail, and phone number for the local agent. E-mail to the local agent inquiring about check-in procedures went unanswered. Found our way to the Deauville unit that was supposed to be ours, about 50 minutes prior to check-in time. No one was there; beds were stripped; linens were piled on the floor; cleaning products were scattered throughout the unit, as far as we could see. No one ever appeared. Calls to the local agent yielded a voice message saying don't send a text because her text messaging isn't working. Disembodied voice said the "voice mailbox is full; call again later." We were unable to get access to the unit and had to book a hotel at last-minute rates, which of course cost a fortune. Local agent eventually called me that evening asking, "Who are you?"--apparently because my number showed up 30 times on her cell that afternoon. When I explained, she apologized and said she was in the hospital with a head injury because she had been carjacked. Really? The "carjacking" doesn't explain why she didn't answer e-mails of a week earlier, nor why, five days later her voice mailbox is still full so you can't leave a message. You can reach her IF she answers her phone. Otherwise, forget it. I have spent countless hours on the phone and in e-mails (this was supposed to be a vacation) with the local agent, my credit card company, and Only Apartments. Homeaway is absolutely no use in a situation like this. They take their fee as soon as the reservation is made, then disappear into a black box with no way they can be reached. It is not their business model to take any responsibility for whether the owner/agent actually provides the offered accommodation. 4 weeks after this debacle, Only Apartments did refund the money to my credit card, and apparently instructed Homeaway to refund its fee, so I have the money back, finally. No one is offering any compensation for the additional $500 we had to pay to stay in Palm Springs on last-minute arrangements. Repeat: The property looks nice; be careful who...

I have stayed in close to a dozen units over the years. I have visited here as a Canadian snowbird and desert woman. I have been in PS every month of the year. I like May and November best as there is perfect weather and fewer tourists. The landscaping and pools, exercise room, clubhouse and location have it stand out from other properties in the nearby area.. The best units are upper as they get more light (skylights), are safer (there are occasional intruders even though it is a gated community), and generally have a better view. For quiet choose to be away from parking lots. I highly recommend the one lower level unit owned by Julie Spira in building 3. It has a firm, top of the line posturpedic mattress, is immaculate, has comfortable padded lounge chairs on the balcony, the interior is tasteful and Julie is an accommodating host who respects your boundaries, is friendly and responsive to any needs that arise. Do not be fooled by photos of many units that may look ok but be poorly maintained. Also some owners do break rules, re no smoking, noise and you need an owner or property manager who will go to strata if need be. Strata is very responsive and enforces regulations. Location I like best is building 4 facing the fountains and clubhouse, building 7 upper units are fine provided you are not adjacent to an inconsiderate owner and there is...