Joshua Tree 2bed1bath King&Queen 10mins to JTNP

Perfect place to stay when visiting Joshua Tree National Park!

The Good: it was clean and spacious. The kitchen was well stocked. The Bad: The house was very hot and the air conditions were loud, making it difficult to sleep. The bathroom window shade is see-through and made using the bathroom at night a bit shady. We did not receive check-in instructions until after we contacted the host. However, the host was very helpful after we reached out.

There is a certain standard that I have come to expect with a VRBO property. This place did not meet that standard. The location is great for visiting Joshua Tree NP. The value was decent, when comparing this rental to similar properties in the neighborhood. The house was clean and the mattresses were very good. But I've never stayed at a place where the bathtub fixtures are literally falling out of the wall, and where the bedrooms are heated by individual plug-in floor units and cooled by portable floor A/C units that vent out through the windows. The bathroom is heated by a two-coil electrical wall unit next to the tub. There were no check-out instruction, either online or at the house. The expectations I had when booking this place were not met.

Just a few minutes to get into the National Park, and the NP visitors' center is just down the hill. The property is roomy and has all the amenities you would expect. The only problem was checking in. After we arrived, I realized that the key code had not been sent to us. I emailed the host through the APP and left 2 phone messages without hearing back. This was stressful for us, as my husband has dementia and does not do well with unexpected changes. After an hour, I contacted the VRBO help line and spoke to a very nice gentleman who was able to contact the host, who sent the code. The host also stated that our reservation should not have gone through because she does not allow dogs on the property. Her listing clearly stated pet friendly and specified a limit of 2 pets of less than 50 lb each. It is a nice enough home but we did not feel welcome.

We had a mostly comfy stay at this sweet spot. Our trip was in January, so the weather was chilly and the space heaters had a hard time keeping the place warm, but we made it work. The bathroom is vintage-cute, but not in great shape (the shower faucet handles -- which the host messaged us, after the booking was confirmed, to say have been repaired and need to be treated with **extreme care** or we'd be charged a huge fee -- are sloppily plastered into place and bits crumble out when you turn them on)... and the bedding wasn't great. Small inconveniences for an otherwise charming and comfy place.