La Quinta Resort & Club, Palm Springs

Location 

This distinctive desert getaway sits in 45 acres of colourful gardens at the foot of the Santa Rosa Mountains, about 22 miles east of Palm Springs. Just a two-hour drive inland from Santa Monica, Palm Springs itself offers more than 350 days of sunshine a year, some of the world’s purest mineral spas and well over 100 world-class golf courses.

Accommodation 

Rooms here have provided refuge from the limelight for Hollywood greats since the 1920s, including Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Katherine Hepburn and Errol Flynn. There are 796 in total, split into casitas, suites and villas, then sub-divided into different categories. Resort Casitas are set amid lush gardens; Deluxe Casitas feature pool views or private patios; Starlight options have outdoor terraces open to the stars, while Hideaway Casitas have their own private courtyards and hot tubs. Suites are grander still, with many named after their most famous occupants, including the Capra Suite, where Frank Capra, in 1934, wrote the Oscar-winning film It Happened One Night; and the Eisenhower Suite, which the former president chose for his first holiday after leaving office. Villas have their own lap pools and offer the height of luxury.

Dining 

Accustomed to catering to Hollywood elites, heads of state and other visiting dignitaries, it’s no surprise that the restaurants here have garnered a reputation for world-class cuisine. There are seven to choose from, ranging from the contemporary American dishes of Morgan’s in the Desert, to the award-winning tamales and signature margaritas of Adobe Grill. In between you’ll find classic comfort food at Twenty6, post-tennis treats at Centre Court Café, fresh pub favourites at Ernie’s Bar & Grill, and two fabulous golf course restaurants: MD Grill at La Quinta Resort Mountain Course, and Wallaby’s West in the Greg Norman Clubhouse at PGA WEST.

Facilities 

It would be easy to spend weeks at La Quinta and still not use a fraction of the facilities on offer here. Serve and volley at one of 23 tennis courts, take a dip in one of the 41 pools and 53 hot pools, tee off at any of the resort’s five championship-standard golf courses, including three PGA WEST courses – the TPC Stadium Course, the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course and the Greg Norman Course. Relax at Spa La Quinta, keep fit with yoga and the state-of-the-art fitness facilities, hike in the local area, or kit out your season’s wardrobe at the exquisite variety of shops and boutiques on site in the resort.