Greater Palm Springs is renowned for both the quantity and quality of its golf. Since golfers have more than 100 courses to choose from, resorts strive to differentiate themselves by providing the newest facilities and superior guest experiences. With so many refreshed courses seamlessly combined with abundant meeting space and stunning scenery, the Desert Resorts cities are a Grand Slam for planners.
SilverRock Resort reopened its classic Arnold Palmer course in November 2013 after its most recent annual reseeding. Owned by the City of La Quinta, the course has consistently made nearly every top-ten list since it opened in 2005. SilverRock offers personalized, turn-key service for tournament groups of 13 or more. An expansion project, still in the planning stages, would add another 18 holes of golf as well as a practice center, shopping and a luxury hotel property.
In late 2012, the Peter Dye-designed course at the Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage invested $670,000 in improvements. In addition to the annual reseeding, the course replaced the railroad ties around its ponds. The course itself can welcome tournaments as large as 288. At the resort itself, there are 512 guest rooms and more than 65,000 square feet of meeting space. The main restaurant recently emerged from a $1 million renovation as Pinzimini, serving Italian cuisine.
JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2012 with a $30 million renovation that included extensive renovations to both of its Ted Robinson-designed golf courses. Upgrades to the greens included new, tour-quality tiff-eagle grass, laser-leveled tees and new and reshaped bunkers. The Palm Desert property also recently upgraded its 884 guest rooms and restaurants. There are 210,000 square feet of meeting space.
Indian Wells Golf Resort debuted its new VUE Grille and Bar in December 2013. The restaurant, which welcomes large parties, features seasonal cuisine made from fresh, local ingredients as well as pickles, preserves and pasta all made by hand in-house. The resort has also recently launched a new and unique 5,700-square-foot pavilion capable of seating 400. The property offers 36 holes of golf rated among the best in California as well as a total of 53,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space.
