Palomar Hotel

DO NOT STAY HERE! The mattress and pillows were hard as rocks, but that will be the least of your problems. The nightclub next to the hotel will keep you awake until the legally agreed upon hour of 2am, then you will have to deal with the drunks loudly leaving or possibly even shouting, «F*** you» at each other. It will finally calm completely down by about 4am, and you will expect to get a few hours sleep, but at this point, the bladders of your neighbors will start to fill and they will start walking back and forth in front of your door on the creaky wood floor to use the shared toilet. This will piss you off (no pun intended), and you will continue to lie awake. At 6am, the nightclub next door will AGAIN, unbelievably begin to play rock music on their outdoor speakers and you will decide to cut your losses, get dressed and get the hell outta Dodge so you can go home and get some sleep. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

We were driving thru Old Town looking for a last minute hotel on a Saturday night and lucked out on getting a room here. The rates were much less than the other hotels in the area.
Even though it isn’t your ideal chain hotel it is very quaint and offers a great location!
Yes, the rooms are very close and privacy is at a minimum as you can definitely hear those in the neighboring rooms. But we thought it was great and would absolutely come back!

8÷3÷14 new & informative review.
I stayed 1 night (Sat) in room 3.
First of all, when calling to make reservations, the (owner?) informed me that this isn’t a typical hotel. He explained the bathroom situation and advised me to look at their website before booking, (which I feel he could deter patrons that way) so I did have a heads up as well as saw Unilocal reviews about the noise from the band downstairs. Knowing we wouldn’t be in bed before 11, I wasn’t put off by it. The historic element was intriguing to me as I’ve stayed at a place similar in Europe so I was IN!
Every interaction I had with staff was just odd — the initial phone call he told me he wasn’t in the office and had to call me back, and they’re scarce while you’re there.
When you arrive you have to buzz to get in as you need a key to enter the lobby. I immediately noted there was no band (YAY) but also wondered how they fit a band in that tiny lobby! They didn’t have the wine tasting bar set up, and I failed to ask if they still do it.
We literally opened our door, put our bag on the bed and left. I take that back-​I did take note of the unexpected twin bed in the room. (Is that standard?) I didn’t even notice the tiny sink in the corner, but my boyfriend pointed it out to me. We went out for a few hours and when we returned, the bar «The Edge» 150 feet away was in full swing. As our window faced the club, I knew we were going to be listening to it until 2am. We took showers late around 11:30 so as to not have to contend with the morning rush and noted that neighboring room conversations are WELL HEARD as there is a rectangular hole above every door (I would say about 18″ x 9″) that is only covered by a ¾″ piece of plywood. The sink in our room didn’t work, we had no remote (which was fine since we couldn’t get ONE channel to work on the tv) luckily it was late and we went right to bed. Despite Nikki Minaj trying her damnedest to keep me awake, I was able to fall asleep pretty quickly. I woke quite a few times during the night because of the music, people heading to their rooms or noise on the street, but I was able to fall back asleep quickly. We woke early and left right away, so all in all, it’s not a HORRIBLE place to stay, especially if you’re only sleeping there.
I gave it 4stars because I didn’t really have any problems with the place or staff to complain about. I didn’t give it five because
just because the place is old doesn’t mean it should be run down. There were minor repairs in the walls and paint that should be addressed. The comforter and drapes look as if they are FROM the 20’s right along with the building. They can have older furnishings and still have tasteful linens. The green stain? on the comforter was tacky. The lobby and hallway are attractive and the rooms should be equally as inviting.

Very rude! Horrible customer service! Old man lectures paying customers before they even step in the door. I would strongly recommend not even giving this place a chance before they ruin your night!

Not actually 5 star but does not deserve bad reviews! Such an awesome place in the most amazing location in Temecula. The heart of a cute old downtown and awesome restaurants and bars. Curry vineyards downstairs is awesome, has good wine and music and the owner lives the life. The rooms are very old but very charming. You are in such a nice part of town that the suggested itinerary would be to go wine tasting, eat in old town, and either come back and have a wine tasting downstairs or go right to sleep. There is no need to do anything but sleep in the room. We would never stay anywhere else in Temecula. plus it’s cheap compared to everywhere else.

I did my homework before booking this place and although I had been sufficiently warned that it was «old» I had no idea that «old» meant similar to a crack-​den. It was disgusting. We opted for the «expensive» rooms in the back with their own bathroom. In the back means built over a garage, probably in the 1920s. I am not exaggerating. The stairway leading up to the apartments over the garage in the back (through the dirt lot) was frightening. I actually took a photo of it so as to make sure I had proof in case myself or my husband died in some horrible accident of the stairs collapsing on us. I just cannot warn you well enough — although the bar might be fun (miniature) the «hotel» itself is just gross. I mean really, really gross.

