CA Palm Desert Courtyard by Marriott

[zbenye]

I dislike Marriott hotels, and this one is no exception. Anyone who has the option (ie traditional booking), but chooses to stay at a Courtyard, is foolish. The similarly-rated Hilton Garden Inns, Wingate Inns and Hampton Inns are a far better value with free calls, free high-speed Internet, microwaves and refrigerators, and some with free breakfast. At the Courtyard, you get a bed and that's it. No wonder we get them cheap on Priceline ($25).

The Palm Desert Courtyard is six years old. My room was clean and in good condition. Except the most repelling thing I've ever seen in a hotel (must be a "Priceline room"): the toilet seat was broken and was held together with clear masking tape that has begun to turn brown around the edges. How much does a replacement toilet seat cost? Sheesh!

The room was of standard size. The design is idiotic as in other Courtyards, where the bathroom is spacious, because the sink was placed outside of it. So in the bathroom itself there's the tub at one side, the toilet at the other, and a big nothing in between. That's where the sink should have been. As a result of the sink being outside, there was space left for only a small closet, with sliding doors so narrow, it is uncomfortable to reach inside.

The room had two full beds, a dresser with a TV on top, a couch, desk and chair.

Soap, shampoo and coffee replenished daily.

Breakfast is available for purchase at the restaurant in the lobby. Coffee/tea are complimentary, but were not available.

Local calls are 3

[Guest aldo]

It was our third stay at this hotel on 3-12-05. The first two were Pricelined (4-04 for $42; 6-04 for $25), but we decided to cash our VISA promo free night cert here because of these previous stays (and because PD in high season is VERY expensive- we were lucky to get this for a Saturday night). No "attitude" here- very pleasant and friendly staff. When we stayed in June, I called after my winning bid (2 rooms, 2 nights) to request n/s, connecting rooms. Told them we were celebrating our anniversary, and they were very gracious- preblocked 3rd floor rooms with huge balconies and phones in the bathrooms (had to be their "best" rooms- we were on the third floor again this time, but no phone in this room's bath). For $25/night, we were very impressed.

Same great service this stay. Beds are very comfortable, lots of pillows, cable tv with many channels (including HBO, and Disney and Nick for my little one). Good sized pool, lots of chairs with misters above for those hot days, two jacuzzis, putting green, tennis courts next door at the RI. Now there's an Applebees in the parking lot (we walked over for dinner, but the service there is just like every other Applebee's we've ever been to- BAD). Palm Desert also has a new free shuttle service that takes you to the Living Desert, shopping areas, and the swap meet at the College, and it stops at this hotel.

Overall, I would highly recommend the Courtyard Palm Desert.

[mr21]

Stayed here 2/11 - 2/13/05. Check-in (1 hour early) was fast and pleasant without an "attitude". The front desk manager said I would get credit on my Marriott Rewards.

We were given a nonsmoking room with two queen beds. The room was adequate with your basic lower end hotel furnishings. The sink/vanity is separate from the bathroom. There is a hairdryer and coffeemaker provided but nothing else (fridge, safe, etc.) The cable selection was good and included HBO and pay-per-view is available. The balcony was nice but my view was the Applebees next door.

Breakfast costs extra but coffee is available for all guests. The L.A. Times (even Sunday) is delivered to your room in the morning. It was too cold outside for the pool but it looked pretty nice for this type of hotel. There were also two spas and a putting green. The property also has a very small exercise room with treadmills and nautilus machines.

I wouldn't recommend this hotel if you like to stay close to all of the attractions. Courtyard is located right off I-10 which puts you about 10 minutes from restaurants/shops in Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage. The Residence Inn next door looked much nicer but Courtyard at $42/night is a great deal IMO. The Marriott website rate was $159/night. Overall, I was very happy with the value of this property.