Desert Springs Villas II - Troubling TripAdvisor Review

[LeesOfTheRockies]

I recently returned from a wonderful stay at Marriott’s Desert Springs Villas II in Palm Desert and took a peek at the Trip Advisor reviews to see what my fellow vacationers had to say about the property. I was surprised to come across one titled “Cockroaches everywhere - avoid this property” where the reviewer claimed the unit was literally infested with the bugs — they were in the dishwasher, in the coffee maker, etc., during the January stay. The reviewer’s family complained to management and was moved to another unit, where they supposedly encountered more cockroaches. I was highly skeptical, since the units for my two stays — both at Jasmine Court — were exceedingly clean and free from insects, and I began to suspect the reviewer was angling for a free stay or compensation from Marriott. There was nothing in the reviewer’s other postings that seemed to indicate this might be their style.

Has anyone else ever encountered an insect problem at Desert Springs Villas? This property is a close second to Kauai Lagoons for my favorite MVC properties, and part of me wants to come to its defense.

 

[VacationForever]

There is cricket issue in the desert in summer months. I suspect the reviewer stayed during the summer.

 

[lizap]

Love this resort. Agree with you- something sounds 'fishy' here...

 

[GetawaysRus]

DSV2 is my home resort. We've stayed there at least 4 times, both in the main section of the resort and most recently at Jasmine Court. We've never encountered a bug problem. Our rooms have always been spotlessly clean.

 

[Ann in CA]

We were just there in January, have stayed there a number of times in every season, and have never encountered bugs of any type inside the units. We have never been in Jasmine Court, but can't imagine Marriott allowing a cockroach problem ( if there was one) to persist in two different units. That would be quite surprising.

 

[pedro47]

Love this resort. Agree with you- something sounds 'fishy' here...

I agree this is a very strange review. We have stayed at a many of Marriott Hotels and Resorts over the past thirty- five(35) plus years and we have never had this problem. Furthermore, no Marriott Manager, would be allow to retain his/her position if this problem occurred on a Marriott property.

 

[sue1947]

I've seen similar reviews on tripadvisor for other timeshares and it's one reason I don't use them for timeshares. They always seem to be at places with sales presentations and I think these are people upset at the sales presentations. My first timeshare exchange was into a LV timeshare that was doing the weekend free promotions to get people to the sales presentations and the reviews were horrible. The tug reviews were good and those are the ones that turned out to be correct.

Sue

 

[dougp26364]

I've become VERY wary of Tripadvisor reviews over the years even though we contribute to the site frequently. I am especially skeptical of any timeshare reviews, mostly of those that complain about filthy conditions without corresponding photographic evidence.

We've stayed in several MVC resorts over the years, including DSV II, and have NEVER encountered a significant insect problem. The only time there's been any insect issue was when we baked a cake and left it on the counter at our home resort of Ocean Pointe. The cake attracted those very tiny ants. They had an exterminator there very quickly after our call and apology for being so careless leaving the cake out on the counter in a Florida resort.

There are to many people who use the internet to attempt to extort benefits from companies. You have to read several reviews and read between the lines of most to get an idea of what's real and what's exaggerated.

 

[bazzap]

I've become VERY wary of Tripadvisor reviews over the years even though we contribute to the site frequently. I am especially skeptical of any timeshare reviews, mostly of those that complain about filthy conditions without corresponding photographic evidence.

We've stayed in several MVC resorts over the years, including DSV II, and have NEVER encountered a significant insect problem. The only time there's been any insect issue was when we baked a cake and left it on the counter at our home resort of Ocean Pointe. The cake attracted those very tiny ants. They had an exterminator there very quickly after our call and apology for being so careless leaving the cake out on the counter in a Florida resort.

There are to many people who use the internet to attempt to extort benefits from companies. You have to read several reviews and read between the lines of most to get an idea of what's real and what's exaggerated.

I generally just focus and make decisions on the reviews, which are neither the best nor the worst.
Having said that, I have encountered cockroaches and similar undesirable problems at resorts which otherwise I have found to be excellent.
If I am visiting areas, e.g in tropical countries, I am more "open mided" about what I find to be reasonable and acceptable.

 

[dougp26364]

I generally just focus and make decisions on the reviews, which are neither the best nor the worst.
Having said that, I have encountered cockroaches and similar undesirable problems at resorts which otherwise I have found to be excellent.
If I am visiting areas, e.g in tropical countries, I am more "open mided" about what I find to be reasonable and acceptable.

