Quick getaways and last-minute trips are the recharge moments on which we thrive. Hopping a flight and getting away during cold winter months is especially appreciated when the destination is warm and only 3 hours away.

When travelling, this midlife couple likes to make our accommodations to be part of the fun, so using travel points we booked a luxurious week at the Ritz Carlton in the hills of Rancho Mirage, California.

Renting a car is a must to get the most out of the Coachella Valley and after the rigours of a very early morning flight, we just wanted to get out to the pool and relax. The Ritz Carlton is special at every location but there is something uniquely gifted in a venue perched with bird’s eye views of Palm Springs and the San Jacinto Mountain Range. The view of the Coachella Valley is incredible and visible from most of the property. After sunset from the restaurant, patio, bar or balcony, you can watch that landscape turn twinkly under a starlit sky. It would be common for the viewer to stand, lips parted.

Work has led me (Warren) to travel a fair bit. Not excessively like some might have to but to give you some measure, if we consider just Marriott hotels, I’ve stayed over 350 nights in my working career. That’s the only hotel chain of which I’ve kept track, so the total nights are something much more than that figure. I feel this exposure is sufficient to give me some right in providing opinion to the level of “stay quality” one might encounter when staying at a hotel.

For us, and for many of you as well, the level of comfort of our home is the bar of measure at which any hotel must compete and that is very difficult for any venue. We love our home. There is no place we find more comfortable, more specifically tailored to our life and more welcoming than our own home. The best any hotel can do is to provide a reasonable landing spot while away. If they are successful in doing so, they generally accomplish this feat via design, cleanliness, services, care and attention and a level of amenities that at least attempt to buffer time away from our home.  

The Ritz Carlton in Rancho Mirage is a secluded luxury hotel just a short and winding drive up Frank Sinatra Drive to where the valet drivers welcome you to your destination. Your car quickly disappears as if they couldn’t imagine any reason that you might need it again during your stay. Check-in is friendly, efficient and already the feeling of being someplace special is taking hold.

Most rooms face one of the two pool areas or the valley stretching out far below. What they all have in common is very comfortable mattress and linens. Ours was a main floor unit featuring a patio with several welcoming chairs and a large fire table which magically sprang to life each evening. As we dropped off our luggage in the room, staff arrived with artfully presented warm chocolate chip cookies, a s’mores making kit, and a bottle of our favourite red wine. How did they know? Nice touch. Opting for an outdoor lunch right at the hotel, we wandered over to State Fare Bar & Kitchen. While the soup & salad was excellent, it really was just wonderful to sit and take in that beautiful view. We would return multiple times for great breakfasts here and a delicious dinner. Veldene may never again eat Avocado Toast, as the one she put on repeat at the Ritz can not be topped. While I enjoyed the best Negroni my lips have ever tasted.

We made good use of the pools, lounging away the afternoon hours, played corn hole toss game on the well manicured lawns, and hiked a great trail near the property with a complementary guide.

Great hotels are a 24/7 coordinated effort of reception, valets, attendants, conference facilities, spa services, retail, food and bar service. With so many moving parts, I imagine that it is very difficult to efficiently operate a hotel. And yet, with so much to attend to, the Ritz Carlton pays significant attention to the details where so many operators fall short. The room was quiet and very clean. The coffee was delicious and hot. Every tomato slice was red and the lettuce was crisp. Cocktails weren’t drinks, they were art. And staff were, at every turn, fantastic. We loved our stay.

Do you have a favourite hotel stay memory that just blew you away? We’d love to hear about it!