Willows Historic Palm Springs Inn

Stayed 1 night here had an excellent experience. We were greeted by Daniel, he was friendly and informative. This place is beautiful. We got free ordourves and free breakfast with our stay. if you ar3 stopping through palm Springs, this is a great place.

This is one of those reviews that you’d want to actually take your time and read before booking to save yourself from a complete nightmare! This story belongs on the nonexistent show ‘Hotel Nightmare’ where Gordon Ramsey screams and yells in his loud British accent at incompetent business owners. Get comfy and read the horrible experience I had here:
I booked my stay at the Willows for two nights for $ 1400 (crazy, right?). I arrived on a Friday evening and checked-​in around 11pm. The place is so quaint and small that they don’t even have a front desk to check you in, instead the person on staff checks you in within your bedroom by signing a guest registration card. I stayed in the loft room that they offer, which has a small door that opens into a stairwell that you have to take to get to the main part of your room. I get comfy, take a bath after a long and hectic day, and finally start to relax. I turn down and go to sleep shortly after midnight.
Then things get weird, very weird.
In complete darkness at 4 a.m. I am woken up by the noise of my door being fumbled with and opening. I thought I was dreaming. No way could it have been unlocked. I was staying there alone and I double checked to make sure it was locked before I went to sleep. The bed of the room faces the top of the staircase, and to my complete shock I see two black shadowed figures standing right in front of my bed. I start screaming thinking this is some sort of forced entry or robbery. No one called my room to wake me up and to approve of letting TWO STRANGERS into my room. I am shocked that the staff didn’t even hear me screaming and come to the rescue after just letting two unapproved people into my room. What kind of establishment is this?!
It was a very awkward situation and one I will never forget.
Finally, I get up a few hours later and speak to the manager, Harmony. She is mortified by the story I am telling her. She tells me that she has worked there for 11 years as the manager and she has never had anything like this happen. I tell her I do not feel safe here and I am very much shaken up by the entire situation. She was as professional as she could have been and very empathetic, so I thought. She tells me that if I want I can gather my things and check out now, not using my last night, and she will refund me for my entire stay. I didn’t even have to ask, she offered immediately. Great. Now that is some good customer service.
I pack up as quickly as I can and get out of there. No other hotel had availabilities because it fell under the weekend of Coachella Festival. So now my entire weekend was ruined and I had to drive all the way back to LA, where I live.
A few weeks go by and I am wondering why my credit card has not been refunded. I call and speak to Gordon who informs me that Harmony, the manager, is not in today but will be the following day. I call the following day and speak to Harmony. To my horror she tells me the owner of Willows Inn has rejected my refund and that she is resubmitting it to them to get it taken care of. She tells me she will be in contact with me by the end of the day. Well, a week passes and no sign from her. I call again the following week and am told that the owners once again have rejected my refund. I ask her what is to be done and how can I contact the owner to get this problem solved. I end up sending a very long, detailed email to the hotel’s email and even have to threaten legal action to be done since I was verbally promised by the hotel manager for a full refund.
Still no response from my email… I call again and speak to Harmony… she tells me that they cannot refund it due to the fact that I booked this room through
and that I have to contact the website for the refund. So while at work I waste almost 45 minutes of my time to contact
and the supervisor informs me that they have already been in contact with the business owner at Willows Inn and they are the ones refusing to give them the refund, which is why they cannot issue me a refund.
then tells me that they are not the entity that charges the customers booking, instead the hotels do.
I check my credit card statement and see that it is actually the hotel that was the one that charged me!
Why the runaround and why is the business owner and the manager LYING to me ??? I find it VERY odd and highly unprofessional. I am being swindled out of my money that they owe me (not a small amount at all) and the owner refuses to give me for their mistake and their manager’s word. I will have to contact my lawyer, the Better Business Bureau, Palm Springs travel authority, the city of Palm Springs and more. This is not how a business should be run. Shame the owner is so greedy and cannot run a business properly. I tried to settle this quietly with them first before resorting to reviews, but the greed of this business owner needs to be known to other potential guests.

