Del Marcos Hotel

TLDR: This hotel was a huge disappointment! The website oversells the property, which is architecturally interesting but needs a hospitality overhaul and a deep clean.

We received a text from the hotel a day before our stay to confirm our arrival time, which we promptly did and never heard anything back. When we arrived at the hotel, the lobby was closed with a sign directing us to their next door property - not exactly a warm welcome. It seems they have their staff focus on the other property, as the lobby remained closed for the five days of our stay and we were redirected next door for everything we needed - not far, but not convenient.

We booked a queen room and while the space itself was fine, there was no mention that this would be a motel room --- our door was easily accessible from the sidewalk (we even had some people walk up to take pictures in front of our window while we were in the room and walked out into a tour group). Needless to say this was not specified in the description of the room or we would not have booked it, it was not private at all. There wasn't even a sign to inform curious tourists that this was a private room - not a photo op.

Late on the first night, I realized our shower didn't work properly and used the text number to inform the hotel, which they were prompt to let me know maintenance would come in the morning. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and our shower was still malfunctioning when we returned from our morning activities and then we had to wait while it was fixed - no hospitality included here, except from the maintenance man who may have been the most friendly and attentive staff member at the property. Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of the disappointment with the shower as we didn't have hot water for showers on two of the days of our stay. When I informed the hotel, they didn't do anything about this or offer to remedy the situation.

The room itself was ok - not anything up to the way the photos looked - the furniture had seen better days, the bedside lamp was broken, and it could have used a much deeper clean. We randomly got towel service only one of the days - no idea where they were the rest of the time! When we went to the pool, there were no towels to be found there either. So, I don't know what the "Room and Poolside service" was supposed to be - as far as I can tell there is none. Robes, towels, and linens were decidedly standard - any plushness has long been washed out.

The most disappointing aspect of all of this was the utter lack of hospitality from the staff - why have a text message system but not use it or respond regularly? When I relayed how disappointed I was in our experience on day two of our stay, no one bothered to check in. I am so bummed because we were so excited about our stay and this was an absolute stinker of a hotel experience.

At least the weather was nice!

location

First, the positive: excellent 1950 vibes, great lay out, great location, great pool, nice staff : they do their best in an outdated place

The down sides. Most of the time, no one is at the lobby; you could find a shorter way to communicate with the sister hotel, so we don’t have to walk in the street to join the restaurant for breakfast.

I had the suite at the pool. Pictures look great, but the reality was far from the pictures. Room needs refreshment, the shower completely obstructed by hard water, one tv had no remote for the cable, and the other one no remote to turn it on. Kitchen stuff, super basic, no coffee machine as seen on the picture, but a kettle with a lousy coffee.
The patio looked nice but the fire pit not working and the hand shower leaking, and it was very dirty, abandoned;

This suite could be great with maintenance, refreshing, make it look like the picture on your website.
I really hope the new manager will preserve the quality of this historic place because it is worth it
Please fix it.
I would like to come back.

First the good points. The hotel is in a great location, a block from restaurants and shops. There is a terrace outside our second floor room with a nice view of the mountains and palms. But the room needs updating, especially the bathroom which bordered on unpleasant. The hotel was staffed by the next door La Serena Villas, a sister property. They were very friendly and helpful.

I really wanted to love this hotel based on the great reviews and the iconic design of the building. Unfortunately, my experience was one issue after another.
After a long day of travel delays, I arrived to be greeted by a piece of paper taped to the window informing me the lobby and front desk of the Del Marcos were closed and I would have to walk around the corner to another "sister" property to check in. No map provided so I had to figure out which direction to go and drag my bag there.
When I expressed dismay at finding the del Marcos desk unstaffed, a manager emerged from a back office to say she had 3 employees out sick and they were doing the best they could. When I pointed out she could staff the del Marcos desk since a nice young man was staffing this one, she said she had "special projects to work on that prevented her from providing that service. I'm not sure what the projects were but they were obviously more important that making guests feel welcome. The lobby and desk at the del Marcos were never open or staffed during my stay.
When I finally got to my room, I discovered the TV volume couldn't be changed with either of the remotes provided so with the HVAC running, I couldn't hear the TV at all. The next morning, I was unable to get hot water in the shower - barely luke warm. I reported the shower and TV issues later and the shower was fixed right away but the TV issue continued. When I finally mentioned it again on my last night, a different TV was provided. Returning to the hotel around 10 on my 3rd night, the digital key pad providing access to the hotel was malfunctioning and wouldn't accept the code so around the corner I go again to find someone to let me in. The bathroom in my room was small and the toilet was so close to the wall I could barely get on it and only with the door closed since the door swings right up to the toilet. The plants in the planters on the neat little patio were dying and very sad.
To be fair, the hotel did waive the resort fees for my stay and offered complimentary appetizers in the bar at the sister resort and every staff member I interacted (except the manager) with was friendly, concerned and wanted to be helpful. The property is a beautiful mid-century modern design and the whole place has a fun, cool retro vibe that is perfect for a Palm Spring get away. But great design and groovy ambiance don't make up for access issues, luke warm showers, problem TVs and no front desk.

Great retro vibe

Location

Everything

Great pool not overly chlorinated.
Great location for walking to downtown area.

Love this old fashion place, 1960’s era. Great location in downtown Palm Springs.

El personal es muy amable, la habitación era más que amplia y confortable, y la piscina genial.

Struttura dal grande fascino in posizione fantastica

Ottima posizione in centro a Palm Spring. Camere molto spaziose.

Nice hotel for a weekend getaway. Lovely saltwater pool that was so refreshing on the hot Palm Springs days. The location was a block from downtown so very walkable. And parking was a breeze.

Très bon emplacement. Belle chambre, spatieuse avec une grande baignoire

Had a nice stay -Hotel is older and could use some fresh updates. Staff was great. We checked in next door . Had wonderful communication the entire trip via texting. Fabulous location. Pool was quiet and relaxing. Would recommend if you’re looking to stay close to town -safe + clean. Could use a gym

Awesome