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Westin Mission Hills or Grand Hyatt in Palm Springs

Westin Mission Hills or Grand Hyatt in Palm Springs

Old Jun 2nd, 2009, 05:48 AM
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Westin Mission Hills or Grand Hyatt in Palm Springs

I have never been to Palm Srpings but will visit later this year (or early next year).

There are 2 hotel choices:the Westin Mission Hills or the Grand Hyatt? The discussions in Fodors are fairly old: the last post regarding the Westin was 2007 and the Hyatt, 2003.

The preference is to stay in a hotel with spacious rooms, a golf course (or with golf courses close by), good restaurants (Italian, continental, seafood) on the premise or within walking distance, more for adults, tennis courts. Having nice swimming pools is not a priority for me.

Any recommendations and comments are most welcome, Thanks in advance!
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Old Jun 2nd, 2009, 08:51 AM
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Do you mean the Hyatt Grand Champions resort in Indian Wells, or the Hyatt Regency in Palm Springs? If it is Grand Champions, then I don't believe either that resort or the Westin Mission Hills have any restaurants within walking distance. Unless you stay near downtown Palm Springs, or near El Paseo in Palm Desert, you won't have restaurants within walking distance.

I've stayed at the villas at the Westin. The property is pretty and well-kept, nothing extravagant. We only ate brunch at the on-site restaurant and it was good. I remember the tennis courts being nice and the Gary Player course is one of DH's favorites. There were not many kids around when stayed there. I've never been to the Hyatt, so can't help you there.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2009, 09:14 AM
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It's the Grand Hyatt Champions resort in Indian Wells.

One thing I do not quite like about Hyatt is their website for reservation: they do not give you a grand total of what a room would cost. On the other hand the Starwood/Westin website gives a clear breakdown of the cost. I know that both places charge a resort fee, but the Hyatt website only mention that in small prints.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2009, 09:29 AM
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Just want to reiterate what lvk has said - there is no walking from resorts to restaurants in Palm Springs, other than downtown PS itself. The resorts are HUGE and spread out, and the restaurants are mainly on the main drag or nearby (Hwy 111).
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Old Jun 2nd, 2009, 09:31 AM
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Just stayed for a long weekend at a villa at the Westin Mission Hills..its ok..to us, its still a tired old resort but it was comped for us so I can't complain.rooms were renovated which is good..grounds are lovely.
I prefer the Grand Champions property better..its been awhile but we really like Indian Wells.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2009, 01:54 PM
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I'd opt for the Hyatt Grand Champions, if that is the other choice to the Westin. If it is the Hyatt in downtown PS, I'd opt for the Westin. The downtown property really needs help.

Grand Champions is next to Marriott's Renaissance Esmeralda. If there were a choice between the two, I'd take the Esmeralda. It is correct that the restaurant choices at both are limited to what is on property, although at the Grand Champions you are in walking distance to Vicki's of Santa Fe on the south side of Hwy 111. The next closest restaurant is probably the Cliff House in La Quinta.

The good news is that at either Grand Champions or Westin there are plenty of solid dining choices at all price levels within easy driving distance.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2009, 06:06 PM
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PS, you should know! I thought they were redeveloping that whole property - the Hyatt and the adjacent shopping center that used to house Saks?
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Old Jun 2nd, 2009, 07:58 PM
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I think Hyatt is in the midst of renovating the hotel, whihc needs a lot of updating and work. The old Palm Springs Fashion Plaza mall complex to which it is attached is a different story.

Redevelopment of the mall, which will probably involve large portions if not all of it being demolished, is mired in local politics and planning issues. John Wessman, a tough old guy who is the owner and an infamous longtime PS developer, is brawling with the city and residents/activists over the planning concept.

