PSGlenn

Valet parking uses the 2 story garage next to the entrance. Free self park is in the open lots past the entrance and between the conference center and spa. Most of the time it's realatively close to the building.

brendamc

DEFINITELY take the Hyatt over the 2 Marriotts - the Desert Springs Marriott is a zoo & just not all that upscale as it presumes to be. I've heard good things about the new one, but it's way out by the freeway, which is very remote from most activities, restaurants, etc & can get very windy.

JIMCHI

We have stayed numerous times in the villas at the Hyatt Grand Champions. They are really something, including butler service. They consist of one or two bedrooms, a huge bathroom with large soaking tub and large shower, a large living room/dining room combo with wood burning fireplace (for those who get cold in July !), and a good sized private backyard with an inground hot tub.

RichardInSF

On our stay at the Villas, we saw the "butler" once -- at checkin -- and never again. Of course our 2br villa was spacious for 4 people and was as Jimchi noted, but remember this is not a luxury property, although it is quite nice. I'd go back.

JIMCHI

We paid for the stays. To my knowledge they don't upgrade to the villas. Our butlers came in 3 times a day to refill ice and see if we needed anything. They were immediately reachable by phone if we needed anything in the interim.

RichardInSF

For starters, you should check that the lounge will be open during your scheduled dates as it is often closed in the off-season.

The Regency Club level rooms in this hotel can be quite nice in their own right. Still, I would be disappointed to pay that much extra and find the club closed.

clubman

Thanks Richard, yes indeed I would be extremely upset as well!
I fail to see how they could charge for a Club room if the Club is actually closed...
I plan to stay in September, so I assume this is not off-season but I will definitely check with the hotel.

Threy

Club lounge is one of the nicer ones in the US and on par with many other Resort Regency Clubs.

Nice patio with ample seating just across from the RC.

OCTraveler

As I diamond last year I stayed at this porperty 3 times. Twice was upgraded to very large suites. 3rd time was in a room on the regency club that was somewhat of a "junior" suite. Room had a living room area that was separated from the bedroom by french doors with a fireplace in the living area. I am not sure if all of the rooms on the Regency Club floor are this type. I know the standard rooms are fairly large with separate sitting areas. You may want to ask the hotel directly if the Regency Club rooms are any different from the standard rooms, although someone else here will probably have this answer.

I was there last Sept and the Regency Club was open. It is a nice lounge with at least one "hot" appitizer at night that I can recall. When I stayed there with my family last year they had a pasta dish at night. This saved me the trouble of dragging my 2 small children out to eat. I also just saw that AAA breakfast rates are back. If you do this the breakfast in the restaurant is much better than that in the lounge, so the lounge for breakfast becomes less of a value.

If the rooms are indeed an updraded type and you plan on taking advantage of the breakfast & evening appitizers, then definitely worth $60. If rooms are not an upgraded type and you book the AAA rate with Breakfast, than probably not worth it.

acalispice

Stayed at this property last year as a Diamond...And was upgraded to a villa that was on the golf course. The villa was a 2 BR/2 Bath, with a great room/dining area. Great room had plasma tv, comfortable seating and a fireplace. Each villa also had it's own private jacuzzi in the "backyard" backing up to the golf course. I don't know what the traditional rate for these villas are, but I certainly got my money's worth being upgraded from a standard rate.

The property itself is nice...Especially the workout area. Bathrooms were HUGE with sunken tubs and separate glass showers. The villas were situated in units of 3 or 4, with each uinit sharing a fountained private entry.

RichardInSF

When I stayed there we upgraded to a villa but paid extra to do it, even though I was a diamond at the time. I felt it was worth the extra fee, I believe we negotiated a price on the order of $100 a night more than the cost of the two rooms we had before (but maybe the manager wanted us to stop bothering him!).

You are the first Diamond who has reported a villa upgrade here on FT AFAIK. The villas are very nice and supposedly come with butler service, but we didn't expect much butler service and, indeed, hardly ever saw the butler after check-in.

Villas come with club access, which is a bit less convenient since they are rather far from the club but the isolation and additional space are really great.

HouFlyer

Stayed here during the Coachella Festival. Very nice property...had a regular room facing the golf course with a small balcony. The back patio of the lounge/restaurant reminded me of staying at the Phoenician.

brendamc

What would you say is better? Certainly not the Miramonte, the new old RC is not reopened, the Esmeralda is nothing great,... sure I'd rather be in a casita at La Quinta, but I like the adult pool, the library bar, the suite rooms & dining on the back patio at the Hyatt.

JIMCHI

The resort is quite a ways from downtown Palm Springs. The whole area is resort oriented and there aren't a ton of activities as there would be in a city. However, there is The Living Desert in Palm Desert which is well worth a visit. You could go hot air ballooning, or hiking in the Aqua Caliente Indian Canyons.

We've found the Grand Champions to be a beautiful resort without the crowds you find at the Marriott Desert Springs. The service has always been very attentive. So far as I know all the rooms have been renovated and are larger than a standard Hyatt room. The Villas are truly outstanding.

RichardInSF

The whole Palm Springs area is also, in part, kind of a mini-Las Vegas, there are probably 5 Indian casinos within a 30 minute drive -- but to do most anything out here (like in much of So Cal), you'll need a car. That's in addition to the stuff mentioned by the previous poster.