La Quinta: Not Your Grandparents' Resort

La Quinta Resort & Club is the ultimate desert escape – where you can take in the majestic Santa Rosa Mountains while you luxuriate in an iconic destination and dine at one of the country’s top restaurants, and then an hour later, enjoy an evening cruise aboard a luxury yacht on the Pacific Ocean. Your heart falls in love with this legendary Hollywood playground.

It is a strangely intriguing and haunting hideaway. The experience begins on arrival as you drive up the road toward towering California palm trees and what appears to be a botanical garden of eye-catching colors and vibrancy. It's astonishing that this desert oasis has existed for almost nine decades. When you walk through the solid mahogany double doors, you know that this will be a weekend that you will never forget. I was so impressed by the hospitality upon arrival that I thought, “Maybe I’ll just stay in the lobby.” After being escorted to my private villa, I immediately did what I always do when I travel and glanced at the resort guide of what my options were for the next three days. As you continue to read, you'll get a taste of what 72 hours in paradise is like at La Quinta Resort.
 

The TPC Stadium Course at PGA West
Think you got game? The TPC Stadium Course at PGA West will be the closest thing to a lie detector test you might ever encounter. With the PGA Tour Qualifying School coming through December 2-6th, we sent out one of our own to try and tame this beast; the result was exactly what we expected. Greg Norman was quoted recently during The Presidents Cup saying, “Royal Melbourne will give you a look up her skirt and shut you down very, very quickly. The Stadium Course won't even let you in the door of the bar to get a glimpse of her.”

From the Back Tees this monster plays about 1,000,000 yards and gives you lightning quick greens and more water than a Dasani plant . “Remember as a kid when you knew that you were in some serious trouble when you got home? That's what it feels like every time you complete a hole. No seriously, every hole.” said Anthony Glover who teed it up recently to test the teeth on this nasty lady. Based on the score we think it's safe to say that she bit him pretty hard. At a +1.8 handicap the best he could manage was a 75 on a perfect condition day. “I hit it great all day and managed to make a few birdies but when I missed my target it punished me like no other golf course has before.” After a thirty-seven on the front it seemed that Anthony was pretty confident of himself that he would break par that day until he arrived at the water lined par 3 fourteenth. Playing 235 yards that day Glover chose a 3 Iron and you guessed it - moisture. “I blistered it and the swing felt great but you have zero room for error. No bail out and no mercy is what fourteen has to offer.” The rest of the round was much the same. Great shots rewarded with tight side hill lies and mid iron approaches you can't practice for. “Coming off eighteen I felt like Herman Cain in the middle of his 'Libya' blunder. Undeniably humiliated and overly humbled while embarrassed all at the same time!”
Rated one of the "Top 100 Courses in the World" by GOLF Magazine and 4th toughest course in America in Golf Digest’s "Top 50 Toughest Courses in America" (2007). There may be no greater challenge or excitement in the game of golf. At 7,300 yards, the TPC Stadium Course has the highest stroke (76.1) and slope (150) ratings of all the courses at PGA WEST.

Main Pool
In addition to spa, fitness, golf and tennis facilities, guests can make a splash in forty-one pools and fifty-three hot spas situated through the property. Large communal pools flank each end of the resort, and the main pool near the spa and tennis facilities features food service, twelve cabanas and a children’s pool. Smaller, more intimate pools throughout the property service clusters of casitas.

Morgan’s in the Desert
Spearheaded by celebrated chef and restaurateur Jimmy Schmidt and evoking the glamour, history and architecture of the original 1926 venue, Morgan’s in the desert is La Quinta’s hugely popular signature dining venue. It showcases contemporary American cuisine inspired by the bounty of the Coachella Valley. Chef Schmidt sources the very best local products and focuses on traditional cooking methods – open grilling, slow roasting, braising, pickling and curing – to offer deliciously simple, rustic and healthful farm-to-table dishes.

Spa
A private sanctuary nestled at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains, the 23,000- square-foot Spa La Quinta has 38 treatment rooms, including indoor and outdoor massage, facial and wet treatment rooms. Also featured in this state-of-the-art facility are seven private whirlpool baths, two steam rooms, two inhalation rooms, four signature open-air La Quinta Celestial Showers; men’s and women’s treatment wings with locker rooms; and a full-service newly renovated salon with state-of-the-art equipment and services such as custom manicures and pedicures for men and women. The adjacent 4,000-square-foot fitness center and movement studio is equipped with Life Cycle, Life Step, Life Stride and Paramount ETX equipment. The central Sanctuary Courtyard offers a tranquil place to unwind before or after a treatment and features an outdoor wading fountain, a fireplace and a cooling mist system.
 Programming and treatment highlights include special treatments for children and young adults, wraps made with local herbs and an array of spa packages offering a combination of therapies.
 The Oasis Shop features a full slate of products, all used in Spa La Quinta’s treatments, including Epicurean, as well as spa gifts and novelties.

Havana Club
Havana Club is a handsomely appointed Cigar Lounge and Barber Shop with a men’s club atmosphere. The Cigar Lounge is run by cigar aficionado Anto Kamarian, and offers fourteen different lines of seasonal cigars crafted in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras; a walk-in humidor; twelve cigar lockers for rental; a 55-inch flat screen HDTV; and cocktails from TWENTY6. The Barber Shop services include haircuts, shaves, facials, manicures, neck/back massages, beard trims and shoe shines. There are also 36-inch flat-screen TVs, and a 27-inch HDTV embedded in the ceiling, so clients never miss a moment of sports excitement while being groomed.

As my private plane left the desert, I decided La Quinta Resort & Club was like a rebellious younger sibling. Exciting, dynamic, unpredictable and over-the-top, yet subtle, undemanding and of great comfort – secretly I love it all.  

For more information, visit laquintaresort.com.