Disregard every negative review that you have read. Think of this as a new exciting book and you are on the first page. This resort was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy when Diamond International purchased all 9 of the Monarch Resorts about a year or so ago. All of the staff were very nice and friendly. Our stay was all booked at the last minute checking in on a Tuesday and checking out on the following Sunday. The phone reservations went very smoothly and they made special accommodations to get us the days that we wanted.

There was no possibility of a pool side room, so we got a 3rd floor room with a view of the mountains. Do you know how beautiful those mountains are in the morning with the sun almost making them a brilliant red? I have had enough pool and beach views to last me a lifetime. Keep in mind that this was all last minute. And, the resort was 100% booked beginning on Thursday. Also, the Oasis building was closed for a complete renovation. We were in the Sunset building.

Yes, the rooms are dated, but not unreasonably and our room was very comfortable. We stayed in a one bedroom. We had a new flat screen TV in the living room and bedroom. The bathroom was very large with tons on counter space and 2 sinks. We had 7 wash clothes and more wonderful towels then we could possibly use. The shower was excellent with lots of hot water. And, of course, there was a Jacuzzi tub. The king sized mattress was so comfortable that my wife wanted me to tear off all of the bedding, so we could get the brand. I declined.

In the kitchen, we had a built in microwave, stove and refrigerator, all of which were nice. And, there was a counter with stools between the kitchen and living room. There was a completely separate dining area. The kitchen was a very nice size. We actually had room to have a small table and 2 chairs in the kitchen. Something like you might find on the streets of Paris. But, of course, we didn't, but there was room.

I agree that the pool bar drinks are at a premium price. The beers are $5 each, a margarita is $8 and a Cadillac Margarita is $10. We just got back a week ago from 10 days in an "all inclusive" resort in Puerto Vallarta, so you can imagine the sticker shock.

In talking with some of the employees, the resorts goal seemed to be to have the resort up to Diamond standards within the next 18 months. Overall, it was just a comfortable place to spend a few days relaxing. We would come back. As a matter of fact, we are already planning on next December. This is a resort in transition and we would like to see how it comes along.

P.S. No one forces you to accept the $50 gift card and go to the presentation. We chose to go because we like being completely informed. There was absolutely no high pressure and everyone was very personable, friendly and professional. There was even a Diamond employee there that introduced himself at the end of the presentation and wanted to be certain that we were treated as Diamond guests with no high pressure. We took our gift card and spent it on a very nice dinner out.

We used a week with II for a getaway to Palm Springs during our birthday week. Palm Canyon Resort has a very nice pool and the poolside bar is convenient for getting drinks/food. The one bedroom suite was spacious and the bed was outstanding. I wish I could buy a bed so comfortable. The staff was nice and accommodating. The downside of renting this for a week was the dishwashing liquid was horrible and did not suds up. (Purchased a bottle of Palmolive at the store), the TP was cheap (Purchased TP at the store), the kleenex was very cheap (Purchased kleenex at the store as my wife had a cold and the kleenex was rough), they only provided two dishwasher soap packets which was bizarre. (Purchased dishwasher soap at the store). The place is well kept and clean but there are NO bbq areas to grill food. In addition, you are not suppose to bring any alcoholic beverages to the pool area. Although you buy a `1 pack of beer, you cannot bring the beers to the pool area but they want you to buy them at the poolside bar at $5 a beer. Diamond Resorts newly bought this resort and I am certain it was never this way before. I told the man at the counter that I'd never buy a timeshare with Diamond resorts. I've stayed at Palm Canyon about 4 other times and never experienced this before. I love this area as it is protected by the mountains from the winds. One last thing is they provide you with 6 each green towels to bring to the pool. Do NOT lose those towels or leave them behind as you'll be buying them.

BEWARE. The Palm Canyon Resort website room photos are misleading and the units are old and tired looking. We had a large (1200 sq ft) poorly designed two bedroom unit. The living room - dining room was huge, perhaps 15x30, but only had a single light over the dining room table and one end table lamp. The "full" kitchen (wall-to-wall 7x8) was not much larger than a closet and was closed in with almost no counter space and extremely limited cupboard space. The toaster did not work and the minimal pots, pans and dishes made cooking in the unit challenging. The dish washer was not secured and tipped out when you tried to load it. It did a poor job of cleaning the dishes so it was necessary to pre-wash them before putting them in the dishwasher. The refrigerator door was reversed so that it opened the wrong way into the very limited space and made it very difficult to open.

The resort obviously lacks an interior designer which was apparent by its dull unimaginative all beige décor (walls, ceiling, furnishings). The awkward single bathroom had a large spa tub but the space between the vanity and wall was very tight and limited to one person. Master bedroom was huge with a king bed. The other bedroom was small with a queen bed. The inventory listed two alarm clocks but there were none. Bedroom night stand lights and ceiling vanity lights were missing bulbs. The air conditioning filter was filthy and “whistled” whenever it came on. We experienced multiple occurrences of no hot water and maintenance had to repeatedly "reset" the boiler. Pay washers and dryers were in common areas but the dryer on our floor would not accept coins.

There was no trash pick up or any other type of housekeeping service provided except on midweek (day six) of our stay.

They do not provide free Internet access and the cost is $.35 per minute or $4.95 per hour. This is unheard of in today's information based society. Nor do they provide newspapers. It was an imposition on the desk clerk to provide change for the newspaper dispenser and when it took our money but wouldn't work or refund our money her response was "it isn't our responsibility".

Positives about the resort: The maintenance staff (Tony & Lin) were very responsive and immediately fixed the maintenance issues. The resort has a very attractive exterior, great pools for adults and kids and includes a waterfall, slides, spacious patio and a good patio bar.

I made attempts to discuss these issues with the Resort Manager early in our stay and provided a draft copy of my comments but management could not find time to discuss them with me. I would not stay there again. There too many nicer properties to choose from.

My family has owned a Monarch time share for almost 20 years. It is nice place to stay (especially if you have children under 12) but it is time for major update. We pay maintenance fee every 3 months, fee increases every 3 years but I do not see any difference in interior in 19 years. The furniture looks old and all rooms have "Vintage" TVs that take up space and look weird now.
Most of lampshades are cracked but the lamps are still working...reported them...were replaced with dirty ones!
The pool area still looks great! The spa is small but I like the service. It is great!