TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

marriott "ambassador" here - I've stayed at many bonvoy properties over the years. I would not put this hotel on my list of places to return/recommend. look, this is a gigantic place - a mega resort. the...re are A LOT of people around at all times. it's like being on a cruise ship. kids screaming, music blaring -- the constant noise of humanity is unrelenting. which is fine if that's what you want. but if you're looking for a serene, quiet, peaceful, relaxing escape- do not go here. there's zero charm, no personalization, and nothing special. aside from the mountains, it could be anywhere, USA. and it was extremely disappointing and overwhelming. the good/not bad: the free self parking was great. the room was nice enough - I feel like it was clean, but could use a good scrubbing, if that makes sense. the room was pretty generic, but I did have a nice view and it was relatively quiet as it was at the very far end of the property. overall not bad. the front desk people seemed a little harried, but overall the staff was very nice - from the housekeepers constantly in the hallways to the starbucks staff to the pool attendants. I can't imagine dealing with so many people and being that nice. flamingos! the bad/not good: a saturday at this pool is chaos defined. it's just total mayhem and a live DJ plus people partying plus kids everywhere is a confusing scene. worse, the pools themselves were dirty. like really gross with stuff floating in the water. I ordered a bowl from the pool bar and it had a hair in it. the gym was a great space, but some of the equipment was old and questionable. a resort of this size, price, and alleged caliber should have top of the line equipment. these treadmills were TERRIBLE: outdated, some not working properly/at all, and dirty (don't mean just sweaty from the last person). too much trash/half eaten room service sit in the hallways. again, this place is too big. they can't keep up with it all. it's not the staff's fault. the shower door in my room drove me nuts. there was no gap between the door and the floor so the bathmat wouldn't stay in place. trivial, sure, but somehow really obnoxious. I was gone until 4pm and no housekeeping came to my room. I must have been at the end of the rotation. for me it was an impersonal and stressful experience from start to finish. unfortunately I was glad to leave.

The JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa is as desirable of a vacation destination, today, as it was when it opened (and we stayed there) in February 1987. I’d struggle to think of a year, between 19...87, and today, that we missed a vacation at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa. The resort is beautiful, with just about every amenity that you might want (except for the ocean, but, there is plenty of water, with lakes and lagoons). It is well maintained, immaculate, and largely modern. Some aspects of the resort appear dated, worn, and not capitalized. The staff are amongst the greatest asset of the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa; they are warm, welcoming, professional, and efficient; many are very long time, career, Marriott Associates. The rooms are nice, updated, and immaculate, with the need for some modern features. The spa, pools, and golf are superb. There are a number of restaurants, although some of our favorite restaurants from years gone by, are long gone, like Ristorante Tuscany. The quality of the food that we ate was exceptional, albeit expensive, by resort standards (e.g. breakfast buffet = $40.00, a hamburger = $24.00). The JW Marriott Desert Springs has periods where it is a convention machine (no negative connotations, here), and the hotel appears to do an exceptional job managing large groups and meetings. While we were guests of the JW Marriott Desert Springs, a luxury real estate company, “The Agency” held a large meeting (one with a LOT of attendees) at the resort; the JW Marriott Desert Springs appeared to do an exceptional job hosting that meeting; we saw meetings and events, indoors and outdoors, many that we wanted to crash (but, doing that is not consistent with our personal values), the outdoor receptions looked exceptional, the attendees appeared to be having a great time, and we were told by a few attendees that the food and hospitality were exceptional. I will say this about “The Agency” attendees, we met a number of them at the pool, and they were kind, friendly, professional, and fun to be around. If I were to reflect on one single exceptional attribute of the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa, of the many attributes of the JW Marriott Desert Springs, I’d say, with unwavering confidence, that it is the resort's current General Manager. This is a man/role who really is the equivalent of the Mayor of a city; there are a lot of moving parts and people at the JW Marriott Desert Springs, and those parts and people, are as precise as a finely tuned Swiss clock. Further, the General Manager is a hands-on, in the trenches, General Manager, who we’ve seen in just about every nook and cranny of the resort; I’d find it hard to believe that he ever sits behind his desk, he appears to manage the resort on his two feet, with cellphone in hand, monitoring the experience of his guests, and staying in close contact with his employees. I know a lot of Marriott General Managers, this GM is absolutely exceptional. Our vacations at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa are relaxing and flawless. We look forward to returning, next year. Regarding the birds in the Aviary, which several other TripAdvisor reviewers have commented about, I wish the leadership/owners of the JW Marriott Desert Springs would relocate the birds, throughout the lobby, as was previously the case. In that era, the birds had a lot of human interaction, they brought unlimited smiles to adult and children guests, and the birds were not cooped up in that Aviary. It seems clear to me, that the JW can do better by the birds, and bring them back to civilization; they previously were a hit, when they were in the lobby. I wish the JW would reopen the Springs Pool, which is closed, and seems to be a long-ago byproduct of the Covid 19 Pandemic, and reduced staffing, and brings the birds back into the lobby. The birds are missed in the lobby.

I stayed here for a business trip and it was fabulous. The rooms are HUGE! Really comfortable beds and the rooms have everything you need. The bathroom is fabulous with a separate shower and bath. The bal...cony on the pool side has amazing views of the property and the mountains. There are lots of places to eat and drink and the staff are all really helpful. The gym and fitness area is huge and there is loads of equipment. The bar was not open at the pool when I was there but it was no big deal. The staff were all really helpful and welcoming.

This hotel is not up to JW standards. We visit a lot of JWs and this one is definitely lacking. We stayed in a king suite for 7 nights and were so disappointed. The rooms are so outdated, quite literally f...alling apart. The minute we walked in our room we noticed one of the dresser drawers was ajar. We tried to shut it and realized there were dirty clothes and garbage stuck in it. There were also long, black hairs all over the room. When we opened one of the sliding glass doors, the handle fell off and laid on the floor the rest of our stay, completely ignored by housekeeping. Our room was near the ballroom, and music from events was so loud and lasted until midnight. There was also a wedding party staying across the hall from us who had an after party from 1-3 am. We tried calling security because of the noise and they did nothing. Half the chairs at the main pool are “reserved”, you have to pay for them. We did end up reserving chairs because we did not want to deal with the stress and hassle of trying to get down to the pool early. Service at the pool is very slow, even in reserved chairs. Even the pool bars open at 10, chair service never started before 11. The hotel offers a lot of amenities, but the are very limited times and close early. I will say the boats are fun and Mikado, the Japanese steakhouse, was fantastic.

Do not believe the negative reviews about this resort! I read some reviews on TripAdvisor just before we left and I was very worried. They are absolutely not true. This resort is fabulous! We left without ...a single complaint. The resort is beautiful, it is clean, the rooms are modern and updated and the bed is so comfortable. We stayed in a basic king room. The staff is friendly and helpful and there is so much to do! We played mini golf, Pickleball, tennis, rode bikes, went to the driving range and had a wonderful round of golf with friends. Our favourite place to eat was the lounge/sushi bar in the lobby. That was so much fun and has such a great vibe and beautiful views. We would 100% recommend this resort to friends and can't wait to go back. Enjoy your stay!