The RitzCarlton, Rancho Mirage, California
The view from our room at the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage
Before our visit to the Californian town of Palm Springs, I rashly and naively envisage it as a centre of glorious Modernist architecture in sandy isolation.
Alas, I am mistaken. Palm Springs, we discover on arrival from Barrego Springs (click for link to Anza-Borrego), is but the last “city” in a series of nine. These are strung out along the Coachella Valley floor like flashy pendants on a chain across E Palm Canyon Drive and the Sonny Bono Memorial Highway. Each city, except for Palm Springs, is essentially a bunch of resorts and gated communities, with their own shopping centres, spas and golf courses. It’s very “white” and very clean.
In fact, on a drive from one end to the other, you’d hardly believe you were in the desert at all. The foliage is extravagant, the turf bright green and palm trees rule. Only off the main drag, do you see dusty, dry-as-hell vacant lots, a reminder of what the Coachella Valley would look like without the wanton use of water.
The website of the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage calls it a Palm Springs Hotel. Photos show fabulous views and a huge heated pool. I am visiting Palm Springs solely to gorge on its fabulous Modernist architecture, but, thinking I can have my cake and eat it, I book the family into a twin queen-bed room at the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage. What could go wrong?
On ascending the steep Frank Sinatra Drive to the bluff on which the Ritz-Carlton sits, we discover that the hotel is a long 20-minute drive from Palm Springs through Cathedral City. There are 14.5 unattractive kms between us and the Modernist attractions.
So, did the lux of the Ritz-Carlton brand make up for its lonely if spectacular spot high above the Coachella Valley for visitors keen on Desert Modernism? Not really.
Okay so it has a free candy bar in the lobby from noon until 5pm, kept under the watchful eyes of two genial concierges, and a half-hour of free cocktails each night that I keep missing. The weather turns chilly and the pool is extravagantly warm. The spa overlooking the valley is a treat. The gardens are landscaped in an eye-catching Jamie Durie way and the outdoor bar terrace must be spectacular during warmer evenings. Breakfast is perfectly good. Our dinner in the State Fare Bar & Kitchen is acceptable.
But for one heck of an expensive hotel, the interior is a bit ho hum and our room a little beige bland though the view is picture postcard. A balcony would be nice. We pay a daily $40 resort charge and use the pool twice. The Ritz Kids and Teen Centre only operate on Fridays and Saturdays and, besides, the Ritz Kids costs an extra $75 for 3 hours. Parking costs $32 each night and you have to tip a bevy of valets each time they retrieve the car and park it. The hotel’s signature restaurant, the Edge steakhouse, a circular glass room on the edge of the cliff looks wonderful on the website, but look again: a 400 gram New York steak costs US$90.
If your pockets are deep and you’re simply touring the region, then the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage is a good overnighter. That’s enough time to fill your pockets with sweets, while gleaning from the concierge the best restaurants in the Valley, to snaffle a cocktail in the lobby, to sample the spa’s amazing vista, and to enjoy drinks and snacks on the terrace with an early morning swim before breakfast. It’s without doubt the best address on Frank Sinatra Drive.
www.ritzcarlton.com/RanchoMirage