Best Western Gardens Hotel At Joshua Tree National Park

Better than it looks from outside. Clean. Pool is nice. Ask for rooms in the back building, they’re quiet. Breakfast ok

We picked Best Western Gardens as our accommodations while visiting Joshua Tree. It wasn’t anything fancy but it was good enough. A roof over our head, heat, and complimentary breakfast, it was better than camping out.
The front desk staff was super nice and helpful. They gave us some tips for Joshua Tree and set the tone for our stay. In the morning we took advantage of the free breakfast. Again, nothing fancy but hot food consisting of eggs, sausages, coffee, and oatmeal. If you wanted waffles or smoothies, the breakfast attendant would make them for you. There was also fresh fruit.
Since it was off season, there weren’t many guests at the hotel. It was like a ghost town. The rooms are old looking but had a decent television and the wifi worked. There was a mini fridge and complimentary soap/​shampoo. After hiking in the desert for a day, retreating back to Best Western was wonderful.

I will never be staying at this Best Western again! Rude staff! Heads up this is a very long and detailed review for you to understand our situation better.
We stayed in room 119 on New Year’s Eve, it was a nice night until about 4:30 in the morning. We were all dead asleep and all of a sudden I hear a loud thud and someone turning on our bathroom light in our room, I look over next to me to see if my grandmother was still in bed with me and then look to the next bed to make sure my mother and younger brother were in bed, and we were ALL in bed still, I also had my 1 ½ yr old daughter in her pack & play crib on the far side of the room, and thank god I did! Next thing we know someone was in our bathroom peeing, very loudly with the door wide open! We did not have anyone else in the room with us and we were not expecting anyone else! Then a man walks out of the bathroom and comes over to the beds we were in! We all jumped up, as you can imagine we were all very scared and terrified because we had no idea who he was or what he may have had on him or if he had more people coming! We all screamed for help and told him to get out and asked how he got in and who he was! We finally got him in the hallway and I could smell alcohol on his breath, not a huge surprise since it was New Year’s Eve, but he was standing in the hallway and he kept asking me to come in the hallway to talk to him and I refused! My grandmother called down to person working and she came up shortly after, she was not much help either, she asked us what we wanted her to do and we said to call the cops! Seemed like common sense no? We told her several times we did not know this man! Before the worker came up to help us a woman next door to us banged on her door and then opened her door and very rudely and loudly said «can you keep it down I have children trying to sleep!?» I replied and said «this man just broke into our room and we have no idea who he is and I also have a child in our room!» She replied with «I don’t care!» And slammed her door! so, as the worker starts to get on the phone with the police the man starts to walk down the stairs and my mother went to follow him and he took off! So then I call the cops to give them more details and a description of the man and the dispatcher asked if we knew the man, again I said no we had no idea who he was or how he even got into our room! So about 5 minuets later after I hung up with the dispatch an officer knocked on our door, we told him everything that happened and he asked if we knew him, AGAIN we said no! We had no clue who he was or how he got in! And all this time we were talking to him he did not write one thing down! So he told us they would search for him and then contact us when they find him. We all were shaken up and could not sleep! As you could imagine we were pretty sick to our stomachs and paranoid!
The next morning we looked at the door and realized it sometimes wouldn’t lock all the way! It was very easy to kick or push the door open without the key! Now I am not saying they purposely gave us a faulty room, it was just poor maintenance. So we pack our bags grab our free Continental breakfast and took it back to the room to eat since the room was very small and did not have any seats for us. As my mother, brother and I pack up the car my grandmother went to check out and see if management would compensate us in any way. The manager laughed at my grandmother and told her they «their witnesses» told them we knew the guy and we were just arguing with him! He also told us that the cops said that! My grandmother then called the cops to ask if that was what the report said and the dispatcher told her no that was not what their report said! So this manager then asked my grandmother «so let me get this right, you want me to compensate you?» And she replied «yes, or something of the sorts» he said «well you guys were scared for your lives» she again replied «yes! Wouldn’t you be?!» And he said «well then why did you stay here if you were scared?» She said «where were we supposed to go?! It was 4:30 in the morning and it was freezing outside! We already tried to make reservations at the Yucca Valley Best Western but they were booked!» Then he said «well I am not giving you a compensation»
So our thing is,
1. Doesn’t seem like the staff cared too much about their tenants safety, no hospitality whatsoever!
2. If we knew this guy why would we call the cops and be screaming for help?!
3. The manager basically laughed at our situation!
4. Obviously maintenance isn’t a huge priority to them.
5. We felt unwanted but most of all unsafe!
Besides our altercation the room was decent. The wifi & the heater worked. But that is the only good thing I can say about this particular hotel.

Really glad I tried something new in terms of accommodations in Twentynine Palms. The places I used to stay were O.K., but the Gardens Hotel is firing on all cylinders. This began with a very pleasant and professional welcome as soon as I walked into the lobby. I can be particular about having a quiet room, but even without my asking, the room they gave me was in the back building facing away from the parking lot – so I got just what I wanted. The room was immaculate, with all the furnishings in good shape. Unlike so many hotels in Twentynine Palms, I could actually see the desert from my window.
This hotel is on the mountain side of the highway, and just a bit outside downtown Twentynine Palms, which can be a bit seedy. Grounds are large, very well kept, and the pool/​jacuzzi area is beautiful, with tables to eat at, a barbecue, and restroom immediately adjacent.
The breakfast was a notch above what one usually gets at a moderate priced hotel. It seems like the management really keeps an eye on all the details, so I will definitely return.
Those are all the ‘pros,’ and I don’t really have any ‘cons.’

So far, so good. An attractive hotel, like an oasis in the desert. For being members, we got upgraded to a suite for the 3-​night stay. It’s clean, the A/​C works great, and the pool looks inviting! Stay tuned…