November 2, 2004 -- Boasting over one hundred area golf courses and almost as many resorts, Palm Springs is back as a leading American vacation destination. Once considered tired and run-down, many of the area's hotels have undergone recent renovations and upgrades. Even the town of Palm Springs itself has recently experienced growth as haute couture and culinary excellence found success in a place where many Hollywood legends happily called home.
With so many resorts, specials have to be competitive across the board from the very expensive to the mid-range budget. Through www.palmsprings.com, for example, weekday package rates at the mid-range Miracle Springs Resort and Spa start at $83.80 for a king-sized room with a mountain room. Go to www.palmsprings.com/miraclesprings for the specific deal. The hotel's web site (https://miraclesprings.com/specials.htm) offers similar discounts such as 30 percent off a standard room when booking online.
Other deals available through Palmsprings.com include discounted rates at the 7 Springs Inn and Suites (tel. 800/833-0417; www.palmsprings.com/7springs) with rooms available for $71 weekdays (down from the usual $79) and $116 weekend (down from $129) through December 16. Rooms at the 7 Springs are condo-esque and pet friendly. Its central location is good for sampling the surrounding golf courses and quaint downtown Palm Springs.
Golfers on the prowl should start at www.thecaddyshack.com, a site that details deals and opportunities on fairways in Las Vegas, Orlando, Palm Springs, Phoenix and San Diego. From the site, simply click "Palm Springs" to bring up a number of hotel and golf offers. One of the better deals is through La Quinta Resort & Club (tel. 800/598-3828; www.laquintaresort.com) in the Santa Rosa Mountains. The luxurious Palm Spring's resort with golfing, swimming, spa and tennis facilities offers weekend golf packages with greens fees. Now through December 31, 2004, the hotel offers a three-day/two-night golf package with golf at the La Quinta resort or at the neighboring PGA West courses starting at $199 per weekend night.
From the hotel's website, weekly rates start at $149 with golf discounts of 35% off meaning green fees more than discounts through the Palm Springs general golf site. With the hotel's deal, you get 15% off the Spa at La Quinta as well. If you're worried about course difficulty, don't. La Quinta is home to the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Tiger Woods has teed off there. If you book through the hotel, the offer is valid through December 23, 2004, based on availability and not inclusive of nightly tax and resort fee. Of course, Thanksgiving is blocked out.
At Marriott's Desert Springs in Palm Desert, specials are also available through www.desertspringsresort.com (just click ¿Discounts and Special Offers¿ at the bottom of the page) or by calling 800/331-3112. Located ten minutes by car from Palm Springs, the Palm Desert hotel has two championship golf courses and a 30,000-foot spa area. If you book 30 days in advance, the hotel is offering a 15 percent discount on rooms that go for $195 per night. Hotel taxes are not included.
For flights to Palm Springs, several Southern California airports are close. Ontario International Airport (www.lawa.org/ont/ontframe.html) is 70 miles from Palm Springs and only 35 miles from downtown Los Angeles. Flights to Ontario from New York are currently very low if booked two weeks in advance coming in at $153 roundtrip on Northwest Airlines (tel. 800/225-2525; www.nwa.com) with a stopover in Minneapolis. Budget carriers JetBlue (tel. 800/538-2583; www.jetblue.com) and Southwest (tel. 800/435-9792; www.southwest.com) both serve Ontario as well. Flights into Palm Springs are more expensive. For example, a mid-December flight into Palm Springs airport from Chicago O'Hare costs about $427 on Alaska Airlines (tel. 800/426-0333; www.alaska-air.com).
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