The Ace Hotel Palm Springs Will Open Tomorrow

February 11, 2009 at 2:31 PM | by juliana | Comments (3)

An outdoor fireplace/meet-up area with an installation from artist Stan Bitters at Ace Hotel Palm Springs.

On Monday, we braved the rain (and later, a hail storm) to drive on down to Palm Springs to check out the Ace Hotel Palm Springs and Swim Club which will be opening to guests tomorrow. It wasn't an ideal day to check the place out as rain is not what you usually find in Palm Springs. Also, the hotel's check-in area and restaurant and bar were still undergoing some light construction.

But the good news is most of the rooms are finished and they are very cool.

The Ace Hotel has sprung from the loins of an old Howard Johnson. The motel's layout was retained--three separate, two-story concrete buildings--but the rooms were extensively remodeled. The hotel did away with the carports attached to the ground floor rooms and put in small patios (some with their fireplaces). Walls were knocked down in some rooms to adjoin two rooms together, essentially creating suite space for The Ace.

More good news on the rooms? Free WiFi, flat-screen TVs, Rudy's Barbershop toiletries, and fully-stocked minibars.

Outside, the giant parking lot was converted into a pool area or Swim Club. Guests will be able to use the pools, drink at the bar, chillax in cabanas and at night, ascend a star-gazing deck for some astronomy lessons. Or just to gaze at the mountains which seem just inches away from you. To unwind, gherts (tents) will be open for massages.

The Ace also created a magnificent event space that will do double-duty as a lounge/library/hang-out area when not being used for events. And a lounge pool was especially created for this area. If you aren't a guest, you can still use the Swim Club but for a daily fee.

The biggest hit of The Ace Palm Springs will be the King's Highway restaurant (resurrected from the old Denny's) and the Amigo Room, a dark chill bar without any pretension. No bouncer will ask for your room key. You just walk straight up to the bar and order a proper drink and take it back to your peso-covered table.

Since it was such a dreary wet day and since there was still some construction going on, we don't feel as if we can properly review this joint for you. But we can show you some photos. The hotel is still on track to open tomorrow with rooms starting at the low, low rate of $89 a night. A two-night minimum is required on the weekends.

If you end up staying at the Ace Hotel Palm Springs, let us know how your stay went.

Comments (3)

Return to » The Ace Hotel Palm Springs Will Open Tomorrow

As a PR professional in the travel/hospitality industry, I am always eager to try new hotels and enjoy taking advantage of discounted rates in the initial launch phase of a new property. Having seen several recent articles promoting the opening of the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, my girlfriends and I chose Ace anticipating the hotel was in full-swing. It most certainly is not. Unfortunately, we quickly discovered any expectations of what most people consider to be normal hotel procedures and accommodations are not part of Ace's vision.

The laid-back hipster vibe and unique decor is defintiely a welcome change and invites the same characteristics in its clienetelle. It's the lack of communication on the hotel's part that left us with a bad taste in our mouths. We didn't mind that they were still in a soft-open phase, but it would have been nice to been made aware of this when making the reservation, or at least at check-in.

Upon arrival we were surprised to see workers decorating the lobby, laying down carpet, painting, and other pre-opening tasks. Since our room wasn't ready yet, the friendly GM, gave us a tour, upon which we discovered half the grounds weren't completed yet.

When we got to our room, we noticed that the two twin beds against the wall had no bedding, but assumed they would be made up that evening as four of us were clearly present at check-in. While getting ready to go out for the evening, we discovered that there were only two towels for four people. We called the front desk and waited half an hour for delivery of two more. We also requested ice since the ice machines weren't working yet and the ipod connection cord for the speakers - we were surprised and annoyed when the front desk clerk suggested we come up to the lobby for them. Customer service definitely needs some work.

Upon returning from dinner we were dismayed to see that the two twin beds hadn't been made-up and called the front desk to remedy the situation. We were informed that sheets were in a chest in the room and made to feel like it was normal for guests to make-up their own beds!

After discovering that the garbage bag inside the trunk only contained sheets and pillowcases, we called back to inquire about blankets. A man was sent down with bedding and he made the beds. Luckily, the beds were comfy and we got a good night's sleep. The shower was quite nice and we appreciated the good products.

When asked how our stay was upon check-out, we brought up the bedding snafu and our general confusion with the "do-it-yourself" tone the front desk gave us. A man behind the desk launched into a pseudo-explanation of how thy want the place to feel like your home, and that if you need something, to come get it yourself (!). He then asked if we brought back the iPod cord. We told him we left it in the room and he replied "well, you're supposed to bring it back up, but I guess we can get it." We had no way of knowing this and is something that should be explained at check-in.

All in all, it was just a weird experience. The Ace does a poor job at marketing itself with the true intent of its offerings and I felt misled by the Web site. If you know what to expect before coming to stay here, you'll have a better experience - standard hotel it is not. I might come back in a few months and see how things have changed, but based upon our experience and the explanation of it, I'm not sure I would stay again.

Self-parking is $8 per day (boo). Poolslide drinks are cheap (yay).

We stayed at the Ace Hotel a few weeks ago and think it's another great addition to the cool Boutique Hotels Palm Springs. Loved that the air conditioning blows cold because it was 112 degrees! It's a funky hotel and we didn't have the issue of our room not being cleaned. I was annoyed by the $8 day parking fee but otherwise loved the hotel and the pool. We booked through Palm Springs Vacation Packages and got a great price and free tickets to the Air Museum!

I guess we can't expect much from a newly opened hotel, but the Ace Palm Springs Hotel seems to offer a very reasonable low rate. It depends on your budget, there are many great Hotels Palm Springs CA to choose from.

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