The Dunes Hotel — Hotel in Palm Springs

Stayed here for one night on a family trip before we returned home after our vacation (the booking was made under my brother’s details before I am accused of being a false reviewer). The location is great, the staff at the entrance were friendly and pleasant when they were around. The rest of the experience was almost ok, reality hit after checking in that we should have just rebooked the last hotel we stayed in. At The Dunes Hotel, there was more thought and effort put into the design and layout of the reception area (and to some effect the rooms) compared to the rest of the hotel. It felt as though they hired an interior designer to pull out all the stops to entice people, and maybe they ran out of budget to complete the rest of the hotel, because everything else in the rest of the communal spaces was a stark contrast to the reception area. Our room was nice and bed very comfortable, the bathroom was nice too, but the room was very dark and we had nowhere to store clothes either. The pool area was depressing, there was no thought put in to the design and layout of it and the surrounding area, a nearby hotel we stayed at had better amenities, a better vibe throughout and they had food and beverage service in comparison to The Dunes Hotel. This hotel had a prison style vibe to it, overall it was very bare, concrete/ brutalist aesthetic everywhere, no breakout or interactive areas around the pool, it would’ve been nice to be able to purchase snacks/ drinks poolside and have a little music on in the background. The hotel’s reply to my brother’s review claimed their prices were competitive, they were definitely not competitive, they were actually more expensive than the more established competitors near by. It seemed as though the hotel had new owners/ management that wanted to flip it and refurbish it to some degree and get guests in as soon as they could without thinking about the rest of the hotel experience a guest would expect for the prices they charged. They also charged us to check in early as they insisted they would charge this to speed up the turnaround of the room, but the room had already been cleaned and prepared, as we found out a little later, when we had walked past it beforehand to find the restroom. The hotel had a handful of guests, so I’m not sure how they could justify charging for speedy check in when there was no guest check out for the particular room we booked/ the one they checked us in to. This place has potential, but we definitely regret staying there on our last night in Palm Springs, it...

So, the first thing I noticed about this property is how clean everything was. Our room was spotless and the grounds were well kept. The pool area is also nice with lots of seating areaas. The location is perfect for downtown Palm Springs and this hotel is very close to all the gay bars on Arenas (definitely walking distance). The hotel is also very dog friendly. They have treats for dogs when you check in and they even offered dog toys. The staff were also pleasant. They have lockers to leave your bags if you arrive before check-in or need to leave your bags after check-out. There was a continental breakfast spread in the morning with coffee, juices, and fruit and a few other items. ||The only areas for improvement for this property would be to keep the pool area open a little later. It closed at 10pm. I understand this is probably done to prevent noise for the guests who would like some quiet time at that hour. Perhaps the hotel could introduce "quiet hours" between 10pm to midnight. Also, the rooms on the ground level are dark, very dark. This is because there is a wall that separates the section of rooms from the pool area. This blocks the sun. Perhaps new lighting could be introduced to make the rooms seem brighter. The only real gripe we had was the iron and ironing board in the room. We iron our clothes before going out and there was not really a place for the table-top ironing board. The ironing board cover didn't fit and the iron was not good. I'm not sure if most people iron but perhaps management could just invest in a few high quality irons and standard ironing boards that could be requested from housekeeping or front desk when needed. This is a small thing. ||Overall, very pleased with the Dunes and I would definitely recommend this property if you want to be in the heart of Palm Springs and stay in a clean, property with a nice pool area and...

All in all an OK experience, but we were quite disappointed with our stay here. We felt that our experience here did not match its rating.

The pros: (1) Location. One of the most popular restaurants in town right now is just across the street (it's worth the wait) and it’s also a 15 min walking distance to downtown — super convenient.

(2) Amenities. Microwaves, vending machines, water dispensers, and ice machines available at the hotel. Free onsite parking.

The cons: (1) Security. When we arrived we were given a room that was still in use by another party. We eventually sorted to a different room. The whole process was concerning. It also meant that we had full access to the original/occupied room even after, because of how the door system is set up. Serious security issues if staff cannot keep track of which room is taken or open.

(2) Staff/Service. Our requests for the front desk had a 50% success rate. Sometimes pool towels were not delivered to our room; sometimes they’d deliver it right to the pool to us. Honestly, it all depends on who is at the front desk helping you out.

(3) Cleanliness. The room was okay in terms of cleanliness. Some sand residue oddly left on the room table.

Overall, we thought our experience here did not match the reviews online. The comments online feel exaggerated, but still agree that the location of The Dunes is...