Hyatt Palm Springs Review
The Hyatt Palm Springs is an older property in the heart of downtown Palm Springs. Formerly titled the Hyatt Regency Suites Palm Springs, it has the feel of a Regency with 193 rooms built around an indoor atrium.
A new Andaz is being built just down the street and it will be interesting to see what becomes of this older property.
I booked a standard room with points (12,000 per night, Category 3). The starting member cash rate during my stay was $219+tax per night ($199 + $20 resort fee). Points stays do not pay the resort fee (though Cash+Points stays do).
Location
The Hyatt Palm Springs is located along the main strip of Palm Springs, Palm Canyon Drive. There are restaurants, shops, bars, art galleries all within a few steps of the property. It is a straight shot from the airport (2 miles away). Downtown Palm Springs seems to be making a comeback; the location is only going to get better.
Check In
Parking at the Hyatt Palm Springs is very strange. The only onsite parking is valet ($25 a day). But there is a ton of parking on the streets around the hotel that is free. There is actually a free public parking garage under the hotel; but for some reason it seemed discouraged to park there. Just look for a spot on the street.
I checked in around 6:30pm on a Friday in October. There were no guests in the lobby, and the only front desk staff was texting on her cell phone. I stood at the desk for a while, waiting for her to finish. Finally she acknowledged me; took my credit card and ID and checked me in. She said I was upgraded to a pool view and told me where my room was.
I was assigned to room 207. The hotel only has 6 floors. The x01-x09 rooms are pool view. There is a separate elevator and this grouping of rooms is accessed through an outside hallway above the patio and Hoodoo restaurant.
All of the other rooms are accessed through the central atrium.
I would avoid the rooms that look out on to Palm Canyon Drive (rooms x28-x39) as they are directly across from a loud bar. x01-x18 all look out on the pool and would be good options I believe. Rooms 101-109 have direct access to the pool from the room which is kind of neat; though the rooms are easily accessed from the street so I would be a bit concerned about security.
Room
All of the rooms at the Hyatt Palm Springs are suites. You enter into the living room area that has a couch, TV and desk.
My living room window looked out to the street; however most of the rooms have windows that look back into the atrium. It gives it a motel feel to have a window next to the door but if it wasn’t there, the living room would feel more claustrophobic I suppose.
Dividing the living room from the bedroom is a short hall with bathroom on the right and mini fridge, coffee maker, and closet on the left.
The bedroom has a door that can be closed off. Besides the bed there is a dresser and TV, a chair and balcony with sliding door. On the balcony is two outdoor chairs.
My view was of the pool area and mountains beyond.
The biggest complaint I have is that the room was not super clean or well maintained. There was a dried liquid spilled across one wall. My sheet had a hole in it. And the mattress was completely broken down on one side (which lead to difficult sleeping).
Bathroom
The bathroom was probably quite luxurious when the hotel first opened, but now felt dated. A single vanity and standard bath tub with an old shower head. The bath tub was chipping and could stand to be updated. The toilet also ran at random times.
Pool
There is a large pool deck on the backside of the Hyatt Palm Springs that had lawn games, a lot of seating and lounge chairs, fire pits, umbrellas, cabanas in addition to the large pool and hot tub.
The pool can be accessed off the lobby or from the second floor where the standard gym is located.
The water feature behind the hot tub was broken (or not turned on).
I didn’t try out the onsite dining options. Besides the outdoor Hoodoo restaurant, there is a restaurant/bar in the lobby where, I am guessing, Globalists would get their breakfast.
Service
Besides the distracted desk agent at check in, I did not find the staff to be particularly friendly or hospitable. When I asked for a 2pm check out as an Explorist elite, the staff was very happy to provide it. However, twice between noon and 2pm I had staff come and loudly knock on my door and inquire why I hadn’t left yet.
I also noticed that the grounds were not kept up very well. I saw empty soda or beer cans by the pool my first night that were still there the second night.
One reason I booked a points stay was to avoid the $20 resort fee. I hate resort fees. And it is quite a stretch to call the Hyatt Palm Springs a resort. According to the website the resort fee includes “Sunset Celebration Reception nightly from 4pm – 5pm serving complimentary wine, domestic beer & our specialty cocktail of the day along with small bites, morning coffee in lobby, daily newspaper, daily in room water, daily in room coffee and tea, bicycle rental, business center, 24 hour Stay-fit Gym, round trip shuttle service (3 mile radius).” I missed the reception both nights I was there so can’t speak to the value of that benefit. None of the amenities were mentioned at check in anyway (I didn’t realize there were bike rentals or shuttle service until I the writing of this post).
Over all I wasn’t very impressed by the Hyatt Palm Springs. On the plus side, the location is good (and getting better), the rooms are large, and at a Category 3 it is a good use of Hyatt points. On the negative side, the service was lacking, the property is showing its age, and the resort fee is insulting. With the introduction of the Andaz just a block away, I don’t know what the strategy will be for the Hyatt Palm Springs. I probably would pick another property for my next visit to Palm Springs.