I agree about being "open minded". We once had a mouse at a non-MVC resort in Lake Tahoe. The resort was in a wooded area. We've also encountered the occasional spider in Sedona, AZ and the aforementioned ants in FL. You'll never keep all insects out of the units at resorts. So long as it's not an infestation issue we've never been overly concerned.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I own at DSV1 and DSV2 and have stayed there a dozen times. I've seen crickets but never cockroaches.

The TA poster said that they posted pictures. But there weren't any. I suspect that the review was bogus and/or intentionally malicious.

 

[dioxide45]

We have had bugs and lizards in our unit before. By no means an infestation though. We had co-workers book a getaway through us once and they had a bug on their counter and they complained. The resort gave them a $50 credit that they cashed out at the end. We don't offer them getaways any more.

 

[GetawaysRus]

Its a little off topic, but that last post reminds me that we once had a scorpion in our room at Canyon Villas. It was really hard to spot against the tan carpet. Fortunately, my wife, the fearless woman that she is, spotted it and promptly smooshed it with the heel of her shoe. The poor thing didn't stand a chance.

It was quite memorable, and we still laugh about it now. But that was Phoenix, after all, and not Palm Desert.

 

[jlp879]

At a stay at the Four Seasons Troon North timeshare in Scottsdale, we had a visit from a tarantula. I had never seen a spider the size of a dinner plate before, I was in shock, and called the maintenance dept. right away.

They came right away with a broom and a dustpan to shoo it away. We were in a ground floor unit and the guy said they have them all the time.

I've since seen one on a hiking trail about 10 minutes from my home. I didn't ask the resort for compensation of any kind.

 

[Bogeygirl]

At a stay at the Four Seasons Troon North timeshare in Scottsdale, we had a visit from a tarantula. I had never seen a spider the size of a dinner plate before, I was in shock, and called the maintenance dept. right away.

They came right away with a broom and a dustpan to shoo it away. We were in a ground floor unit and the guy said they have them all the time.

I've since seen one on a hiking trail about 10 minutes from my home. I didn't ask the resort for compensation of any kind.

Its for these reasons that I won't stay in a ground floor unit.

 

[SueDonJ]

At a stay at the Four Seasons Troon North timeshare in Scottsdale, we had a visit from a tarantula. I had never seen a spider the size of a dinner plate before, I was in shock, and called the maintenance dept. right away.

They came right away with a broom and a dustpan to shoo it away. We were in a ground floor unit and the guy said they have them all the time.

I've since seen one on a hiking trail about 10 minutes from my home. I didn't ask the resort for compensation of any kind.

WHAT?!?! When we were kids we tried out every kind of "pet" imaginable - dogs, cats, guinea pigs, chameleons, white mice, etc. My brothers had a terrarium in their bedroom with tarantulas (feeding time with live crickets was AWFUL to listen to from the bedroom next door!) But their spiders weren't any bigger than the palm of my hand and even that's a stretch. THE SIZE OF A DINNER PLATE?!?! That's the most frightening thing I've ever heard, gives me the shivers just thinking about it.

 

[klpca]

A few years ago I shared a bathroom with a very large Cane spider at the Kona Hawaiian Resort. My husband dealt with it. I did not feel the need to write a tripadvisor review to report it. People are funny.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Its a little off topic, but that last post reminds me that we once had a scorpion in our room at Canyon Villas. It was really hard to spot against the tan carpet. Fortunately, my wife, the fearless woman that she is, spotted it and promptly smooshed it with the heel of her shoe. The poor thing didn't stand a chance.

It was quite memorable, and we still laugh about it now. But that was Phoenix, after all, and not Palm Desert.

I live in San Diego county and we occasionally see a scorpion in the house. So I wouldn't be surprised if Palm Springs/Desert also had them. They are small and tan colored. I see on maybe once every 2 or 3 years. On the advice of my parents who lived for a short time in Southern Texas, I use a scissors to cut the scorpion in half. They can't run very fast when they are in two pieces. :hysterical:

 

[GetawaysRus]

On the advice of my parents who lived for a short time in Southern Texas, I use a scissors to cut the scorpion in half. They can't run very fast when they are in two pieces. :hysterical:

I learn all sorts of things on TUG. Excellent tip. I will have to remember that piece of advice.

 

[turkel]

Icky. I could stomp or squish an unwanted pest, but cut in half. Nooo way! Gross