PALM DESERT, CA — Off-season tourism in Palm Desert starts when the temperatures reach triple digits. For many, this may mean it’s time to look elsewhere for a vacation, to head to the coast and to get the heck out of the Coachella Valley while you can, because it’s just too blistering hot. For ? We love to push that envelope and see if one of the most luxurious vacation spots in Riverside County can make you forget that the thermometer is climbing well over 100 degrees.
The JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa , touted as the largest resort in the desert, invited us to tour and stay for one night in June. We obliged, dipping our toes into what makes a perfect off-season backyard vacation in Palm Desert.
General Manager Mursat Mirza spoke on the resort, which many call a desert icon, explaining the size and stature of the place. “The JW Marriott Desert Springs features 884 guest rooms, including 101 luxury suites, 400 King guest rooms, and 383 Queen-Queen guest rooms. Each spacious floor plan keeps the guests’ well-being in mind from calming colors, features stylish hardwood floors, modern furnishings, plush bedding, and mountain-inspired silhouette murals, all in new shades of blue, gray and crisp white. The bathrooms sparkle with quartz vanities, rain-style showers and more than 300 rooms offer free-standing contemporary soaking tubs.”
The beloved desert resort is an ideal getaway for Southern California families, couples, or Gen X friends reconnecting, and you don’t have to pay travel expenses to get here. One can find excellent rates from June through September. When you balance the off-season room rates, plus dining, spa, and adventures, and without the cost of multiple airplane tickets, this few-day getaway close to home will not break the bank.
Parents can rest easy during the summer months, as the pools offer floats and toys, and the JW Entertainment Zone provides 12,000 square feet of state of the art fun, with the arcade game room, skee-ball, duck bowling, virtual reality games and seasonal activities that will keep them engaged, indoors out of the heat. After the sun goes down, lawn games will also keep the littles busy while mom and dad can take in the sunset, the afterglow of twilight, and enjoy a little nightlife on property.
What immediately struck us upon our arrival were the many fountains, pools and lakes on the property. Indeed, driving into JW Marriott Desert Springs, the sight and sounds of water create an oasis in the desert.
The property offers a wraparound view of the Palm Desert San Jacinto Mountains, with their stark red-rock cliffs providing a contrast to the bright greens of the golf course and the rich blues of the five pools, numerous lakes and the black swans who make their home here.
We were intent on staying on the property grounds the entirety of our 24-hour visit, where we could get away from it all without having to step on a plane, drive too long on a freeway, or rent a car to get there.
Once you arrive, you'll notice the ample breathing room. Although it was summer and the weather hovered over 100 degrees, the pools were not elbow-to-elbow with crowds. Guests who wished could rent a cabana, order a poolside chaise lounge, or take advantage of a half- or full-day spa pass to enjoy quiet and absolute relaxation.
As for our party, we were a couple of college friends, both of us with children currently in college and working for the summer. For this pair of GenX moms, there was nothing but time to relax, unwind, and catch up with each other for 24 blissful hours.
First, we visited the full-service Spa at Desert Springs.
Located separately from the main building, the spa offers a range of rejuvenation services, and the best one is simply walking through the door. Once inside, friendly staff make you feel instantly at home, offering coconut water and a tour of the shadowy, low-lit facility. All around, soft music plays from hidden speakers, and the aromas of desert scents filter into the cool spa air.
We wandered through the quiet space, changed to take in the salt water lap pool — this one for spa guests only— and enjoyed one of the best turkey sandwiches I’ve ever tasted, while perched on poolside lounges under shade umbrellas. (We had it on good authority that was the Spa restaurant lunch of choice, and I couldn’t agree more.)
Later, we enjoyed a private soak in the indoor hot tub, followed by a visit to the luxurious aromatherapy steam room, and concluded our day pass with a trip to the state-of-the-art co-ed relaxation lounge.
Imagine a room, surrounded by perfectly tilted gravity lounges, couches with cushions, and guests who all seem to understand we are speaking in hushed tones and reverent sighs. But the crown jewel of the space was the sensory experience of the Mindsync lounges.