It's a shame, because although the mall could never be characterized at any point in history as having been successful, it was a pleasant environment, with nice stores and restaurants. Now, it's like the hotel anchors an abandoned amusement park or something. The tough part is that it is a prime downtown location and is something of a key to its revitalization. If this could not be figured out in the last easy money heyday of real estate investment and speculation, when can it??
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Old Jun 3rd, 2009, 06:44 AM
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PSLocal

Why do you prefer the Hyatt Champion over the Westin Mission Hills, and yet you'd pick the Mariott over the Hyatt Champion?
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Old Jun 3rd, 2009, 07:15 AM
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The Hyatt Grand Champions underwent a $20 million plus renovation within the last two years. It is also part of a two-hotel golf course complex with more recreation and dining options. The Westin is also in a much more wind prone blowsand area.

What I said was that I would pick the Westin over the Hyatt downtown PS location, not the Hyatt Grand Champions. There seemed to be some confusion in the OP about whether you were talking about the Hyatt Grand Champions in Indian Wells, or the Hyatt Regency in downtown PS---two distinctly different properties.

Hope that helps.
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Old Jun 3rd, 2009, 07:18 AM
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PS, rereading johnmango's post, I think he understood what you said (i.e. Hyatt Grand Champions over Westin Mission Hills, Marriott Renaissance Esmerelda over both of them), and wanted to know why. (I do, too, although we have a timeshare at Marriott Desert Springs, so we always stay there).
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Old Jun 3rd, 2009, 07:47 AM
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I already said that in previous post (June 2, 1:14 pm) that it is the Hyatt Champion at Indian Wells that I'm talking about
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Old Jun 3rd, 2009, 08:44 AM
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The two hotels are pretty close (Esmeralda vs Grand Champions) and each one has their supporters.

One thing not mentioned is that with the new Indian Wells Clubhouse there is now an off-premise dining option (although another expensive one). Obviously both hotels have restaurants.

The resort fee for the Hyatt is listed on their website as $25. There is free self-parking which I always use so I'm not sure how much the valet fee is.

The big plus for me is that the gym and spa at the Hyatt Grand are superb.
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Old Jun 3rd, 2009, 11:41 AM
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The Marriott Renaissance Esmeralda website says that in addition to the Resort Fee, the self-parking fee is $12 per day (not talking about valet parking - which is more).

Personlly I think these so-called Resort Fees are ridiculous - because with the fee you get to use their health club (gym) and tennis court, and nothing else. Now you have to pay parking fee on top of that. But all the resorts are like that so there isn't much one can do.
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Old Jun 3rd, 2009, 11:42 AM
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oh ye - gym, tennis court and swimming pool. There are many hotels with swimming pools and gym and do not charge guests extra for that.
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Old Jun 3rd, 2009, 01:14 PM
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Agree about the "Resort Fees." To me, it is just a thinly-disguised scam. All of the hotels got on board with it so fast a few years ago, there is nothing you can do. Another favorite of mine is $10-$15 a day for in-room hi-speed internet access. Funny how Marriott Courtyard can throw it in as part of a $140 room night, but the Four Seasons, charging $450 a night, seems to need to charge for it. The margins on this must be huge. It's outrageous.
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Old Jun 3rd, 2009, 05:33 PM
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If you'd prefer to stay at a hotel that doesn't charge a resort fee, the La Quinta Embassy Suites isn't bad. It's a hotel, not a resort, though.

However I will say I though the gym/spa at Hyatt Grand was the only time I though a resort fee was worthwhile.
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Old Jun 4th, 2009, 06:35 AM
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mlgb ... please clarify when you said "gym/spa".

For me the gym is a room with exercise equipment. While a spa offers massage, beauty treatment, manicure/pedicure etc. The resort fee will usually cover the use of the gym, but not the spa. Are you saying that at Grand Hyatt, the Resort Fee covers spa treatment? that may not make much sense because there are so many types of spa service one can use.
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Old Jun 4th, 2009, 02:40 PM
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No of course you have to pay for the spa treatments, however you can use the locker room, spa outdoor showers, jacuzzi, and the beatiful seating area in the spa setting.
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Old Jul 7th, 2009, 09:56 AM
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The downtown Hyatt Regency Suites Palm Springs is renovating.

Here is some info: http://palmsprings.hyatt.com/hyatt/h...ewsId=22462583

Sounds like this post is intended for the Hyatt Grand Champions. Our property will be great when done, but we aren't going to be fully completed until the beginning of October.
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