Thank you for all your responses, very helpful! We decided we'll be staying at Embarc. We've stayed at many Marriotts and while they are great, they sometimes are too "corporate", lacking character. I am reading the reviews and it looks like Embarc Palm Desert has a lot of character and people are loving it. We stayed at Embarc Whistler before, and it's great.
The II confirmation says LK - limited kitchen, but I think it will actually be a full kitchen by the time we stay over the New Year's. Here's a response to a TripAdvisor review mentioning limited kitchen:
Response from EmbarcUWE, General Manager at Embarc Palm Desert
Responded Mar. 15, 2017
Dear Bargara H,
Thank you for your review to the Trip Advisor community. I am thrilled to inform you we are remodeling all of our vacation homes at the moment. Everything in the vacation homes will be new and fresh, including Jenn Aire gas ranges and ovens, and new microwaves, which is much easier to use. We have completed 4 buildings in 2016, we have 4 more buildings in 2017 to do, and the final buildings in 2018. You will love the new look, feel, and efficiency.
Kind Regards,
Amy Kolk.
So looks like it will be good.
It's amazing that a New Year's week 52 was available in II, both at Embarc and Marriott. Is it really low season there? We hope to do some hiking at Joshua Tree.