At our attendant’s recommendation, we selected and timed our physical and audio sensory experience to the second, and we drifted into a state of complete relaxation. Within 30 minutes, the “Soul Soak” left us feeling rested in a way I haven’t experienced since before children. And dogs. And soccer tournaments. We drifted in this luxurious setting, wrapped in cozy blankets, blissfully unaware of the rising temperature outside, until our room was ready.
Note: We later learned that we could have ordered a boat ride from the spa pool back to the lobby. Instead, we decided to try that for our dinner reservations, once again on property.
The JW Marriott Desert Springs resort offers the epitome of luxury in its guest rooms.
Ours offered a wall of windows and a balcony with breathtaking mountain views outside and a luxurious white, blue, and creamy mountain mural inside. Underfoot, hardwood floors spanned from the front door to the floor-to-ceiling window view of the lake, pools, golf course, and the towering San Jacinto peaks beyond. It’s summer, so the days are long, and temperatures stay in the 100s until late in the day.
We took our time and explored the menus, selecting where we wanted to try out for dinner. With seven restaurants, there was something for every palate.
The Rockwood Grill looked enticing, with its local California cuisine and views of the lakes, elegant black swans, and koi. Aquifer65 and the JW Sushi Bar offered small plates, live entertainment, and their infamous Sinatra Smash cocktail, available at 4:05 daily for a complimentary tasting. The Oasis Bar & Grille, with its American-style cuisine, and another poolside bar, as well as the Fisherman’s Landing, which specializes in seafood, all enticed. Still, there was only one choice for our group: the Mikado Japanese Tepanyaki Steakhouse.
We watched the sunset from the balcony and sampled a lovely Rosé deck wine, chilled in a bucket of ice, along with a tray of fruit, macarons, and treats brought up by room service - just the thing to take the edge off while getting ready. The Mikado, as rumor had it, offered delicious sushi, and instead of walking, we could get there by boat landing. After all, the only way to get anywhere when you’re staying at the JW Marriott Desert Springs, we learned, is by boat.
From the lobby, we boarded our little vessel, which was deftly driven by a captain who navigated us outside, across the lake. We sat inside under the blue and white canopied boat, surrounded by bridges and coves, to get a picture-perfect view of the golf course, the pools, and the spa. While the sun disappeared, we sat back and drank in the sun-dappled water, the calls of geese, and the sounds of laughter from the pool, as we navigated toward our stop for dinner.
The Mikado’s courtyard, with its Japanese stylings and restaurant entry worthy of a teppanyaki steakhouse, draws you in, and the staff and sushi chefs served us up delicious platters of cut rolls and succulent, fresh salmon sushi. We had to try the JW Roll, a shrimp tempura topped with albacore and micro cilantro, accompanied by sauces, not to be missed.
To round out the evening, we wandered back to the Rockwood Grille, where we challenged a mixologist to craft a fruity mocktail, and she did not disappoint.
We sipped her creation of pineapple juice, cucumber, and a heavenly fizz, which we enjoyed as night fell from a booth by the water.
Sometime during the evening, balls of blue light were placed on the tabletop, illuminating the space with a delightful glow. Beyond, kids played at the arcade, while outside, lawn games included ginormous Jenga, Connect Four, cornhole, and ladder toss. Couples of all ages enjoyed strolling under the stars.
After a blissful night’s sleep, there was no better way to start our final morning than by considering a fitness yoga class at the spa, a game of pickleball, golf, or tennis, but opting instead for Starbucks. We gathered our coffees and conversations that never reached an end, and sat in lounges by the pool in the morning sunlight, until it was time to return to our lives as we know them.
In all, the JW Marriott Desert Springs staff, restaurants, spa services, and rooms did not disappoint.
The best part? The weather kept the crowds minimal while we took in all the resort had to offer. Be sure and visit the website to plan your journey , check out these and more experiences available to guests, and when you go, tell them sent you.
The article Off-Season Summering In SoCal Deserts: What To Know When You Go appeared first on Palm Desert .
