• Welcome to the FREE TUGBBS forums! The absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 32 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 32 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 32nd anniversary: Happy 32nd Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    All subscribers auto-entered to win all free TUG membership giveaways!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $24,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $24 Million dollars
  • Wish you could meet up with other TUG members? Well look no further as this annual event has been going on for years in Orlando! How to Attend the TUG January Get-Together!
  • Now through the end of the year you can join or renew your TUG membership at the lowest price ever offered! Learn More!
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    Tens of thousands of subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

HGVC Palm Desert (former Embarc property)

tedders

tedders

TUG Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2008
Messages
81
Reaction score
10
Location
Santa Barbara, Ca
Resorts Owned
Marriott Maui Ocean Club
Hi Tuggers, this may seem like a lame, insignificant question, but for those of you that are familiar with this property, do you know if you can take drinks and/or food to any of the adult pools? I noticed this property does not have a bar or restaurant etc. on site, so I’m hoping they would allow guests to bring their own drinks to the pool, as there is no pool drink service that you can pay for.
We are the “discreet” mellow drinkers, not the loud, drunk, partying type. Would like to be able to have a few drinks and snacks by the pool (in plastic cups, of course), without breaking any rules. The lack of food and beverage service at this property seems to be the only drawback for me. I usually stay at the Marriott Desert Springs Villas when vacationing in Palm Desert, and their main pool has food & adult beverages for purchase.
Thank you for any replies.
 
tedders said:
Hi Tuggers, this may seem like a lame, insignificant question, but for those of you that are familiar with this property, do you know if you can take drinks and/or food to any of the adult pools? I noticed this property does not have a bar or restaurant etc. on site, so I’m hoping they would allow guests to bring their own drinks to the pool, as there is no pool drink service that you can pay for.
We are the “discreet” mellow drinkers, not the loud, drunk, partying type. Would like to be able to have a few drinks and snacks by the pool (in plastic cups, of course), without breaking any rules. The lack of food and beverage service at this property seems to be the only drawback for me. I usually stay at the Marriott Desert Springs Villas when vacationing in Palm Desert, and their main pool has food & adult beverages for purchase.
Thank you for any replies.
Click to expand...
I stayed there in December, we used the pool near our building which was not the main pool at the clubhouse. We had the pool and hot tub to ourselves most evenings, so I think if you are discreet and have appropriate containers it shouldn't be an issue.

You could always call the main desk to confirm, the staff were friendly and accommodating.1.760.674.1200
 
Last edited:
It has been awhile since I stayed there, but they did have a sign at the pool that said no glasses. I always assumed I would be able to take cans to the poolside if wanted.
 
No glass or breakable dishes. There is no restaurant or bar here, but even when there is, Embarc locations (Zihuatenajo) allow bringing food & drink with you - of course, cleaning up after oneself is expected.
 
PS - although "rebranded" as HGVC, all Embarc locations remain part of the Embarc Collection (separate from HGVC resorts) and are referred to as Embarc by its members.
 
Cd5, thanks so much for that info. Looking forward to trying this property. Seems much smaller and more laid back than the various Marriott & Westin Palm Desert timeshare properties, which is what I’m looking for this trip. This is a “mother-daughter relax and unwind” trip, so don’t need all the additional amenities / activities.

Since I’m exchanging into this resort through Interval, any chance I could place a room location request, and how far out should I do that? Going in October, and have a 2-bedroom unit. The unit code on the exchange shows UUU2. I know that all 2-bedrooms are on the first floor, but I’m hoping to get an updated unit near one of the adult pools. I’m also aware that exchangers are usually at the bottom of the food chain for unit placement, which is how it should be.

Any other info on this resort I might find helpful? Most reviews / info I can find online are older.

Thanks again!
 
tedders said:
Cd5, thanks so much for that info. Looking forward to trying this property. Seems much smaller and more laid back than the various Marriott & Westin Palm Desert timeshare properties, which is what I’m looking for this trip. This is a “mother-daughter relax and unwind” trip, so don’t need all the additional amenities / activities.

Since I’m exchanging into this resort through Interval, any chance I could place a room location request, and how far out should I do that? Going in October, and have a 2-bedroom unit. The unit code on the exchange shows UUU2. I know that all 2-bedrooms are on the first floor, but I’m hoping to get an updated unit near one of the adult pools. I’m also aware that exchangers are usually at the bottom of the food chain for unit placement, which is how it should be.

