After nearly two decades of development, the Thompson Palm Springs finally opened in October 2024. Originally planned to be condos, then an Andaz property, and finally the Thompson, the hotel is two blocks from Hyatt Palm Springs. The hotel has 168 rooms including the Upper Stories, an adult only portion of the property, and 18 suites.
I stayed for four nights in February, 2025. The property is currently Category 5. My visit was over Valentine’s Day and President’s Day weekend with cash rates in the $600+ range plus $49 destination fee. Three of my nights were peak (23,000 points per night) while the last night was standard (20,000 points) for a total of 83,000 points.
I also applied an expiring Guest of Honor award so I could get free breakfast each day and a hoped for upgrade. I wasn’t driving so wouldn’t use the parking benefit and the destination fee was already waived as I booked using points.
Location
The Thompson Palm Springs is located on Palm Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs. It is 3 miles from the Palm Springs airport.
It is a fun area with a lot of restaurants and shopping within walking distance. The hotel also provides a free shuttle for a drop off within 3 miles of the hotel. Bikes are also available to use for free.
Check In
I arrived around 6pm on Friday night of President’s Day weekend which also happened to be Valentine’s Day. The property was sold out. I had reserved the base (King Bed Courtyard) room with points. The Courtyard rooms do have an outside space but it is enclosed. The higher level is a View Room with Balcony, before you get into the Upper Stories or Suites.
I asked at check in about any upgrade and the staff explained that the hotel was sold out and no upgrades were available. The 42 Upper Stories rooms were not yet open so inventory on a double holiday weekend was tight. I was assigned room 207.
The desk clerk walked me to the room after check in. In the elevator, he warned me that the elevator opens on the second floor directly into Lola Rose restaurant and it can be loud. Sure enough, the doors opened in the middle of the restaurant. From there he led me outside, through the courtyards to my room.
Room
Most of the rooms are located around the property in smaller buildings. You enter the room directly off the second floor courtyard unless you are in the rooms located above the lobby on floor 3 or 4.
There is no entry area of the room, you enter directly into the room with the bed in front of you.
To your right as you enter, there is a closet and drawers with a spot to set your luggage. Robes and slippers are provided.
The bed is against a leather headboard with a table on either side. While there is no desk in the room, you can pull out an extension to each bedside table for more surface area.
On both sides of the bed is a reading lamp as well as two outlets and both USB-A and USB-C charting ports.
In front of the bed is a swivel arm chair with small table. The TV is mounted on the side wall. A ceiling light is above the small table.
The bed faces the sliding glass door that leads out to the private patio. This is also the only window in the room. I’m not sure why additional windows were not added as it would have been easy to add a window in place of the wall mounted mirror on the same wall as the door.
Between the sliding glass door and the door to the bathroom is the compact mini bar.
On top of the mini bar are various items for purchase along with a Nespresso coffee maker and various glassware.
A slide out drawer is stocked with coffee and tea.
The mini fridge is located below and has additional items for sale along with two included aluminum bottles of water. Water filling stations are located around the property.
The air conditioning worked well (in winter at least) and I never had any problems with the temperature. The curtains also kept out most of the light and heat from the sun.
Overall the room feels clean and high end with marble tiles and wood and gold accents.
Bathroom
The large bathroom has the same design as the rest of the room.
The large walk in shower is straight ahead while the toilet water closet is to the right.
The single vanity sits under a large mirror.
The shower is huge. It features both an overhead rain shower as well as wall mounted handheld shower wand.
The bath products are D.S. & Durga’s Bowmakers line that can be found in other Thompson properties including the Thompson Denver. Large bottles of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel are in the shower while a bar of soap and large bottle of lotion are on the vanity.
The bathroom lights are all motion activated, so expect to be blinded when going to the bathroom at night. My only other complaint about the bathroom is that it takes the water a few minutes to get warm.
Courtyard Patio
In room 207 the patio is extremely uninviting.
It is a high walled cement box with two chairs and a table.
During the day it gets some sun and at night there is a light that can be turned on. It is not an area that I would want to spend time. They could have at least put in a window into the bathroom and some plants.
As room 207 has literally no view and a prison like patio, I asked if it would be possible to change rooms for the other three nights of my stay. I was assigned to nearby room 231.
The room itself is identical to room 207, however the patio has views to the outside.
This is looking at the patio from the public courtyard.
Pool and Gym
The main pool and hot tub are located on floor 2 next to Lola Rose restaurant and above Palm Canyon Drive. There is a bar and food can be ordered from Lola Rose.
There are plenty of free lounge chairs and cabanas are available to rent.
An adults only pool will be located behind the Upper Stories when it opens in 2025.
The fitness center is located on the main floor off the lobby.
There is a water station in the fitness center that disperses cold sparkling water; so if you are like me and enjoy sparkling water, refill your bottles here.
There are plenty of activities around the courtyard on the second floor including fire pits, hammocks, lawn games (bocce ball, giant Connect Four, corn hole).
Breakfast
Breakfast for Globalists and Guests of Honor is served in the main restaurant, Lola Rose. Located on the second floor, it serves dishes with a slight mediterranean influence.
In addition to the inside seating there is also a patio next to the pool.
There are two menus for breakfast. The first is for weekdays and is slightly abbreviated.
The weekend brunch menu has a few more options.
At check in I was told that the Globalist breakfast covered two people, each being able to order a main, juice, and coffee. In reality, I ordered a main and a side of fruit, along with juice, each day and always had the charges removed.
The breakfast was very good but never completely blew me away. They also ran out of French Toast and pancakes one morning for brunch.
Overall
It is nice to have another Hyatt property in downtown Palm Springs. In addition to the Hyatt Palm Springs (and the distant Grand Hyatt Indian Wells resort), Hyatt is also planning a Dream property in the downtown area.
There are some strange things about the Thompson Palm Springs. You have to walk through the restaurant to get to your room (unless you are on the 3rd or 4th floors, which are just a few rooms). Some rooms, like my first room, have no views to the outside. Even the drive way is a bit strange and easy to miss.
I don’t know if the oddities are from the various designs and updates over the course of the 19 years it took to get built.
Overall it is a very solid property. Paying the cash rates at the high season is extremely expensive. There are deals to be had in the off season like the summer. Points stays offer a much better value, especially since you don’t have to pay the $49 “destination fee”.
The rooms are high end but small. I like that the rooms are mostly built around the courtyards of the property with outside entrances rather than an interior hall. I love the large bathrooms.
The staff I encountered were all very friendly and willing to help. I received various communication (email and text) from staff to check on my stay.
Don’t expect much of an upgrade as a World of Hyatt elite unless you go during off season. You may even get a room with no view. If paying cash, it is worth the upgrade to a balcony view room to make sure you get a view of something (anything but a white wall).
Have you visited the Thompson Palm Springs or do you plan on a stay? Share in the comments below.
