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3041 reviews
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Apr 18, 2025Spring break 25’
Such a nice place to stay for a family with an animal lover. It was such a special treat for my oldest son to see flamingos on the drive in. Ducks/geese up close and beautiful koi fish. All the staff here was very friendly and quick to help with anything we needed. But Diego at the boat rides stood out. He is truly an all star there. So kind and always had a big smile on his face. Appreciate all the help he the family and lot of suggestions in and out of the resort. Already starting to plan our next return
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Apr 16, 2025Too loud and chaotic.
Do NOT go here if you want a quiet couples get away. I love kids, don’t get me wrong, but this was worse than Disneyland for the chaos. We actually stayed at the condos right next door. Nice to have the access but not worth it really. Went to dinner at Rockwood and paid over 200 dollars for Dennys style food and service. We ordered two drinks at the bar for 60 dollars. For dinner had one order mushroom pasta, one order of bacon wrapped dates, one beer and a bottle of the lowest price wine. Every table had at least a family with 3-5 kids and our waitress served us once. Poor ambience. Pool loud! For the price you would expect an adult only pool. Nope. Condo was comfortable but only the bare minimums, no extra blankets or towels. We won’t be back. Marriott, you can do better. Compare this to something like Mauna Lani In Hawaii and not even close.
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Apr 07, 2025
cruise ship of hotels
marriott "ambassador" here - I've stayed at many bonvoy properties over the years. I would not put this hotel on my list of places to return/recommend. look, this is a gigantic place - a mega resort. there are A LOT of people around at all times. it's like being on a cruise ship. kids screaming, music blaring -- the constant noise of humanity is unrelenting. which is fine if that's what you want. but if you're looking for a serene, quiet, peaceful, relaxing escape- do not go here. there's zero charm, no personalization, and nothing special. aside from the mountains, it could be anywhere, USA. and it was extremely disappointing and overwhelming. the good/not bad: the free self parking was great. the room was nice enough - I feel like it was clean, but could use a good scrubbing, if that makes sense. the room was pretty generic, but I did have a nice view and it was relatively quiet as it was at the very far end of the property. overall not bad. the front desk people seemed a little harried, but overall the staff was very nice - from the housekeepers constantly in the hallways to the starbucks staff to the pool attendants. I can't imagine dealing with so many people and being that nice. flamingos! the bad/not good: a saturday at this pool is chaos defined. it's just total mayhem and a live DJ plus people partying plus kids everywhere is a confusing scene. worse, the pools themselves were dirty. like really gross with stuff floating in the water. I ordered a bowl from the pool bar and it had a hair in it. the gym was a great space, but some of the equipment was old and questionable. a resort of this size, price, and alleged caliber should have top of the line equipment. these treadmills were TERRIBLE: outdated, some not working properly/at all, and dirty (don't mean just sweaty from the last person). too much trash/half eaten room service sit in the hallways. again, this place is too big. they can't keep up with it all. it's not the staff's fault. the shower door in my room drove me nuts. there was no gap between the door and the floor so the bathmat wouldn't stay in place. trivial, sure, but somehow really obnoxious. I was gone until 4pm and no housekeeping came to my room. I must have been at the end of the rotation. for me it was an impersonal and stressful experience from start to finish. unfortunately I was glad to leave.
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Apr 02, 2025
JW Marriott Desert Springs, Palm Desert and Marriott excellence
The JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa is as desirable of a vacation destination, today, as it was when it opened (and we stayed there) in February 1987. I’d struggle to think of a year, between 1987, and today, that we missed a vacation at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa. The resort is beautiful, with just about every amenity that you might want (except for the ocean, but, there is plenty of water, with lakes and lagoons). It is well maintained, immaculate, and largely modern. Some aspects of the resort appear dated, worn, and not capitalized. The staff are amongst the greatest asset of the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa; they are warm, welcoming, professional, and efficient; many are very long time, career, Marriott Associates. The rooms are nice, updated, and immaculate, with the need for some modern features. The spa, pools, and golf are superb. There are a number of restaurants, although some of our favorite restaurants from years gone by, are long gone, like Ristorante Tuscany. The quality of the food that we ate was exceptional, albeit expensive, by resort standards (e.g. breakfast buffet = $40.00, a hamburger = $24.00). The JW Marriott Desert Springs has periods where it is a convention machine (no negative connotations, here), and the hotel appears to do an exceptional job managing large groups and meetings. While we were guests of the JW Marriott Desert Springs, a luxury real estate company, “The Agency” held a large meeting (one with a LOT of attendees) at the resort; the JW Marriott Desert Springs appeared to do an exceptional job hosting that meeting; we saw meetings and events, indoors and outdoors, many that we wanted to crash (but, doing that is not consistent with our personal values), the outdoor receptions looked exceptional, the attendees appeared to be having a great time, and we were told by a few attendees that the food and hospitality were exceptional. I will say this about “The Agency” attendees, we met a number of them at the pool, and they were kind, friendly, professional, and fun to be around. If I were to reflect on one single exceptional attribute of the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa, of the many attributes of the JW Marriott Desert Springs, I’d say, with unwavering confidence, that it is the resort's current General Manager. This is a man/role who really is the equivalent of the Mayor of a city; there are a lot of moving parts and people at the JW Marriott Desert Springs, and those parts and people, are as precise as a finely tuned Swiss clock. Further, the General Manager is a hands-on, in the trenches, General Manager, who we’ve seen in just about every nook and cranny of the resort; I’d find it hard to believe that he ever sits behind his desk, he appears to manage the resort on his two feet, with cellphone in hand, monitoring the experience of his guests, and staying in close contact with his employees. I know a lot of Marriott General Managers, this GM is absolutely exceptional. Our vacations at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa are relaxing and flawless. We look forward to returning, next year. Regarding the birds in the Aviary, which several other TripAdvisor reviewers have commented about, I wish the leadership/owners of the JW Marriott Desert Springs would relocate the birds, throughout the lobby, as was previously the case. In that era, the birds had a lot of human interaction, they brought unlimited smiles to adult and children guests, and the birds were not cooped up in that Aviary. It seems clear to me, that the JW can do better by the birds, and bring them back to civilization; they previously were a hit, when they were in the lobby. I wish the JW would reopen the Springs Pool, which is closed, and seems to be a long-ago byproduct of the Covid 19 Pandemic, and reduced staffing, and brings the birds back into the lobby. The birds are missed in the lobby.
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Mar 31, 2025
Fabulous Hotel
I stayed here for a business trip and it was fabulous. The rooms are HUGE! Really comfortable beds and the rooms have everything you need. The bathroom is fabulous with a separate shower and bath. The balcony on the pool side has amazing views of the property and the mountains. There are lots of places to eat and drink and the staff are all really helpful. The gym and fitness area is huge and there is loads of equipment. The bar was not open at the pool when I was there but it was no big deal. The staff were all really helpful and welcoming.