Avalon Hotel & Bungalows Palm Springs, a Member of Design Hotels

Hotel to avoid WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL!!!! List of pros and cons after one-week stay in two-bedroom two-bath bungalow: PROs: Shower in main bathroom was fine and the basic plumbing worked well, the refrigerator in kitchen is old, basic but adequate, although there is no ice maker or dispenser and there were no ice cube trays. The two full sides of draperies in the bedrooms is a good feature. The king beds are comfy although high in the middle and give a slight feeling that you are rolling toward the edge. CONs: KITCHEN: No microwave but, instead, an large and annoying coffee pod machine which took up much of the very limited counter space (we don’t use coffee pods because the hot water just melts plastic into the coffee). Very, very old cupboards that stick and/or don’t open at all. Mostly empty cupboards with very few dishes and flatware, and only a couple of small drinking glasses. One old small serrated knife. A burner on the stove couldn’t decide if it was working or not; sometimes yes, sometimes no, mostly no. Garbage disposal did not work. Very few pots and pans and what was there is old, mismatched, and in the case of the non-stick cookware, severely damage and looked like something retrieved from the trash. (“Damaged non-stick pans, especially with scratches or chips, can be dangerous because they may release microplastics and nanoplastics, as well as harmful PFAS chemicals (forever chemicals) into your food. These released particles can contaminate your food, potentially leading to health risks.”) BATHROOMS: Both bathrooms were awful … outdated with old bathtub (not fit for bathing) and the tiles grossly painted over. There is NOWHERE for ladies to put makeup and toiletries. One available tiny glass shelf is not level, pitches downward and already contains a metal Kleenex box and hand lotion. There is not a single towel rack or even a hand towel rack in either bathroom, although there is plenty of room for both. The shower in the second bathroom was the worst. It was a tiny shower, no bathtub, with a huge square shower head (essentially immovable) installed way too high that hits you right square in head/face. If you turn your back to it, it still only hits your head and not your body, making it very difficult to have a shower. To make matters worse, you have to step down into the sunken shower space a further several inches, maybe five to eight feet inches more, compounding the problem. Minimally, that shower needs a handheld. Because it was impossible for ladies to use, and although we paid dearly for the use of it, it was used only once. BEDROOMS: The one dresser in the master bedroom is an old piece of junk that is literally falling apart … think 20-year-old Ikea with drawers that won’t open straight, and stick, and wobble all over the place. They certainly aren’t on tracks. There is not a single dresser or any kind of drawer in the second bedroom where you can put things. Because there was nowhere to put clothing, I made stacks and put them under a bench at the foot of the bed. When I slid the stacks out, there was a thick line of dust on them. The lazy housekeeper doesn’t really clean the floors, but just swishes a mop around and leaves the room as quickly as possible. The nightstands in both bedrooms are strange, creepy little tables with animal legs and large hooves. To compound the problem of no storage, the hotel doesn’t even provide nightstands with a drawer or two in them. The family room consists of one sofa that seats exactly three small-ish people. The room cannot accommodate any more than that because there is no seating for others. One entire corner is taken up by a giant easel that holds an enormous television, which we considered to be a waste of what could have been useful space. It would have been nice to have a club chair or two in the room so we could all hang out at the same time for cocktails and hors d’oeurves. Ridiculous setup, in that regard. The dining area is only large enough for four people, with a small round glass top table and four very clunky chairs. The chandelier is enormous and much too big for the space, making up three tiers and hanging way too low. It is also completely falling apart with the arms broken and swinging loosely. When I went to sit down at the table, I knocked my head on it several times until I adapted to its ridiculously low position. GENERAL: The front and back patios are interesting with cheesy cheap tables and plastic chairs. Not good quality at all. It feels very low rent even though the place is very expensive. The pools are old, not very big, not very clean. The Chi Chi Restaurant food is not good. We did love the kale salad but it was off the menu mid-stay. The hamburgers were good. The coffee was awful and the rest of the food was grim. For example, the cook thought it was a good idea to put a pile of pickled onions on top of a Caesar salad (there is nothing right about that). The first day we ordered room service breakfast and it was so awful, nearly inedible, that we never ordered breakfast again. We never ordered a room service dinner because we had no trust in the quality of the food. The bottom line is that we were extremely unhappy with our week there and would never stay there again. HOUSEKEEPING: To top it off, $400 cash was stolen from my sister's luggage while we were in the room eating lunch in the kitchen area and the housekeeper was cleaning the bedroom. We had the same housekeeper all week, so it had to be her. There was a safe that did not work. We brought the management in immediately to report the theft and they gave us the expected disclaimers: “we trust our people, our hotel doesn’t tolerate such things, it has never happened here, blah, blah, blah.” My sister filed a police report and was told it was her word against theirs. We were extremely unhappy because we tipped the housekeeper very well and she stole from us on top of it. We regret not having the police come immediately and calling the housekeeper to the room to confront her. It was our second to last day. We don’t believe the hotel even mentioned it to the housekeeper. On our last day, the housekeeper brought a second lady with her on, and we wondered if she did that so they could both rummage through our things just before we left town, hoping that we wouldn't notice until we got home that something was missing. The sidewalks are awful with very poorly-trimmed hard, thick-branched shrubs overhanging about a foot on the left and right sides, leaving very little room to walk, and scratching arms and legs as you try to squeeze by with luggage or packages. It was ridiculous and I never experienced anything like it. It was one of the worst vacations in my fifty years of traveling all because of the poor quality of the hotel, its accommodations, food, and service … truly awful.