FILTHY FILTHY FILTHY!!!
Within 10 minutes of checking into our room, my boyfriend noticed that there were spiders all over one of the pillows. As terrified as I am of spiders, I chose to suck it up and make the most of it. But many hours later, even after an exhausting day of partying, I just could not forget about those creepy things crawling all over me as I slept.
The sheets were dingy and stained, and I woke up feeling itchy all over my face and body.
DO NOT STAY HERE!!! I’ve stayed in hostels for $ 20/​night that were much cleaner than this place.

My husband and I came to enjoy a night after wine tasting. We didn’t want to drive back and have a relaxing evening.
The hotel is an old building… More like a dorm style hotel with rooms and bathrooms at the end of the hall. The rooms consists of only s bed, tv and a small sink. That’s it.
This wasnt the best place for us because we like to relax and enjoy quiet…
If you are one to party into the night… This is the place to be. They have a bar with a cover and playing on Saturday nights from 6−11ish. Great cover band but very loud for rooms. So basically for sleeping from 11:30 and on… This is the place to be.

Oh, boy, I wish I had seen Stuart P.‘s review beforehand. I just came from a weekend stay at the Palomar on a 100+ degree weekend, and be warned that there is NO AIR CONDITIONING. To be fair, I booked one of the private bathroom rooms in the detached building out back, so I can’t speak as to the other rooms. But if you are planning on traveling to Temecula in the summer months, I would recommend checking first.
I was warned of this fact before I signed the bill at check-​in, but I was not told of this when I made the reservation a few months ago. I could have gone elsewhere, perhaps, but it was already 6:30 p.m. when I checked in, and I didn’t like my chances of finding another place elsewhere on a Friday night. Plus, we planned on being out and about more than being in the room.
PROS — Location, location, location. You can’t beat it, it is right in the middle of everything. This alone was enough to ensure an enjoyable weekend. Some people may not like the noise of bands playing in the surrounding neighborhood late into the night (especially when you have to keep the windows open), but that is right up my alley. Also, the management/​ownership was very pleasant and hospitable. My wife and I opted for the wine tour package, too, which was very well done. The in-​house wine bar in the lobby, occupied by Curry Vineyards, was nothing short of excellent.
CONS — Aside from the air conditioning issue, the room showed every bit of its 100-​year age. Uneven stairs, screens in windows, bathroom door doesn’t shut all the way, shower is like stepping into a cubby hole, a piece of plywood is placed where the kitchen sink used to be, and the refrigerator only kept items slightly better than lukewarm.
The website also desperately needs updating. When I booked the room a few months back, I was told that the rates were out of date, and checking again today, that is still the case. Also, the wine tour package no longer includes dinner at Baily’s as represented, but is now at Viva Vino (a Spanish restaurant). I was already walking down the street towards Baily’s when they came running down the street to inform me of the change of venue. It was still good, but I was not pleased by the surprise.

My wife and I stayed here as part of our weekend wine tasting getaway. We came to town for a little wine tasting tour, as we knew we would be drinking we where very excited to find the hotel right in down town.
Let start with the layout. This is a old hotel, if you are looking for a pool and spa and all the modern amenities look elsewhere. Basically you have 8(?) room that share a common hallway. Our room was a small dresser, bed, sink, bed side table. Very Very simple! Bathroom is down the hall and it is shared by all guests. There is a man’s and woman’s room to make it a bit nicer. There is a small fridge that you can store items in as well. There is no dedicated parking lot. We where told to park across the street for the day, but we had to move at night. Not a biggie as a street spot opened up and we where set for the night. With all of this I would love to stay here for another night or two… so why only 3 stars???
Well as others have said there is a band that play downstairs in the «lobby» What you must understand is that the lobby is at the bottom of the stairs that leads to the shared hallway. Meaning between you and the band is about 30 feet… yup awesome. The band was a couple of guys doing covers of… well…everything. Dr Dre to Sublime to the eagles. The band was actually pretty cool, what was not cool is the fact it sounded like they where playing in our room. This was not a little noise down the hall, this was a freaking concert. Amps/​speakers and all.
As I was awake I decided to look up their website on my phone, and yup on the site it says about the band playing till 11pm, then i checked all of the Unilocal reviews and really read them and yup I saw about the band. My wife and I looked at each other and basically said «our bad». I cant blame the owners/​managers for the noise as they did advertise it.
If you stay up later, enjoy a cover band in a small setting that Saturdays night would rock for you! If you enjoy sleep on a Saturday night you might want to double check if the band is playing before you book.

