Did a quick one night stay here and it was underwhelming. I can see from other reviews that people have had pretty dramatically dreadful stays here, but my experience wasn't quite that bad. Room was clean enough, things weren't really broken. It was just mostly your standard ugly/basic/rundown motel. Too bad because it seems like it once was/could be retro/cool. If you are on a serious budget it's fine - close enough to downtown, safe. But it was certainly not anywhere you'd want to stay if you in any way want something cute/charming/attractive. It's a roof over your head if you're on a serious budget. Nothing more. Owners were nice.

The Desert Lodge has to be the dirtiest hotel I’ve ever seen. There was hair everywhere. In the blanket, on the lamp, in the pillowcases… ugh. One bed had a plastic cup and a popcorn kernel underneath. The other had a jellybean and hundreds of clumps of dust. And I found toenail clippings on the carpet, right in the middle of the floor. Obviously vacuums do not pass this way very often.

There was a fridge and a microwave in the room, which in theory is a plus-- those are convenient when you're on vacation. The microwave was relatively new and clean, but the fridge was ancient. It was yellow and cracked inside and the handle was broken off. And the room was terribly maintained. The A/C unit had plastic bags stuffed underneath it as insulation. The glass on the shower door was cracked. A hole in the wall was patched with what looked like chewing gum.

It’s clear nobody cares about the property or about service. I mean, if you owned a kind of run-down property, you’d bend over backwards to be the most helpful, cheerful management staff ever, right? At least, that’s what I’d do. But basic customer service skills are lacking. The woman who answers the phone simply says, “Can I help you?” You have to ask if you have, indeed, reached the Desert Lodge. The desk clerk was on the phone when I walked in and didn’t acknowledge me until she finished her call. And there’s a huge sign behind the reception desk that says, “NO VISITORS.” Way to make guests feel welcome.

I've honestly never seen such an apathetic attitude in the hospitality industry. There is one exception, though, and it’s a bizarre one. Someone obviously put time into painting a mural of flowers on the front of the reception desk. It looks new-ish, but it's actually a terribly dated look. And if you're going to paint, paint the darn rooms! They need it way more than the reception desk needs tacky flowers.

Outside, you can tell this place used to be nice—it probably could still be nice in a retro sort of way, actually, if someone actually gave a damn. When I book a budget hotel, I don’t expect a five-star experience. But I do expect a clean room, basic maintenance, and a friendly welcome, and, sadly, I didn't find any of those things here.

I needed a room for a night, nothing fancy, so I could attend a business meeting in Palm Springs the following early morning. The Desert Lodge was close to where I needed to go, and the pics if found on line made it look ok. I called and confirmed they had WiFi access which was key for me, so I came. What a mistake! This place is BELOW basic. And certainly not for business traveler. First, while WiFi worked the first hour I was there, it then went out, and couldn't be used all night long. I had to go to a local mexican drive through nearby that had WiFi to finish the work I had. At least I got some dinner. Ugh! And even when I could use the WiFi, there was just one small, wobbly dining table, no desk table, to put my computer on and type. Then, I needed to fax something, but the place had no fax - really nothing. And certainly no business center. The lady at the reception desk was nice enough, however, to let me make one copy in here office! : ) I can say the room was clean, but reaked of chlorine or bleach. I guess that's how they keep it clean. But the floor of the porcelain shower tub was chipped, and so had to wear flip flops in so as to not be cut. There were stains on rugs and chairs. Yuk. The TV, from the 80's I think, worked on some channels, but not all. The walls are paper thin. Finally, while the bed was comfortable, it had no fitted sheet, and the flat sheet on the bottom kept getting loose all night and rolling up on me as i turned over, so I didn't sleep well. Oh, and there were no black out curtains, so the room was lit up all night with a light outside the window. To sum it up, an put the icing on the cake, when I got to my meeting, one of the people there said, "You sleep ok? You don't look so good". Nice way to start the day! I guess I can say, I didn't see any bugs or mice in the room. Woohoo! But the bottom line here is, SKIP THIS PLACE - for sure.

If you are homeless, then it's a toss up as to whether this place is a step up or not. If you are not homeless, then you should never, ever, stay at this hotel. Ever.

Here’s my experience – I called a few hotels earlier in the day to check on availability. I spoke with Natasha, one of the owners, and she said there was plenty of availability, so I didn’t think much about it and didn’t have time to research.

We arrived at around 10:30pm. Nobody was at the front door. We rang the bell. Nobody answered. There is a phone next to the door that says to call it if nobody answers, so I did that. Finally the owners opened the door. They were either sleeping or really tired when they answered. Check in was easy w/Natasha – the husband owner (Harry, I think) was nice and they brought their dog out to meet ours. It was really sweet. They had a teenage son lurking around too, I think.

The hotel seemed completely empty, except for the room, #54, next to ours, which we could hear the guests in from the hallway. We checked in to room #55. I couldn’t understand why, if the hotel was empty, they’d put us next to the only other people staying there. Needless to say, it was AWFUL. The two windows in the room were cracked open and the adjoining door wouldn’t lock. The floors were filthy, stained and frayed. The bathroom was vile – dirty, stained, and the shower head was leaking. There was trash and crumbs under the beds. Holes and stains were on the walls. The refrigerator in the room’s freezer was almost frozen all the way through. The phone wasn’t plugged in and the wire was broken. And the comforter on one of the beds had a large blood stain on it. I didn’t even bother checking the other bed. On the upside – I didn’t see any bugs.

