Archive for the 'Palm Springs' Category
For a sane holiday, consider Hotels.com’s Thanksgiving sale
October 31, 2009 6:51pm
If bunking up with Cousin Lenny sounds like the worst way to spend your Thanksgiving holiday away, why not treat yourself to your own peaceful quarters this year? Booking a room close to (but not with) the family doesn’t have to break the bank, thanks in part to promotions like Hotels.com’s Thanksgiving sale. Through it, you can find a range of properties for up to 30% off in 100 cities.
One of those is Denver, where 30%-off rooms at the Burnsley All-Suite Hotel are attainable. In Orlando, Fla. — where, it must be said, accommodations bargains are never rare — you can get a room for $41 per night, pretax, at the Seralago Hotel, a few miles from Disney World. Up in New York, stay for 20% off at the Time Hotel, close to Broadway shows; rates here around Thanksgiving start at $183 per night (the usual average is $229).
But there are lots of options closer to home too, for instance:
Palm Springs
I stopped into Riviera Resort & Spa’s reservation system for a stay Wednesday through Friday of that week, and got a total of about $600, after taxes and fees, for the two nights. The total price I found via Hotels.com was $478. Read the rest of this entry »
Want a hotel in Borrego Springs? Golf course? Landing strip?
October 27, 2009 2:58pm
Borrego Springs, the Southern California desert darling that has lured and bedeviled many a developer over the decades, is giving another one trouble.
Officials at the Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa and Montesoro Golf & Social Club have warned employees that they could shut down as soon as Nov. 30. Then again, one official is quick to say, they might sign on new investors and be fine.
Sasha Itzikman, senior vice president for Borrego Ranch, said the company is “looking for alternative funding sources or new investors, or we’re open to a full sale.”
Borrego Springs, home to about 2,500 people, sits in the middle of San Diego County’s driest back country, surrounded by the vast Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The stark beauty of that setting — and its location between Los Angeles and San Diego — has led many newcomers to imagine the town as a rival to Palm Springs as an upscale desert hideaway and golf haven.
Investor Gregory Perlman of Sherman Oaks, operating partner for Borrego Ranch and Montesoro, in 2004 began recruiting investors and spending millions to amass and upgrade thousands of acres in the area, including the 42-acre Borrego Ranch Resort (formerly known as the Casa del Zorro) and the 3,140-acre Montesoro golf course and residential community (formerly known as Rams Hill). Lubert-Adler, a Philadelphia-based partnership, is among the largest investors.
The resort and golf-course community, both up for sale, are among the community’s most prominent businesses, and they remain open. In fact, the golf course just opened for the season on Oct. 22. But on Oct. 15, the Borrego Sun newspaper reported that employees had been warned that Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa and Montesoro could close if no investors step up by Nov. 30.
$99 hotel sale until 9/09/09 on Hotels.com: Great options in San Diego, Las Vegas, Palm Springs
September 3, 2009 4:07pm
There are 750 hotel properties on sale for just $99 or less per night on Hotels.com. In the spirit of Sept. 9, 2009, the auspicious date is also the deadline for booking the deal. When I checked out the sale I quickly found many three-star hotels under $100 (and several that were only two-star). But I did find some four-star hotels when I searched by individual cities such as San Diego, Las Vegas and Palm Springs.
San Diego: The Hotel Solamar, a Kimpton hotel close to Petco Park downtown is marked down from $189 to $99 per night. I found the price good on both dates I tested, Sept. 8 and Sept. 29-30 (when the Dodgers are in town playing the Padres).
W San Diego is also included in the $99 promotion. This four-star property in downtown San Diego was also available for $99 per night when the Dodgers are in town at the end of the month as well as the weekend of Sept. 18-20. But rates were $187 per night the weekend of Sept. 11-13.
Wyndham hotel deal: Get half off a second night, or second room
August 24, 2009 8:08am
If you’re looking for incentive to stretch your one-night getaway into two, here it is. Wyndham Hotels and Resorts is offering a superb deal on more than 50 hotels in the U.S. and a handful abroad, and fortunately for those without the flexibility to take off midweek, this one’s especially for weekend stays.
Deal: With the “Wyndham Weekender” offer, stay one night at a participating Wyndham and receive a second night for half off. Or if you’re traveling with friends, family or others with whom you might not prefer to share a room, you can take advantage of half off a second room instead.
International hotels participating in this offer include Wyndhams in Cozumel, Mexico; Mont-Tremblant, Canada; and London. Domestic options are available from Arizona to Wisconsin and beyond. The four California hotels participating are in Bakersfield, Costa Mesa, Palm Springs and San Jose. Read the rest of this entry »
Indulge in food, or spa, at the Parker Palm Springs
August 11, 2009 9:19am
Palm Springs in August? Absolutely. The Parker Palm Springs, a well-reputed resort with personality, is offering deals that are simply painful to refuse, and, in this very uncrowded low season for tourism, you’ve got your pick of dates.