Couldn’t get in, this trip, but we got a personal tour from the manager. What an amazingly beautiful place! Hand-​painted vaulted ceilings, and an open-​air breakfast room cooled by it’s own 50-​ft waterfall… You’ll never want to leave! Check out the photos of the rooms on their website, each one luxury-​appointed. One of the most lovely inns I’ve ever seen!

This has to be the best inn in Palm Springs. We’ve been there a few times since it opened in 1996. The last time was last weekend. We stayed in the Marion Davies room. So gorgeous. View of the pool and South Palm Springs and the mountains. It’s a pricey place but if you have the dollars, it’s worth every cent. The grounds are beautiful. Hike up the hill behind the Willows and sit on the rock Einstein sat on and come up with a vision of something (something good, please). Walk to town; restaurants are blocks away. Right around the corner is the Palm Springs Museum of Art. Three course homemade breakfast. Can you tell I love the Willows. I will say, once you’ve been to the Willows, you’ll be spoiled. You’ll forever compare everywhere you stay afterward to the Willows and nowhere will be good enough.

This is without a doubt one of the finest lodging establishments in Palm Springs. My husband and I rent out home in the desert and so we try different places when we are there now. What makes the Willows so special is partly it’s location and level of service, not to mention a stunning property with views! You have gated parking, a full gourmet breakfast daily by their outdoor waterfall and to top it off the wine and cheese hour is one of the absolute best we’ve been too. If they add afternoon tea — I would never leave! Every amenity and detail has been thought out for you, so you can just go and enjoy! it’s intimate and small and perfect for couples. You have use of the pool and hot tub and you can hike the property with some amazing views of Palm Springs. You are just a block or two from the Palm and Indian Canyon Roads, close to Starbucks and the Coffee Bean (and my favorite Cielo is a manageable walk).
Our favorite rooms are overlooking the pool area and are the most reasonable. If you are concerned with cost, don’t be because they really deliver what you receive. Go and celebrate that romantic occasion! We will return.

The Willows is a cozy inn tucked away on beautiful grounds up against a mountain overlooking town. The rooms are all unique and the inn is very private. It is across the street from Le Vallauris french restaurant so you can even get room service from there! The 3-​course breakfast by the waterfall is a nice touch. The grounds are nicely coiffed a short hike will lead you to Einstein’s bench.

This is a lovely little inn screened from the street by some foliage and a large iron gate. Each room is individually furnished. We booked the Waterfall room which is bright and cheerful up a small flight of stairs. The dressers are vintage light bird’s eye maple. The writing table is an old sewing machine with custom fitted glass top. An old sled bed was very comfortable. The fireplace works well, very good for my little cold:-P:-)
The grounds are wonderful! It is vertical, going way up along a path on the rock face to the Donnelly House (registered historic building). The entire area is landscaped with lots of flowers even in winter. They have little rest stops along the way to sit down. The highest areas look east over the town towards distant mountains.. great for viewing sunrise (pictures).
Very nice included breakfast plus an evening wine tasting.
This is a unique property with character, not a formula chain. Well worth the experience.

Words cannot describe the Inn just beautiful and or the staff that works for them the most beautiful experience we have ever had. Thank you.

