The Best Hotels in Rancho Mirage

Rancho Mirage has no real downtown and does not want one. It is a city of walled communities, golf, a very good public library with a research telescope, and Sunnylands — the Annenberg estate, which is the single most worthwhile paid attraction in the mid-valley. The hotels follow suit: large, comfortable, expensive, and quiet.

The two positions

Hillside properties, set above the valley floor on the Santa Rosa slope, have the views and the best spas, and they charge for both. Valley-floor resorts are larger, more family-oriented, with multiple pools, waterslides and lazy rivers — genuinely the best choice in the valley if you are travelling with children.

Rates and fees

High season runs $350-700 at the hillside properties and $250-450 on the floor. Summer discounts are steep, often 50 percent, and the pool complexes stay open. Resort fees of $35-50 are the highest in the valley; check what they include, because at these properties they frequently cover shuttles, classes and range balls.

Sunnylands and the observatory

Sunnylands Center and Gardens is free to walk; the house tours are ticketed, limited, and released on a schedule — book weeks ahead. The Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory runs free public star parties with a research-grade telescope, which is one of the best free evenings in the valley and almost unknown to visitors.

Eating

Rancho Mirage has a decent spread of established restaurants along Highway 111 and at The River, an open-air centre with cinemas and patios. For a bigger night out, El Paseo is 10 minutes east and downtown Palm Springs 20 minutes west.

Who it suits

If golf is the main reason for your stay, use our Coachella Valley golf guide to choose courses first, then compare hotels around your itinerary. Check whether a quoted golf package includes the exact course and tee time you want.

Families wanting a resort pool, couples wanting a spa weekend, golfers, and anyone who wants central geography with quiet. It suits visitors chasing Palm Springs nightlife or mid-century design less well.