Besides, we’re not going to let you melt in the desert: all of the package inclusions, besides being stress-reducing, are set in air-conditioned quarters.
Deal: For a stay on any night but Saturday, you can get an estate room for $199 per night (before taxes and fees) with $200 credit toward spa treatments or $200 credit toward on-site food. But you do have to choose one or the other.
If you go the “spa junkie” route, you can use your credit toward any 60-minute spa services, excluding nail and salon services, at the Palm Springs Yacht Club. The “Glutton’s Delight” deal can be used toward food (but not toward beverages, tax or tip) at the Parker’s restaurants and on room-service orders. Read the rest of this entry »
Perseid meteor shower 2009: Times to watch, places to go and a Twitter party
August 11, 2009 8:18am
The annual Perseid meteor showers, which seem to radiate from the constellation Perseus, have been viewable to some extent since around July 17. But tonight, they are expected to be at their peak, with as many as 80 meteors streaking the sky hourly.
You can look up for them throughout the night tonight, but especially promising times are between 9 and 11 p.m. PDT, and before dawn on Wednesday morning, according to a NASA blog (by the way, this NASA post provides a fun 101 on meteors).
Just before the first rays of Wednesday, you may see “dozens” of the shooting stars. The 9-to-11 p.m. window, though, is when you should watch for what astronomers call “earthgrazers,” which may make up for their lack of frequency with their memorable good looks. Read the rest of this entry »
Happy Hour Links: Want to Phish? Book a hotel quick; Smokey Bear isn’t quitting yet; nearly extinct frogs found
July 24, 2009 5:15pm
> Jam band Phish has announced that it will put on a three-day, Halloween-weekend event at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio. Festival 8 will start Oct. 30. If you’re itching to go, don’t delay with your accommodations booking: “The Coachella site has been speculated as the location for the Phish fest for weeks, and hotels have reportedly been going fast,” warned the Times’ Pop & Hiss blog.
> Smokey the Bear? No, it’s Smokey Bear, thank you. He’s 65 years old now, so let’s call him by his proper name. This furry icon remains at the center of “the longest-running public service campaign in U.S. history,” and a complicated history it is. Read “At 65, Smokey Bear is still fighting fires” for more.
> A species of almost extinct frogs has been found in the San Jacinto Wilderness in Southern California, according to the Associated Press. Read the rest of this entry »
Fastest water-slide racers win free hotel stays
June 28, 2009 8:10am
Master the “hydro-blade” technique for water-sliding, and “your speed times may break the sound barrier,” according to the Sliders Cup Speed Challenge website. This method involves keeping only shoulder blades and heels on the slide in order to achieve more “hydroplaning speed.”
Sound too amateur? Try combining it with the more traditional “Mummy” technique (arms crossed over chest) for a really fast descent.
Water-sliding is serious business at two KSL Resorts this summer. At Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa in Palm Springs and La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, the first annual Sliders Cup race series is drawing schools of folks of all ages and sizes to the water for fun and good booty.
Twice weekly at each resort, racers vie for best times as they take on Rancho Las Palmas’ 100-foot water slide or La Costa’s 120-foot slide. Read the rest of this entry »
Palm Springs: No time to sweat with Riviera Resort family deal
June 24, 2009 12:37pm
Sure, the highs are consistently above the 100-degree mark in Palm Springs these days, but that can be a boon for the vacationer’s pocketbook. With the mercury rising, desert tourism is slowing, and that means some interesting deals by hotels and resorts.
And with the following offer by Riviera Resort, you may not even have time to sweat a thing.
Deal, or no deal?: The “Riviera Family Package” features the following, included with your room: a choice of passes for the family for the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway or Knott’s Soak City; a large pizza, soft drink and one On-Demand movie; daily breakfast; free food onsite for children ages 12 and under; a welcome gift; and a complementary room upgrade. Rates start at $189 per night (pre-tax; after taxes and a $25 nightly resort fee, it’s about $243). Sounds alright, right?
Tested: If there’s more than one of you, you’ll be paying substantially more. Read the rest of this entry »
La Quinta Resort’s all-inclusive summer deal
June 9, 2009 10:18am
For those who appreciate a good rest poolside in the sunshine, now is a great time to head out to Palm Springs and surrounds. With temperatures these days there in the 90s on up to 100 degrees, the desert region is starting to quiet down for the summer.
When the days are hot, it’s hard to go wrong at La Quinta Resort and Club (a 30-minute drive southeast of Palm Springs), whose amenities galore include 41 pools. The next few weeks are ideal for taking advantage of the fun package detailed below, before July and August begin scorching even the lizards among us.
Deal: The “Play It Your Way” package features playing and relaxing, and drinking and dining. For $299 per night (pre-tax), you get a standard room and the following:
> Unlimited golf at one of four resort and PGA West courses
> One spa treatment of choice daily per room per night from a limited spa menu that includes facials and massages. Read the rest of this entry »