Any other info on this resort I might find helpful? Most reviews / info I can find online are older.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...
They're all the same (no units more updated than any other) and have had a kitchen refresh fairly recently. The furthest buildings (near the lap pool) are usually occupied by members who do longer stays so not likely you would get one there (I'm a member and haven't as I only stay a couple of weeks at most).
You can request a unit closer to the other adult pool about 2 weeks out by sending a email to the concierge email in your booking confirmation. The whole property is pretty compact so whatever unit you get, you would be close to the 2 pools, which are fairly small. The large pool is behind the lobby building and not that far from building 17. The resort map makes the site look larger than it is. Everything is close walking distance including the golf club and Ralph's grocery store & mall with some restaurants.
1000141179.jpg
 
cd5 said:
They're all the same (no units more updated than any other) and have had a kitchen refresh fairly recently. The furthest buildings (near the lap pool) are usually occupied by members who do longer stays so not likely you would get one there (I'm a member and haven't as I only stay a couple of weeks at most).
You can request a unit closer to the other adult pool about 2 weeks out by sending a email to the concierge email in your booking confirmation. The whole property is pretty compact so whatever unit you get, you would be close to the 2-3 pools, which are fairly small. The large pool is behind the lobby building. The resort map makes it look larger than it is. Everything is close walking distance including the golf club and Ralph's grocery store & mall with some restaurants.View attachment 122636
Click to expand...
Perfect! Thanks so much for your info!
 
  • Like
Reactions: cd5
cd5 said:
Have added the resort map for you
Click to expand...
Sorry! One last question! I noticed that the confirmation from II indicates “2 Twin/1 King” in second bedroom. Can I request a unit with 2 king beds, or will that be based on the actual unit that was deposited? We’ll make do with 2 twins, but would prefer a king. We are just 2 adults staying in the unit.

Thanks again for your time!

~Lynda
 
We stayed there last fall and enjoyed our visit. We had a second floor Terrace unit in building 17. Even though the unit looked over the road and the even units, the road is a dead end so it was very private and quiet. As @cd5 indicated, the odd numbered buildings are preferred (although I heard building 20 has newer units. But cannot confirm.) My concern about the even units and adult pool units would be the construction noise from the wave pool they are building nextdoor.

No laundry in the unit but there was a laundry in each building and give we hardly saw anyone except sitting on their terrace, there was never any issue with laundry or pool seating.

Overall we only saw one couple at a time when visiting the pools and always had the hot tub to ourselves. We look forward to returning when we can find time.

We arrived after a fall rainstorm, so the desert flowers were blooming. The landscaping is quite nice.
 
Building 20 houses "the casitas" which are many more points than the other units. They have their own washer/dryer and yes, are more recent than the others.
I last went to the resort last May and there wasn't really any construction noise (yet?). The DSRT Surf Club is further up the road (about even with the golf club's buildings) and Embarc is surrounded by the golf course itself on all sides so not really DSRT's immediate "neighbour". There is a discount offered for golf if one is a golfer...
The units on the second floor are all 1 bedroom units.
 
tedders said:
Sorry! One last question! I noticed that the confirmation from II indicates “2 Twin/1 King” in second bedroom. Can I request a unit with 2 king beds, or will that be based on the actual unit that was deposited? We’ll make do with 2 twins, but would prefer a king. We are just 2 adults staying in the unit.

Thanks again for your time!

~Lynda
Click to expand...
There are no units with 2 kings... 1 bedroom has the king bed and the other 2 twins.
 
Zenichiro said:
@Clifbell Has a great video of the property worth watching.

Click to expand...
Nice video, but one of his next ones is "HGV Max keeps getting better". I'll have to disagree with his opinion on that one.
PS - the sales here are standard boilerplate timeshare fantasy story creators. I'd bail on that, resale is the way to go...
 
What is the best HGV property in Palm Springs? I was thinking there was 2 for some reason
 
We had a one bedroom unit in building 16, second floor corner right above the L, laundry room. Note there aren't elevators so I had to make a few trips up the stairs because my wife doesn't travel light :), we were only there 4 nights. The parking was a good distance from the units but I unloaded after parking in one of the pullouts, indicated by the black rectangles on the road. It's only for loading/ unloading, the maintenance staff use them for golf carts.

Our patio overlooked the family pool and golf course, we never heard any construction noise, the wave pool complex is on Country Club adjacent to the shopping center. I think it will be a nice entertainment addition once completed. The patio was nice with a large table and four chairs, the fireplace appeared to be disconnected, at least I couldn't find a way to turn it on. There was an outdoor shower on the patio, but the access door was in the bedroom, odd.

We attended the update but the salesman couldn't make any headway with me, so he gave up and gifted us after 30 minutes. I used the $200 gift card for a round of golf and lunch at the clubhouse (highly recommend), the remaining spent getting some date shop gifts.

Overall we enjoyed our stay, I would rate it 9 out of 10.
 
We stayed in a Two Bedroom last year and it was the one king, two twin configuration. We just reserved and Two Bedroom Perm Lockoff for next year and confirmed with the resort that it is one King in each of the two bedrooms. Hopefully that is what we get :)
 
cd5 said:
You're actually correct. The 2 bed-lockoff does have 2 kings. @tedders , sorry, I forgot about the lockoffs!
Click to expand...
No worries!! Is there anyway of knowing if my exchange is a lock-off with the 2 Kings, besides calling the resort to ask? The exchange code shows UUU2; not sure if that’s any type of an identifier, or if this resort even honors room codes when exchanging in. This stay isn’t until October, so they probably don’t even show the reservation yet. Thanks again!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top