El Rancho Dolores Motel

I'm so happy I found this place when most hotels were already booked up for a last minute visit during the busiest weekend of the year! All I need is a clean place to sleep near the park, and this was that. When I first checked in, I got slightly worried it was going to be really old and half expected to get a physical key, but was surprised the key system is like any electronic key you get at the big hotels. The room itself was also renovated with tiled floors and bathroom (so if you go in winter, you may want slippers to get out of bed!), and the AC/heat unit worked fine. I know I saw it when I was looking up info about all the hotels in the area, but was shocked/surprised at the full kitchen room you get as well, behind another door! If we were there longer, we would have used it. It's cramped but it has a stove, microwave, fridge/freezer, small place to eat with a little coffee maker. There are some dishes and a sink with soap. Water got plenty hot for me, I know someone made a comment about it in another review but everything worked great for me, and I really like HOT water. Shower is a small standing shower, room for one only, at least in our room. I don't know if they have family rooms, but ours was great for just a couple. Front desk, I assume was the owner, was very very nice and was friendly when I embarrassingly had to come in twice with my brain not working, asking for help. FYI, there is soap and such in the basket on the toilet tank! The sink is small and I didn't think to look there for the soaps :). There is a key drop off outside the office door when it was locked in the morning, so I assume you don't have to formally check out. At least, that's what I hope, since I just dropped them off and left. You can hear people if they are loud but we had nice neighbor guests that just wanted to sleep too. We had a space to park in front of our door, and it seemed some rooms actually had little car ports. Will definitely stay here again if we want to return to Joshua Tree :) Thanks for the comfortable stay!

Clean and well kept Motel. Very nice front desk I was delighted to find this place after a long day of sight seeing and travel. Would recommend 100%. It’s the end of March, not overly crowded. Nice individual bungalows.

The lady at the front desk was friendly. The room had been remodeled and the carpet taken out which was nice. They didn't provide conditioner which was a bummer since that's what I forgot to bring. I can't speak about the pool because it was too cold to use while I was there. Bottom line if you're looking for an affordable no frills place to stay while visiting Joshua tree I would definitely recommend this motel.

El Rancho Dolores is a good place to stay for someone who is looking for a great value accommodation near Joshua Tree National Park. Good: - The rooms have been recently remodeled and felt clean (no carpet!). - Nice pool (not heated) and grassy area. - Walkable to downtown 29 Palms shops, restaurants, and a short drive to JTNP. - Extremely affordable. - Microwave, fridge, and cable TV were standard amenities. - Comfortable king mattress. Could Be Better: - Thin windows/walls (sound passes easily, some road noise at night). - Bedding felt cheap, a little rough. - Very low shower pressure, hot water lasts about 6-7 minutes. - Table and fridge were wobbly (uneven floors?). - Saw some homeless folks dumpster diving on the premises on a couple occasions. Overall, it felt safe and comfortable enough for me. I would consider returning here again if it were considerably cheaper than a better rated option (which it was on this occasion). The value is there for someone looking for a basic and comfortable place to spend the night close to everything in the North Joshua Tree area.

Honestly good hotel for the price. Very conveniently placed location. Decent amenities, showers were hot with decent water pressure. Good ice machine, amazing parking! Literally right in front of your room! Drawbacks: somewhat thin walls, can head next door neighbors at times when they close their doors and the coffee sucks! Otherwise good place for the price! Would definitely come back if I’m in the area.

Even though the rooms were older, they were clean and nicely set up. When we left another hotel in 29 Palms at 8:30 pm, due to unbelievably bad rooms and the subsequent even WORSE service, they were very kind and helpful in getting us a great family room. Our room had 3 double beds for 4 of us, a large bathroom, and the CUTEST kitchen! Some of the reviews said the hot water was a problem, but one shower was taken that night and 3 more the next morning before leaving and there was no problem. We wished we were staying longer.

It's not the Hilton so if that's the expectation you'll be disappointed. For the price and what it is, a roadside motel, it's a great place to stay if going to Joshua Tree.

Great place to stay! The location is perfect, our room was clean and in good shape, and the price was very reasonable. The kitchen has dishes, microwave, fridge and a full range (although I didn’t try cooking with it). I liked it had hard floors instead of carpet, plenty of storage, and also a full sized desk. The only downside is that we could hear some noise from the road, but there isn’t much traffic at night, so it wasn’t an issue for us. I would definitely stay here again.