The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa

Check you bill when checking out The Hotel is very beautiful and historic, especially during the Christmas season. The check in process was quick and easy and we were able to get a room before the standard check in time. The exterior of the hotel is really in need to some extensive overhaul. The room was spacious and clean with nice amenities. However, the refrigerator in our room did not work. What is usually the entrance for valet parking is now two carnival rides, which really distracted from the Festival of Lights. Upon check out, I discovered that I had been charged for self parking ($30) twice. When I pointed this out to the host, they first didn't even apologize, but instead implied that I had two cars parked. I politely indicated that we only had one car. The clerk then made the correction. Afterwards, when reviewing my credit card charges, I ended up getting charged the original amount, with two parking charges, and then a separate charge for one more parking charge (charged 3 times for parking.)

Special hotel and great service Have lived in SoCal for 25 years (about an hour from Riverside), and always heard that the Mission Inn is a special place, so we finally went for one night during the Festival of Lights. The FOL is kind of chaotic, and not sure I'd do that part again, but the hotel is indeed special, quirky, bizarre, and delightful. The space itself is discovery after discovery - Palais des Papes meets Winchester mystery house vibe - and it was fun to wander around. The staff was genuinely impressive in the face of the nuttiness associated with the FOL. Everyone was attentive, collected, and kind. There were hiccups with our room not being ready on time, and the wine we ordered later, but in both cases staff went out of their way to make it right immediately and without prompting. It was probably the best service I've had in years. We were two adults and two kids in our double queen room; all agreed the beds were very comfortable, and we slept surprisingly well. The wi-fi and TV situation seemed like they could be updated a little, but in fairness as we were only staying one night and didn't really need them, I did not call the front desk to see if something could be done. Bonus - hotel is next to The Cheech (well worth the visit) and the Riverside Art Museum which is another architectural gem.

SUCH A SHAME. SO MUCH POTENTIAL. SUCH A SHAME! Although I very rarely write negative reviews, I felt compelled to share my experience at this hotel in order to save others the money and misery of going. I have travelled all over the world, from five star hotels to hostels, but this hotel is in a category of its own. First off, The Mission Inn Hotel is one of the most beautiful, impressive, historic hotels I have ever seen, especially during the Festival of Lights over Christmas holiday. Unfortunately, however, the customer service is non existent (aside from the valet guys). Check in: We checked in at 3 pm, having requested an early check in for one or both of our two suites, as our daughter was not feeling well. We were told our rooms would not be ready at 4 pm or later . I asked if there were any rooms in the entire hotel ready that we could switch to, but told "no'. So we went to lobby bar to wait. A server came over with a menu and took our drink orders, but never returned. She came by 30 minutes later and ordered again, and still nothing came. At 4:15 I went to front desk to enquire about rooms (since no one called as promised). There were about 75 people in line waiting to check in. I was told one room ready and the other not. At 5 pm we got a call that other room ready. Rooms: We were very satisfied with our rooms. They are old, but nicely furnished and the views we had were wonderful. Having a bottle of water in the room would have been nice though. Security: We had read there was security to keep out the looky loo mobs not staying there. There was no security and it was very difficult to move around. Not a good place if you are chlosrephobic and don't like crowds. Dining: We didn't have a dinner reservation at any of the restaurants, thinking it would not be a problem for Hotel guest on a Sunday night. However, We were told every single restaurant was sold out all night and they could not accommodate us. There appeared to be plenty of open tables at all restaurants, but no workers. We ended eating an appetizer at one of their bars, which took hours, and not so good. No seating anywhere else throughout hotel. Room Service: There was no water in the room and we did not see a store in hotel that sold it, so we called up for five bottles of water. Our daughter was ill as well. It never arrived. House Keeping: We called in the am to request a noon check out for one of our two rooms, since we got a late check in. The answer was of course "no". However, at 10:40 am, 20 minutes before check out time, housekeeping started banging on our door, despite a privacy sign being placed on door. Needless to say, we won't be staying at this hotel again. Supposed to be a relaxing vacation, but turned into a distressing, frustrating circus, and we couldn't wait to leave. Such a shame, as so beautiful and special. Owners should consider hiring a professional management company to run it, or at least have gm's on the floor. I can't imagine how much money they lose from turning down guests at their restaurants, drinks never served, repeat customers, etc.

Get Me Out of Here We were excited to book 2 rooms and visit the hotel on our way to NYE in Palm Springs. Our objective was to view the beautiful property filled with Christmas lights. THAT did not disappoint but almost everything else (bedding was fine) was terrible. Restaurants were 75% full but officially totally booked "for a week" because of a lack of staffing (during their busiest -- by far -- time of year). The staff they have generally were lacking training but they were overwhelmed as well. Road closures made valet parking a bit of a challenge but the guys working there were the only professional employees that we encountered -- and, I bet they do not work directly for the hotel. The only word we seemed to hear from the staff was "NO." Can we have an outside table -- "NO." Can we get a 1 hour late checkout -- "NO." Can we have bottled water delivered to the rooms (amazingly, there was no bottled water as a courtesy or even to buy) -- "NO" as none was delivered. Ordered a drink 3 times from the same table server and never got it. I had to go to the bar to get any service! The owner should look up the definition of "hospitality" as there was none and judging from his restaurant reviews (check them out!) he apparently could care less. Hostile hostess also became the norm at The Mission Inn. I travel a lot. I do not write many reviews. This was the absolute worst stay of my life. Never felt like their guest, in fact, quite the opposite. As we were leaving my daughter noticed me smiling. If I could still jump up and click my heels as we walked out of the front door -- I would have. Total frustrating disaster. Never again. Oh, by the way, I left a message for the GM to call me (as my courtesy) instead of writing this review. Did he call me back -- "NO."

Lovely but Know where your room is!! 12/19/24 Thursday 6:30 pm Tuba concert out our window so loud we couldn’t hear our in room moving! 219 - room is a lovely size but a bit tired. Bathroom toilet seat needs to be replaced, peeling in several spots. No bar soap for sink had to use shower gel. Shower was fantastic! Hot water and great pressure! Bed and pillows and linens superb! Friday - 8:30 pm street evangelists ((Loud)) “Give me a J … Give me an E.. Give me an S…. You get the picture! Saturday a locals farmers market within walking distance - skip breakfast and buy fresh and have a picnic! So many beautiful choices! Festival of Lights was lovely; however, the Mobs of people were horrible! Felt like a salmon swimming upstream just to get back into the hotel to get to my room.