I already loved Palm Springs enough… now I’ve found the perfect getaway spot.
By chance I happened upon this historic, cozy, high end, luxurious inn — and after 3 nights I didn’t want to leave. From beginning to end I was in awe of the grounds, the kindness of the staff, the amenities, and oh my goodness… the food!
The three course breakfast is divine and the entire experience oozes luxury and comfort. The pool is gorgeous and perfectly situated, and the rooms are each unique, and fantastic. You won’t want to leave the high thread count bedding, and the ridiculous mattresses.
Another high point is that we were walking distance from the heart of Palm Springs and all that it has to offer, so you can park and explore without needing to drive everywhere. I also suggest the brief hike to gain a view of the PS vistas from the top of the waterfall.
I could gush about this place all day, but it’s one of those places you simply need to experience for yourself, I just hope it doesn’t become: too: popular so we can’t get reservations again.
Big bonus points to anybody who surprises their significant other to a getaway here! :)

This is a perfect short getaway from LA. Peaceful, beautiful, and relaxing! From the very moment we arrived, I was in awe! This property is even more beautiful in person. My husband and I stayed in the Loft which on the second floor in the main house. We snacked on the dried fruits and beverages that were stocked in our rooms! The bed was so comfortable! It was the best sleep I’ve had in a long time. In the morning we could see and hear the running waterfall from the window of our room– ahhhhhhhhhh.
Breakfast is served between 8 – 10 in front of a tall beautiful waterfall with soft Frank Santra music in the background. Romantic? The 3 course breakfast was absolutely delicious — served fresh and hot! One of my favorite things about this property is that it has a little pathway you can hike up (part of their property surrounded by lavender and palm trees) to see the rest of the city.
During the afternoon hours, the staff brought out a tray of decadent horderves (grapes, cheese, crackers, vege sticks with dips, shrimp cocktail, and your choice of wine). SOOOO YUMMY. We enjoyed this time meeting other guests (regulars) who schooled us on the history of this mansion (Albert Einstein stayed here as a regular guest, hence the Albert Einstein room and the library room.
The Willows is conveniently located near the downtown strip. It is so close (2 blocks) that we didn’t need to drive anywhere!
The only downside is that this place is a bit pricey 300−600/night. But as Laura (previous reviewer) mentioned, everything is INCLUDED in the price — 24 hour house keeper, tuck you in and fluff your sheets at night, gourmet breakfast, horderves served a silver platter, 20 000 000 thread count sheets, and hassle free check in/​check out — no papers to sign or show. So is it worth it? I CAN’T IMAGINE STAYING ANYWHERE ELSE in Palm Springs!
LOVED IT!

Historic gem in beautiful Palm Springs. The husband & I were blessed to stay because of a Living Social deal. Food was beautiful & oh-​so yummy. The Loft room was perfect! Hope to return one day soon!

Just got back from a 2 night stay at the Willows, thanks to the kindness of my 3 siblings and brother-​in-​law (it was a wedding gift). Staying at the Inn is more like staying in a friend of a (well-​off) friend’s family’s home. There is no front desk, and it is a historic piece of property in Palm Springs that includes a pool and jacuzzi, hors d’oeuvres in the evening, and a 3-​course breakfast. The room we stayed in (the Acanthus) was comfortable with a good-​sized bathroom, although it wasn’t quite as bright and spacious as it looks on the reservations page of the website. The Inn is located within walking distance to the center of town, which means we didn’t have to take the car out at all.
I am giving it 4 stars due to personal preferences. While it was a lovely place to stay and everyone is very friendly, it is definitely one of the more expensive choices for accommodation (perhaps why all the other guests were 30+ years our seniors)! If we were retired, had some extra $$ to spend, and/​or were celebrating a special event, we would definitely consider staying here, again.

This is my favorite Tuscany get away in PS. My husband and I were the only couple staying at the 8 rm villa. We had our own personal butler serving us wine and appetizers (included in price) as well as in the morning our own chef prepared us a 3 course breakfast as we sat next to the fireplace and listened to the waterfalls (also included in the price). I’m going to throw my 50^th B-​Day party there and by out the rooms, its like having your own Villa with a full time staff just for you and your guests.
Can’t wait to come back

I can’t tell you anything about this Inn or my fiancé will kill me. If he even knew I was writing this review he would use bodily force to stop me. He wants The Willows to remain our little secret, but I feel the desperate need to give credit where credit is due. I just couldn’t even begin to — oh God he’s coming!