Mother Daughter trip I took my daughters on a trip to celebrate birthdays. I picked Avalon because of the location. Which it does have a great location if you want to be downtown. Shopping, Marilyn Monroe statue, walk of stars,restaurants, bars …I wanted to stay at the Parker hotel, but it is very large and we would have to drive into town. We are only staying there a few days and I wanted my girls to get the-real vibe of Palm Springs. I did like the hotel, except for the fact it was old and run down. There is two restaurants there one is at the main pool, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menu was small, but it was good food. They also have a bar there. There is another restaurant at the sister hotel next-door. It is more like a steakhouse and I believe they serve breakfast. We also went there. It was good but expensive. They also have a full bar and you have to walk to it. They have 4 pools. I found three but not the fourth. They also have room service. They have a full-service spa, which was ok, not real big.The service and staff were great though. They over Valet parking or street parking, but I did notice while staying there was parking spots back on the side of the hotel and there’s a couple of parking lots as well Free of charge. If you are a smoker, there’s no place to smoke . You have to go off the property , if you go back to the dog area you can smoke there. I had booked three rooms one was a suite with a patio by the pool,one balcony and one floor. Do not get the floor room my daughter was put in a floor room back behind where it was not Century located and kind of scary. There was cracks around the door and there was no safety lock. next morningI had moved her moved to a balcony room central located, where I could keep an eye on the her, keep in mind there’s no safety locks on any of the doors. I had a suite and there was a safety lock on that. They did relocate her without any problems. The staff was very accommodated but the hotel needs an upgrade. I would recommend this hotel if you want to have a good location just don’t set your expectations up too high. the staff was incredible and would do anything that you needed them to do bartenders and restaurant staff. Location 4 star-Bartenders and wait service 5 star-front desk 4 star-hotel-3 star. Hope this helps

“The vibe” Intimacy, personal service yet not overt. We had a 1 bedroom suite looking over the courtyard pool.. quiet, secluded and extremely comfortable.. The gardens are immaculate with all pools well maintained. Use of the Spa facilities included the Steam room Sauna and Plunge pool. The facilities included bikes which is a MUST in PS. Thx k you for a great last 3 days in the USA. Stu

To Stay or Not to Stay While the grounds are nice and the staff quite accommodating the owners of the property rake in the cash year round, but fail to put a penny into the infrastructure. If you do not mind tasting metal in the water from the tap or while brushing your teeth then the Avalon Hotel & Bungalows of Palm Springs is for you. If you do not mind being scalded while showering after someone flushes the toilet, this place is for you. If you do not worry about electrical fires because they overload devices on extension cords hidden behind the bed and nightstands, stay here. If you are into painted tiles on the floors as well as the walls of the showers, then by all means stay here. Someone's idea of maintenance seems to be "just paint it". That works until the paint peels like with the soap dishes within the shower. The owners have charged the rates comparable to four and five star hotels for years. We had been hopeful that they would eventually take some of their substantial profits and upgrade what is likely original plumbing and wiring; especially for the safety of their guests and their investment. However, they have not. Even little things like pool coping are neglected all the while the owners rely on the stellar service of their overworks employees to justify their high rates year round. Though the grounds and service rate highly, the complete neglect by the owners of the infrastructure and safety of their guests leaves me rating this establishment no more that 2.5 stars. A testing of the water will likely find it contaminated by the failing metal within the supply lines. A safety check by the Fire Department or Building Department would likely result in multiple Notices of Violations being issued due to the higher risk of fire in these old structures (bungalows). Did I speak with local management? Yes. Did I ask that they convey my concerns about the very poor condition of their infrastructure? Yes. Did I receive a response? Yes. According to the on-site rooms manager, the owners declined to commit to improving these health and safety issues or price their rooms and bungalows based on these conditions.

Too much money for too little A clean well maintained upscale motel that is terribly overpriced. This is a slightly shabby motel calling itself a hotel. It is expensive and has the nerve to add a nightly amenity fee of $57. I guess this is because it has swimming pools I would not recommend it as it sits right on the road and even expects you to park on the road