Ace Hotel and Swim Club

The last time I'll stay here (closed in at the Ace Hotel) I have been consistently staying at the Ace Hotel for 4 years because of their great pet policy/fee and getting discounts during their Black Friday sale. Overall, I have enjoyed my stays and their service before and didn't have much to complain about before (except when the shower handle fell off and there were bugs one time). The property definitely needs a facelift; dingy rooms and old furniture but I have looked the other way until this recent trip. They had construction in the main pool area with sledgehammer noises and dust blowing everywhere. They didn't tell any of the guests ahead of time. Instead, they texted when it was happening instead as it was happening. The front desk was deducting the resort fees for that day as a "sorry." I thought fine, it'll be okay. We needed to leave by 4:30am the next day to get home and the front desk said there's no need to come to the front, we'd be able to leave when we want in the morning. (This isn't the first time we have done this, we've always left early to avoid traffic). Come 4:30am and we are unable to get out because the gate to where our car is parked is locked with a chain and padlock. We walk to the gate near the pool and it's also locked with the same thing. Insane! The door to get to the bar that leads to the front desk is also locked. There was no way to get to the front desk, we were locked in. There was no notice whatsoever. I run around trying to find an exit and it's all the way in corner at the edge of the hotel where I ran the other way to get our car. Lugging our stuff back and forth was a nightmare. To say that I was FURIOUS was an understatement. In addition to that, the room had a dingy mini fridge that didn't work and there were random stains on the walls in our room. I won't ever be returning, I'd now rather pay so much more for the convenience of being relaxed. Crazy thing to say.... I have already called the hotel and best they can do is take off a night fee. I'd rather not have be charged at all for this crappy place. Don't bother staying here. To management: you lost a faithful guest.

More shabby than shabby chic This hotel has become shabby over the years. The cushions on my patio were threadbare. The patio fireplace was cracked and had peeling paint. The patio gate didn't close securely. The landscaping is either dead or dying. The mattress was hard and lumpy, and gave me a sore back. The room had limited closet space, and there were no drawers for clothes. We'll appointed gym, nice pool. Great restaurant.

A Resort Framed By A Mountain Backdrop And Modern Homes. The Ace Hotel & Swim Club is a modern desert oasis with 2 deep pools, a spa, a gym and close to downtown Palm Springs. I enjoyed my Ace Suite with King bed, upscale living area with vintage furniture like a steamer trunk, guitar, record player and more. There was a private patio, fireplace and bath with a shower & tub. I relished the meals at the onsite Kings Highway (modern roadside diner) especially the Belgian waffles and breakfast burritos. The Feel Good Spa offers guest a laid-back massage and other spa treatments. I opted for the Deep Goodness Bodywork treatment to alleviate my tension and soreness. So, if you are looking for a hotel with a desert chic, natural hot springs and a mountain backdrop............then try the ..........Ace Hotel & Swim Club..............a resort framed by a mountain backdrop and modern homes.

Howard Johnson’s cool kid This was my second visit to the Ace. I come for the 6am to 2am swimming, B-side tracks and hot scorching sun. I know that it is falling apart and no one seems to care. I’m fully cognizant that the showers can sometimes reek of sulfur so strong that it fills the entire room, giving off nostalgic Nair vapor. Some will hate it, but where else can you still have a vacation smoke on your patio? Are the pool drinks and snacks overpriced? Totally, but once you’ve had a Piña Colada slushie with a rum float, will you care? Probably not. It’s also kid friendly (I don’t have any of those but it doesn’t bother me) and dog friendly, but let’s be real more often than not the pup-babies have to stay in the room cause it is entirely too hot for them outside. WEAR YOUR SANDALS PEOPLE, I saw so many people trying to walk from their sunchair to the pool sanz sandals and either ran back to retrieve them or hot-step their way to the pool requesting a friend deliver their shoes to them. The dining experience is wholly inconsistent. The staff is great, just the menu items aren’t presented the same way more than once despite the description on the menu. Sometimes you get five small tortillas with your barely there shrimp ceviche , other times there are three, or a stack of chips and maybe there’s mango in the ceviche this time.. it’s a gamble. Truthfully, if it gets any more expensive to stay there given the overall costs and return, I may have to take the party elsewhere. The sunchairs are disappearing as they break, the cushions on the patio walls are all missing and the seat cushions are old and worn. The other seating for the patios requires addressing as well, the little leather stools, rope rocking chairs and crisscross metal seats are NOT comfortable at all. I love the overall character of this throw back joint, but it’s really starting to feel like it’s just a Howard John’s in the 70s that no one renovated.

Faded legacy My recent stay at the ACE Hotel in Palm Springs was, to put it mildly, underwhelming. Initially, the prospect of spending our final night in this supposedly iconic hotel, as a group of four, filled me with excitement. However, the reality fell short of expectations, revealing the establishment to be an overhyped relic catering to those who aspire to a facade of coolness and hipness rather than substance. Upon arrival, the reception staff—comprising individuals who could easily fit the stereotypes of a 'Valley Girl', 'The Old and Frustrated', and a 'Try-hard Edgy'—exhibited a level of incompetence matched only by their apparent self-absorption. Their inability to extend their attention beyond the confines of their desk set a disappointing tone for the visit. The property itself appears to have seen better days. With its shabby facade, mediocre rooms, and a patio reminiscent of a penitentiary cell (accommodating two chairs for four guests), it fails to live up to its legendary status. The pool area, a crucial aspect of the Palm Springs experience, further exemplified this decline, with a significant portion of the loungers either broken or discarded. The pool water, a dubious mix of chlorine and what one might optimistically call 'saltwater', underscored a lack of proper maintenance. This veneer of affectation extends to almost every facet of the hotel, save for the music, which remained a delightful constant throughout our stay. Kudos to the DJ, who proved to be the lone ace in an establishment otherwise characterized by misses. It's worth noting that the natural beauty of the surrounding mountains provides a breathtaking backdrop—a stark contrast to the hotel's lackluster ambiance. One can't help but feel that if this establishment were located elsewhere, it would have long since faded into obscurity, buoyed only by guests who perhaps haven't yet discerned what truly constitutes 'cool'. In conclusion, while the ACE Hotel may continue to trade on its once-coveted vibe, my experience suggests that this legacy is now more historical footnote than living legend.