Westin Mission Hills Resort Villas Rancho Mirage

[kowal]

I was unable to get my first choise of Four Seasons Aviara - but the Westin Mission Hills was available for August 18th. Has anyone ever stayed there before? How is the heat in August - I will be coming from NY which is hot and humid in summer anyway - but will have 3 children with my 4, 6, and 10.

Thanks.........

 

[Dean]

You know this is the Desert as compared to the Ocean (Four Seasons). The Westin is highly rated but not as highly as the Marriott's. If you want that area, you'd likely be better off with one of the Marriott's. I assume this would be a mid season trade where I'm sure Carlsbad would be high season.

 

[kowal]

Thanks thats my thoughts also - I think I am going to wait until I can get the place I want........

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I was unable to get my first choise of Four Seasons Aviara - but the Westin Mission Hills was available for August 18th. Has anyone ever stayed there before? How is the heat in August - I will be coming from NY which is hot and humid in summer anyway - but will have 3 children with my 4, 6, and 10.

As Dean noted, Carlsbad and Palm Desert are two entirely different destinations.

The Four Seasons Resort Club Aviara is highly sought after, especially in the summer. In most cases, summer weeks will be occupied by owners. And any successful exchanges by I.I. members are the result of exchange requests made far in advance, not through instant confirmations.

I'm sure the Westin Mission Hills is very nice, but summer is extremely hot in Palm Desert. I'm sure the 2BR units are great. But watch out if you trade into a 1BR. The 2BR units lock off into a spacious 1BR and a much smaller 1BR (that's more like a glorified studio). Both are considered a 1BR in I.I. For a floor plan, see http://www.starwoodvo.com/resorts/villafeatures.jsp?resortID=13

 

[QueenTriton]

August in Palm Desert will be over 100 degrees and dry. The Westin has nice pools and a water park (Soak City) adjacent. It is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to Disney area. We love the desert in the summer, but many do not. If you've ever been to Arizona that time of year, it is similar. It is 10 times better than Florida in August, though.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

August in Palm Desert will be over 100 degrees and dry. The Westin has nice pools and a water park (Soak City) adjacent.

Knott's Soak City USA in Palm Springs is not adjacent to the Westin Mission Hills Resort & Villas in Rancho Mirage. According to driving instructions from Yahoo Maps, the distance between them is 6.1 miles, and the approximate travel time is 10 minutes.

The Westin does have three swimming pools with cascading waterfalls and a grotto. There's a 60-foot, S-shaped water slide.

 

[DanG]

I own at Mission Hills and, while I agree with Dean that that you cannot compare a Palm Springs to a California coastal resort (especially Four Seasons) and with everyone that I would seriously rethink whether to go to the desert in the summer, I would strongly disagree with the assertion that the Palm Springs Marriotts are more highly rated or regarded than Westin Mission Hills.

I visited both and bought at the Westin because the 2BR units at WMH blew away anything that Marriott has in the area. Desert Springs is a beautiful resort with superior landscaping and interesting canals, but I will take the units, pools and facilities at WMH over Marriott any day. You will see a lot of talk about the Marriott units simply because of the number of units at Desert Springs I and II and Shadow Ridge create the most noise. As always, take a look at the TUG reviews and decide for yourself.