I'm writing to review HGV's Palm Desert location, and also to share my experience with Sedgwick's…read morehandling of a property loss claim related to a stay there, April 5-12, 2026.
The day of departure I forgot my jewelry in the bathroom of our unit, in the drawer to the left of the sink. Home the same day, I didn't unpack, (when I would have come across my jewelry had I actually packed it). Instead, I awoke suddenly in the middle of the night, knowing that I'd left my jewelry behind, and exactly where I'd left it. On the morning of April 13 I checked my suitcase and the car multiple times, but knew it was futile.
I called the resort and initially the manager, Jose Garcia Holguin, was understanding, providing me with a form, the "Alleged Guest Missing Item Statement" to submit a claim to HGV's insurance provider, Sedgwick. He checked with housekeeping, but housekeeping stated they saw nothing while cleaning the unit. Mr. Holguin assured me that housekeepers check every inch of the rooms, bathroom drawers included, but saw nothing.
I asked Mr. Holguin to ask the guests who'd moved into the same unit only a few hours after our departure if they had come across anything in the drawer. He refused, saying, "We can't accuse our guests of theft". I tried to explain that there's a world of difference between accusing them of theft and instead saying, "Previous guests say that they left something in a bathroom drawer. Have you perhaps seen anything?" If the response had been "no", then that would have been that. But he would not. Mr. Holguiin became unpleasant when I insisted that I left my property there, and that it must be on the premises. He said his housekeepers are honest and have never stolen anything. It's understandable he would say that. Of course he would. (For the record, I never once used the world "stolen". I simply kept repeating that I KNEW where I left my jewelry.)
A few days later I received a call from Sedgwick claims adjuster Jennifer Moore. She was delightful, asked for a detailed description of my jewelry, its value, and the chain of events. She was so kindly that at the end of our call I was left with the impression that a settlement for at least half of my jewelry's value might be possible. I've since learned this was all performative.
About a month later I received a decision letter from Ms. Moore. Sedgwick denied the claim, their main justification being that my property was not "in the care, custody or control of the hotel", a claim that doesn't hold up given the facts. I was a registered guest, the item was lost/left in a guest room. This denial felt arbitrary and not grounded in the actual circumstances of my stay.
Between the resort's ultimately unkind handling of the situation, and Sedgwick's denial built on a factually questionable premise, this experience has left me with little confidence in either HGV's guest service or Sedgwick's claims process. No matter how well a guest may document everything pertaining to a claim, no matter how justified a claim may be, it appears that Sedgwick and HGV can, and do, rule as they damn well please.