Me and my husband stayed here for a night and we opted for their wine tour and dinner package, it included a private wine tour to 3 wineries and dinner at Viva Vino (spanish food). Everything was excellent. The tour was so personalized and fun, the dinner was amazing, and the host at the hotel (carlos) was so nice.
As for the hotel room, its basically 4 walls and a bed, but we were out most of the night and all day, so we just slept there. We didn’t get the room to stay and relax in it, we got the room so we could be right in old town and enjoy the entertainment without having to drive anywhere afterwards. The room is charming, very old, but clean and worked for us.
As for the loud music down stairs on Saturday nights, yes there is music and people below wine tasting and enjoying the music, but we were aware of this before hand and didn’t bother us, as we actually took part in the activities below earlier in the night, then went out for the eveneing and by the time we got back to the hotel, I believe it was just after midnight, the hotel was completely silent, and closed to the public, so there was nothing to bug our sleep.
This is a perfect place to stay, if you are wanting to go to temecula and enjoy the day and night, but if you are looking for a hotel that is quiet and a place that you want to relax inside for the majority of the time, please go elsewhere. This was perfect place for us, maybe not for someone else… Oh ya, also the bathroom is shared, they have a womens and mens seperately, they were fine, I never had a problem with having to wait for anyone, they were open every time I needed to use the bathroom.

Great antique fun place to stay! Right on Front Street! Its a perfect place to stay during the Rod Run and have a fun time wine tasting!

Let me preface by saying this is about the Curry Vineyards Tasting Room which is inside the Palomar Hotel.
Awesome wines! the owner, Charlie, is a hoot too… fun, knowledgeable, and awesome wines. I could decide between the 07 or 08 Syrah — so i bought 2 bottles of each… this will definitely be a stop everytime i go to Temecula. And i highly recommend you stop there too!!!
PS they also had this great little 3 piece band on Saturday eve called: The Counterfieits … check them out as well!!!

I REALLY don’t like to leave bad reviews and this one COULD have been better.
It ‘s a cute old place, true. Carlos is a very warm, friendly guy and it’s nice to know the place has been in his family for years. I reserved one of the rooms with it’s own bathroom, which ends up being in the other building behind the hotel. Okay, no problem. HOWEVER — it was 104 degrees outside with NO air conditioning in the room. This was not mentioned until after I signed the bill.
PLUS, the room is not cute like the rooms on his website It looked like something a college kid would find acceptable (no offense, college kids!) and instead of a full kitchen, we had a HOLE where the sink was supposed to be. He’s planning on demolishing that back building, so I understand why he wouldn’t want to build a new kitchen, but TO RENT IT LIKE THAT?!? It was painfully hot and I can’t sleep in the heat. Fortunately, we visited relatives and got way too drunk to drive home, so we stayed at their place and had the room we actually deserved, just NOT AT THE PALOMAR INN. We got a $ 10 discount from the advertised price, so I’ll give him credit there, but… my bags got to stay in the room for $ 66 bucks. I’d say you get what you pay for, but in THIS case, I didnt’ even get THAT.
I’m giving the place a star because it IS cute, it’s still here and I’m not allowed to give no stars. Caveat emptor!

Cute, old hotel. My friend who lives in Temecula took me here for wine tastings for Curry Vineyards. She also visits the Palomar Hotel monthly for ghost hunting sessions. I didn’t «feel» anything when I was there, unless the wine numbed me to their presence.
The staff was friendly and had lots of information for us on wine. The tasting glasses were small and cost $ 10 for 5 different red wines. My favorite was the Cabernet Sauvignon.
It was a Wednesday after 5 pm so most of the other wine tasting places were closed, so we were glad to see they were still open. Nice little wine store next door, with lots of local variety. I picked up a bottle of Almond Champagne… can’t wait to try it.

