johninseattle

My wife, 2 small kids, in-laws and I are planning to trip to the Palm Springs area in mid to late Jan and are looking for 1) recos on specific towns to stay in (we've heard better things about Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert and 2) specific neighborhoods in both towns that are a short distance to basic amenities (i.e. markets, coffee shop) and that also have amenities on site like pool, tennis, gym, etc). We're prepared to spend up to $500/night but less is always better. Thx!

lvk

With kids, I alway recommend the condo resorts. In Palm Desert, both the Marriott Desert Springs Villas and the Shadow Ridge Marriot Villas would fit the bill for you. Both are very nice timeshare resorts that also rent to the public and have kids programs/activities.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...ngs-villas-ii/

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...-the-villages/

They're showing 2 bedroom condos for between $300-$400/night in Jan.

MBnancy

The Hyatt Grand Champions and the Marriott Esmeralda are next to each other. Both hotels are excellent and good for families. Resort type pools. Hyatt has a small waterslide and sprinklers for kids, Esmerald has a sand beach. I've stayed in both, several times. There are new strip malls all up and down Hwy. 111 with Markets, Coffee shops, Starbucks, etc. Lots of restaurants to choose from.

johninseattle

Thx for the great replys so far. Any recommendations for neighborhoods/communities with private homes if we wanted to go that route through a site like www.vrbo.com? Looks like we can get reasonably priced homes on a weekly basis that include a pool or at least pool access which is a must. Thanks again.

RuthMc

John, I researched homes in Palm Springs and found several agencies through Google. What one person told me,however, is that January might too chilly for a pool. Having never been there, I don't know, but you might ask that question.

Here's the agency I'm using for our rental next March:

http://www.ps4rent.com/

Friends of friends have used them and recommend them.

nancytwo

There is lots of shopping, restaurants, etc. All the towns Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Indio are close and you can easily get around. El Paseo Shopping is lovely in Palm Desert. We go every February and find our rentals on Craigslist. We like Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage the best.

paula1470

Give us some specific homes from vrbo that interest you and we can let you know about the areas.

Jan is pretty cold for swimming but at the resorts the pools would be heated so that wouldn't be a problem. If you rent a private home, you'd have to make sure with the owner that the pool could be heated.

johninseattle

Thx for the continued great feedback. We haven't focused on specific homes yet since we first wanted to decide on the town and then the communinity/neighborhood.

Sounds like we can't go wrong with Palm Desert or Rancho Mirage. The next question is whether its best to rent within one of the clubs/resorts or a home outside one of these. Any preferences/feedback on Desert Horizons, Rancho Las Palmas, Monterey CC, Chaparral, Silver Sands, Shadow Mt, Ironwood, Woodhaven, Desert Falls, etc?

wildblueyonder

We rented a vrbo property in Palm Springs, in June. It was in the Mesquite area, which is very nice - close to supermarket (Ralphs) and a Starbucks. We had a pool, but no gym or tennis court (though those might've been close by).

RBCal

For a house, you want to be as close as possible to El Paseo in Palm Desert or Palm Canyon in Palm Springs. You also want to be south to be sheltered from the wind.
It will likely be in the 60s or low 70s during the day in January. However, every resort and most rentals will heat their pools.

mlgb

One thing nice about Rancho Las Palmas is that you are across the street from the River (big outdoor shopping area with restaurants), next door to another shopping center with a grocery store, and the hotel itself has amenities.

Monterey has small pools, but a lot of them, and the tennis courts are quite good. There isn't much for children there, other than the pools. There's a tiny little gym. It's also relatively wind-protected. One thing about condos is that as a non-member you're going to have to pay to access virtually all the facilities.

Shadow Mountain has a FANTASTIC huge pool. Tennis is free, and I think it's a very tennis-focused resort. It's walking distance to El Paseo in Palm Desert. The unit I stayed in once was a bit outdated but I guess that's always a risk in condos. I can't remember if there is a gym.

Although I don't recall that December is an especially windy month, Desert Falls is at the north end and would get a bit windy. It's a bit removed from shopping but has a big clubhouse for meals. I've looked at the units, a number of are two-story, so you may have to deal with stairs if you get an upper floor one. They were pretty nice. Not sure about tennis or gym.

MBnancy

We stay at a 3 bedroom/3 bath at Desert Falls in Palm Desert every Thanksgiving week, and have for years. It's right off Country Club Dr. We love the location, as we enjoy going to restaurants in all the cities, La Q, PD, RM. Swimming pools are everywhere in the complex. Doesn't matter if upstairs or down, the views of the mountains from most condos are great. They have all the amenities of gym, tennis and nice club house for meals. Never noticed wind as a problem.

Shopping centers and strip malls are all over. There is a Ralphs market a block away, with all the typical stores next to it.

HillaryJane

I would have to agree that I like Rancho Mirage a bit better. Not as crowded but not far from Downtown PS.

I would recommend the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort or Esmeralda. They are both great resorts that cater to children. My family with 6 kids stay at this hotel and we love it

Hillary
www.edufire.com

mlgb

November is not generally a windy month, nor is December. It's more of a problem in spring. So if you go around Thanksgiving it's unlikely that you would have experienced that.

That row of country clubs north of Country Club Drive (such as Desert Falls and Palm Valley) tend to be windier than those closer to the Santa Rosa Mts.

OP didn't mention Palm Valley but they have a nice gym, tennis courts, and a larger main pool next to the gym, and also I think more programs for children. There's also a spa connected with the fitness center. Much nicer gym than Monterey. In fact when I owned my condo at Monterey I'd go over to Palm Valley and use their gym, (both are operated by an arm of American Golf).

RBCal

North is always windy, thats why there are thousands of windmills to the north of Palm Springs.

rjneuman

This message is for Paula 1470. I saw that you'd be willing to talk about neighborhoods in Palm Springs. I am going next October with my family and will probably rent a 3 or 4 bedroom home. I am looking at Old Las Palmas and the Movie Colony to be in walking distance of downtown. I am also looking at Deepwell and Las Andreas. Finally Ruth Hardy Park. Would dearly love your opinion Paula. I have never been to Palm Springs.

PSLocal

There are some great local resources here on the forum and some good info so far. I'd be happy to chime in and react to specific questions about VRBO or other rental locations. We have lived here for almost 22 years, owned a house in Deepwell for 15 years of that and know the Coachella Valley pretty well.

PSL

funfilled23

-pepper tree in
2 or 3 Night Joshua Tree Tour Package
$449
-palm mountain restort
with 20$ worth of chips one night
189$

there are dozens of deals that I found on http://www.palm-springs.org/pages/Ho...page=33&ic=163

mlgb

advertising on an old post