In 2008, interior designer Tracy Beckmann and furniture designer Ryan Trowbridge purchased the building. When plans fell apart and Hubbard died, the place was left to crumble. It was developed as part of a planned Desert Hot Springs housing community the brainchild of director Lucien Hubbard, whose silent film Wings won the first Academy Award for Best Picture. After staying three nights, we wanted to stay for three more but we were locked into our next hotel.A hybrid between luxury rental and boutique hotel, this three-part property started with the renovation of a four-unit prototype pad designed and built in 1947 by modernist architect John Lautner. The courtyard was an oasis and the staff were friendly and accommodating. My wife and I visited Aqua Soleil with two teenagers and we loved the place. We tried Domo Sushi that locates a couple of blocks north of the hotel, and their foods were great! It takes about 40 minutes to the Joshua Tree National Park visitor center and 20 minutes to Palm Springs Aerial Tramway station. Thus, there are more than enough restaurants and stores within short drive or walk. Location: The hotel locates on Palm Drive, which is the major road in Desert Hot Springs. No continental breakfast that you can expect from Holiday Inn or Best Western Inn. The hotel also provides individually packed cereal, bananas, and coffee for breakfast. We haven't tried the foods there, so I have no comment. Food: The hotel has a small restaurant/bar right next to the front desk, where the breakfast and lunch are available (at reasonable prices). Towels are provided by the front desk at no additional cost. Enough chairs are available around the big pool for sun tan. The pool and spa were all clean and the temperature was good (for me). A big pool (at ~ 80 F?) good for kids and swimming after sun tan. My guess is that the bandwidth is limited, so when lots of people in the hotel use the internet, the speed was extremely slow and my kids gave up playing the games on their tablets. We had a little issue with WiFi connectivity. The room has mini refrigerator but no microwave. The room has only a thick single curtain, which made the situation worse. However, the room doesn't have enough lights (only a couple) and it was a little too dark for my kids to read their books. Our room (3rd floor) had a mountain view. We stayed in 2 queen bed room and the size was okay for us. Room: The interior (wall color and furnitures) gave us "IKEA" feeling. It was our first trip to Palm Springs/Joshua Tree National Park area, so I cannot compare this hotel to others nearby. My family (2 adults + 2 kids) had relaxed 3 days at Aqua Soleli Hotel & Mineral Water Spa. I would spend extra $$$ and find a better hotel if I was heading to Palm Desert/Palm Springs next time. Is the enclosed one supposed to be mineral? felt and smelled just like the outdoor one. One Small pool, and two jacuzzi's (one out door, one enclosed). Not sure what all the "Mineral" hype is about. Nothing about this hotel is worth writing home about. There is a pizza hut within walking distance. I had to go and ask the front desk for additional towels. There was no shelf to put the soaps and shampoo while taking a shower, had to keep the soap and shampoo on the shower floor. Rooms are ok, There were only 10 channels on tv, no bath tub, just a shower. Looks to me it as it it was some other "Motel" a few years back and they renovated it. It faces a mobile home park and thats the great view i had from my room. Its an average hotel, nothing great about it. The hotel is about 5 mins north of I-10 on Palm Drive.
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