Let’s start with the pro’s. This humble little Inn is located in the heart of Old Town making it ideal for those who enjoy the hustle and bustle. I really like that it is family owned and Carlos (owner) seemed warm and gracious. He even helped me with a small surprise (wine and a note delivered to our room). The rooms are «cozy» but that is all part of the experience. We checked in at 3 and everything up until around 5 pm was perfect.
To skip the rant:
And now the con’s. Upon checking in, Carlos mentioned that there would be live music as there is a wine bar/​store downstairs. This was never mentioned when I booked our room, but I figured it would probably just be a couple hours of mellow music. Several hours later, the music starts and it’s so loud it shook the floors to our room. So much for that afternoon nap. Ok we thought… it’s early. So, we decide to go for a walk. By the time we got back (around 6:30), the wine room was full of loud, obnoxious people who started drinking way to early. The band was even louder than before so we decided to go for dinner across the street followed by an amazing candlelight tour (
) which ended around 10:45 pm. By this time, The Palormar was spilling over with louder, drunk men and women and the «cover band» was still playing!!! We actually had to step over a lady to go up the stairs to our room. By this time, we were exhausted and were hoping the band would wind down so we could go to sleep. 30 minutes later, our floor was still shaking!!! I called Carlos up to our room and asked him what was going on… this was not what we signed up for… etc. He offered NO compensation, NO empathy and simply told me it would be wrapped up in 5 minutes. Ok fine. 5 minutes pass and the music stops, but unfortunately the noise does not. Until around 12:30 or so, we could hear other patrons shouting and yelling in the corridor outside of our room. The laggers downstairs were laughing and shouting without a care in the world. This went on for some time until eventually I fell asleep. The sad part was that I had made special arrangements with Carlos to check out by 5am the next day for a very special birthday hot air balloon ride. We only ended up getting 4 hours of sleep.
If you’re going to run a night club, call it a night club. It’s false advertisement to call yourself a hotel if people can’t sleep there. Music is fine, but have enough courtesy and respect for your hotel guests to give advance notice, set time limits and have basic house rules. I’d rather pay the lousy $ 89 to sleep in a parking lot than have to endure a frat house experience ever again. One for location and preservation but that’s it. Would never go back unless they set new rules upfront. Very disappointing. Please note: If you think I’m exaggerating. www​.youtube​.com/​w​a​t​c​h​?​v​=​Z​l​G​f​E​p​i-IVo

My husband and I stayed here this past weekend. We loved it! But, we love places that are out of the ordinary and aren’t too put off by the quaint and humble. I honestly don’t know if there were any other guests, but we stayed in one of the two rooms in the back (built in 1928, a year after the original.) It had a small kitchen in there as well, which I was not expecting. FYI-​the hotel guy said they are tearing down the old back building and putting in a 20-​room new structure in the near future, so get it while it’s hot. We asked about the haunted stories, but hotel guy was not so talkative. Wine guy told us that yes, there were several teams of ghost hunters that come through to test it, but didn’t get too much from him either. The scariest thing about the hotel was the stairs we had to climb to get to our room and a large cement structure that has a mysterious board and rock covering it. I’m not sure what is in it, but I prefer not to know about that.
The actual hotel seemed like it was much better kept, but I believe that it has a communal bathroom, so we opted out of that. This hotel is not fancy by any means, so go elsewhere for that, but… there is a wine tasting room in the front of the hotel. After checking in stop here for some wine and advice on where to eat.
Pros: Best location to old town hands down, quaint and historical for those who dig that stuff, and reasonably priced. Would very much stay here again.
Cons: No freakin’ ghost experience (it didn’t even feel creepy), so so noisy in the morning if you plan on sleeping in. It felt like people were walking their dogs and doing construction in our room, but my husband managed to sleep through it.
I only took a star off for the lack of haunting experience, and/​or lack of the hotel staff playing into our ghostly curiosities and indulging us in some stories.

So it has been a while since I have been here but the feeling I still have is that this was a great place and I wouldn’t hesitate at going back.
My friend and I stayed in one of the rooms is in the back building, that is not connected to the main building but it was nice because it felt a bit more private. This place is old style, quaint and clean. What more could one want for a little weekend get away.
The manager and some locals hanging out in the downstairs bar were great references, pointing us in the direction of wineries to try in the area.
We also bought a number of wines from the wine shop on the ground floor and found that they were a bit cheaper than buying directly from the wineries themselves.

I stayed here for the first time last weekend. It’s incredibly charming and cozy, small, humble, affordable and old. All the of my favorite adjectives for quaint hotels. The Palomar Inn is right on Front Street in Old Town, Temecula, my new favorite place.
I over heard the manager saying something to a lookie-​loo about it being haunted. I experienced nothing out of the ordinary. Except the ghost that pushed the remote into the sink but, other than that, it was pleasant and calm.
Right in the heart of Old Town you just can’t go wrong with this little place. It’s got a tiny sink in the room, a TV a big bed and a twin bed. The bathroom is at the end of the hall and shared by four other rooms, I think. Very hostel/​bed-​n-​breakfast like.
I would totally recommend it. If you’re into some lame things like a Hilton, then you should probably stay at a Hilton. If you like unique charm, Palomar Hotel is your place.

What an awesome experience! The hotel manager couldn’t have been more friendly, kind, and layed back. He told us the history and the new plans for the hotel. If you’re looking more for an adventure and not a 5-​star hotel experience, this is just the place. It is located right in the center of Old Town Temecula so you’re across the street from restaurants, shops, bars, etc… We definitely did not sleep in passed 9am due to all of the morning fun that was happening on the streets. There was also a winery shop attatched to the hotel which the manager kindly let us sample a couple. It felt more like a hostel than a hotel, but definitely a place to try at least once. Overall, we had a very fun adventure!