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LODGINGS
La Quinta Resort & Club / 3*
49-499 EISENHOWER DR, LA QUINTA; 760/564-41 I I OR 800/598-3828
The valley's second-oldest resort (it dates back to 1926) is the very
definition of the classic Palm Springs-area experience. Set against a
towering mountain backdrop, it boasts rambling oasislike grounds and subdued
elegance, with a Hollywood Golden Era feel of the 1920s and 1930s
(Mary Pickford was a frequent guest). To this day, no other resort in
the desert approaches its grand sense of place and its understated charm.
Originally a cluster of 56 tile-roofed guest casitas widely spaced on
lawns, the resort has grown into a large town-size complex of golf
courses, tennis club, new rooms, bungalows, ballrooms, and spa—yet
without losing intimacy. From the moment you drive down the long entry
road between towering columnar cypresses, you feel as though you're entering
a Spanish village. The casitas are almost severe in their white-
walled simplicity, with thick walls, small windows, and simple furnishings,
but color abounds outside, where billows of bougainvillea spill over the
rooftops. Almost all have a porch for sitting in the deep shade and listening
to the mariachi music float over from an evening meal at Adobe
Grill. Three fine restaurants make it possible to never leave the grounds:
Montanas (elegant Mediterranean), Morgans (cafe) and Adobe Grill (regional
Mexican cuisine with muchas margaritas). With plenty of programs for the
kids (Camp La Quinta), golf and tennis, and a new 23,000- square-foot
spa that includes a large fitness center—with yoga and other more
meditative and spa treatments ranging from the golfer's massage to open-air
showers, warm-stone therapy, and an outdoor aromatherapy tub—La
Quinta continues to attract entire families generation after gen- eration.
$$$; AE, DC, DIS, MC, V; checks OK; www.laquintaresort.
corn; from Hwy 111, take Washington St south and turn right on Eisenhower
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