So I went back downstairs to the lobby to see if they could lock the adjoining door, because above all, security was my biggest issue here so far (which is saying a lot given the room itself). Again… Nobody was at the front door. I rang the bell. Nobody answered. I had to call the phone. I woke them up again. I told the owners about the adjoining door not locking and they moved me to room #53 because for whatever reason, they couldn’t lock the adjoining door either. Again, why immediately next to room #54? The husband owner walked me up the stairs and at that point, the folks in #53 apparently were partying it up, because you could smell the weed in the hallway. When I commented to the owner about “so much for non-smoking rooms”, he blew it off saying, “I can’t do anything.”

Ummm…how about kicking them out for smoking in the non-smoking room maybe? Call the cops for illegal drug use perhaps? Seriously??? Nothing????

So I go in to room #53 and again – another room where the adjoining doors don’t lock – what the??? This room was equally disgusting, except it had been painted, so it was marginally better décor wise – but there were still holes and stains on the wall which was totally confusing. Other than that, the floors, bathroom, leaking showerhead, surfaces, linens, and refrigerator - all were totally disgusting. The bathroom vent was also making some crazy noise when I turned it on and black stuff was literally raining down on the toilet below. When I pulled back the comforter, it was crystal clear that the sheets had not been changed since – I don’t know – maybe ever. There were curly hairs, long hairs, and pubes all over the sheets and the pillows had been conveniently flipped over to hide the stains.

So at this point, I made the decision to leave – which I have never done before. I thought about spending another 10 minutes standing outside, in the dark, freezing, and waking up the owners a 3rd time that night, but I was tired, they had tried to be nice, and so my husband and I left and stayed at another hotel down the street, hoping that I could stop by in the morning, discuss the issue with the owners, show them my receipt for the other hotel, and get a refund.

This did not happen.

I stopped by the hotel around 8:30am to turn in my key and see about the refund, to which, yet again, nobody was at the front door. Instead, there was a sign that said “I’ll be back in 45 min. Give the keys to the maid.”

I couldn’t help but laugh because the whole thing was so outrageous. On a Sunday morning, there is NOBODY AVAILABLE TO CHECK GUESTS OUT???

There was no maid to be found anywhere on site either. Luckily, I ran in to the painters onsite, explained my situation, and they said the owners were at church, but that the manager, Sam, would probably be able to work something out. They also mentioned that, “The maid was fired 3 days ago, so maybe that’s why the room wasn’t clean.”

Unreal. So…if the maid was fired, how was I supposed to leave the keys with her anyway???

I gave one of the painters my key and left.

So I get home, and I call the Desert Lodge, ask for Sam, he gets on the phone, I explain the situation and – get this - he tells me to call back in 2 hours and then hangs up on me! What kind of poor customer service is that?

So, I wasn’t able to call back that day, but I did call back the following day to try and get my refund. Natasha answered and told me that Sam said that because “Somebody saw you here. You were here.” that they would not issue me a refund, regardless of the fact I had another receipt from another hotel. WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER. Obviously I was there…I woke her up two times! OMG.

My summary on the experience at this hotel is below. Overall – I would say sleep in your car rather than stay here – at least you can lock it, there is a good chance that it’s cleaner, and you don’t have to contribute to a dime of Sam’s salary.

Pros:
• Dog friendly
• The OWNERS (Natasha and her husband) were nice, albeit extremely tired apparently, and they had a really cute dog, Rocky.
• Free wifi
• Pool on site (not sure about the quality since it was in the 40’s F while I was there). It didn’t appear to be heated.
• No bugs – and I checked THOUROUGHLY
• No reservations required (because nobody wants to say here)
• Plenty of parking (again, because nobody wants to say here)

Neutrals:
• TV worked – it was an older TV (not a flat panel), but they had 30-40 channels
• Heater worked, not sure about the A/C since it was cold
• Surrounding neighborhood seemed safe.
• The towels seemed relatively new and not terrible.

Cons: most everything else
• There is not 24/7 service in the lobby (or anywhere else on site). You will be required to wait and or wake somebody up. Actually, there is barely service at all.
• The manager, Sam, is horrible to deal with and should be fired.
• Safety may be an issue - Windows were open in one of the rooms we stayed in; adjoining room doors don’t lock.
• Sheets and comforters were not clean
• Floors were not clean – they were stained and unvacuumed.
• Bathrooms are not clean, faucets are leaking
• Vents are unsafe – shrapnel falls out of them
• Décor is terrible
• Walls are dirty and stained
• Phone wasn’t plugged in. When I used it to call the front desk, nobody answered. Phone wire was broken.
• ALL SURFACES ARE DIRTY, including countertops, dresser, nightstands, tables – ALL OF THEM.
• They don’t vacuum at all – especially under the bed. There was trash and crumbs everywhere under the bed and my dog would not stop trying to eat stuff under there.
• The fridges are junk and the freezers in them are almost frozen solid.
• The vertical blinds were junk.
• The furniture was terrible - tons of cigarette burns.
• There is no complimentary breakfast or food service of any kind that I could determine.