Drive Madison Street between Avenue 58 and Avenue 60 and you pass two communities that started as one document. On the east side are Andalusia Country Club's Rees Jones fairways, its Spanish-inspired homes, and Tapas Restaurant. On the west side, Coral Mountain Desert Club has broken ground on what La Quinta's planning files still call an amendment to the Andalusia Specific Plan.
Buyers looking at south La Quinta now see both names in the same search, and it is easy to treat them as two products at two prices. They are two different kinds of purchase. One includes a working club the day you close. The other publishes a club timeline, and its own website says the home does not buy the club.
One Specific Plan, Cut in Two
The land west of Madison Street was once part of the Andalusia development. Sunrise Company acquired Andalusia in fall 2018. A 2020 Desert Sun report, republished by a local blog, describes the west parcel as having been purchased from Sunrise by Meriwether Companies and Big Sky Wave Developments. Meriwether's own materials date its acquisition of the 384-acre parcel to mid-2019.
The city's project page for the Club at Coral Mountain describes the site as south of Avenue 58, north of Avenue 60, and on both sides of Madison Street. Approvals there changed the layout of golf and residential land for the vacant western portion of the Andalusia plan. They also moved the design guidelines toward a more contemporary style than the Spanish architecture on the east side. The west side allows 18 holes of golf, up to 750 residential units, and up to 60,000 square feet of commercial space.
The path to those approvals matters because it explains why a 2028 date exists at all.
- September 21, 2022: After a five-hour hearing, the La Quinta City Council unanimously rejected the original Coral Mountain Resort. That plan had a hotel, hundreds of homes, and a large wave basin. Neighbors organized as La Quinta Residents for Responsible Development and cited traffic, lighting, noise, and water.
- March 2024: The council approved the reworked Club at Coral Mountain, with no on-site wave basin and no hotel.
- October 28, 2025: The Planning Commission approved the tentative tract map, golf course landscaping, and sales center.
- November 7, 2025: An appeal was filed.
- December 16, 2025: The City Council unanimously upheld those approvals.
- May 12, 2026: According to the city's project page, the Planning Commission approved Phase 1 residential, covering 91 single-family homes. The page listed those minutes as not yet approved when I reviewed it.
Nearly four years passed between the first rejection and the Phase 1 design approval. A buyer today is deciding about a project whose entitlements are now largely settled and whose amenities are not built.
What Each Side of Madison Actually Sells
Andalusia's club page for 2026 says each owner receives one Sports Club Membership with a home or homesite. There is no initiation fee, and the listed monthly dues of $563 are included in HOA dues. That membership covers tennis, the resort pool and spa, pickleball, fitness, wellness, bocce, hiking, biking, and Tapas Restaurant. Golf is a separate, optional purchase.
Coral Mountain's website says something different in plain terms. Membership is by invitation only, and a home purchase does not grant access to the club. Access requires separate fees and a separate application, and availability is not guaranteed.
Andalusia Country Club | Coral Mountain Desert Club | |
|---|---|---|
Club access with the home | One Sports Club Membership per owner, included in HOA dues | Not included; separate application and fees |
Golf | Rees Jones course, open now, optional membership | David McLay Kidd course, targeted for 2028 |
Golf cost published | $60,000 non-refundable initiation and $2,240 monthly dues in 2026 | None found as of late September 2026 |
Surf | None | Planned member access at Thermal Beach Club, not yet built |
Home pricing published | Seven plans, 2,315 to over 5,100 square feet | Not found as of the last independent update, August 31, 2026 |
Comparing the home prices on the two sides is not a like-for-like exercise. At Andalusia, the number you are shown already sits on top of a working sports club. On the west side, the home is one line item and the club is a second, unpriced one. A buyer who compares the first number to the second is leaving out the biggest cost variable.
The Golf Line Is Where Andalusia's Real Cost Lives
Andalusia's golf numbers are specific enough to plan around. The official 2026 resident golf schedule lists a $60,000 non-refundable initiation fee and $2,240 in monthly dues. Twelve months of those dues come to $26,880. The Resident Premier Golf Program lets a new resident try the club for 12 months for $27,400, then convert to a non-refundable membership at $50,000, a $10,000 reduction from the standard fee. There is also a Resident Young Professional membership designed for members under 50, with a Premier Fee of $22,025.
Play is walk-on, with no tee times. Guests are welcome when accompanied by a member.
Older brokerage pages show golf dues of $1,950 and $2,135 for the same club. Those are earlier figures. The 2026 club page is the one to use, and it states that dues, fees, and charges can change.
Total HOA dues are harder to pin down. Sources I reviewed list different amounts for the whole assessment, and the club's own page identifies only the $563 Sports Club portion. Ask for the current HOA budget and the assessment breakdown before you compare anything else.
The Wave Left, and the Surf Went to Thermal
Coral Mountain's early identity was the wave. That version is not what is being built in La Quinta. On January 13, 2026, Meriwether announced a partnership with Thermal Beach Club to build a private surf lagoon as an annex amenity for Coral Mountain members. Developer materials place it about eight to ten minutes from the La Quinta site. The April 9, 2026 groundbreaking announcement says the first amenities, the golf course, and the wave basin are slated for 2028.
The surf access is announced, and it sits on a separate property. A wave basin at Thermal has its own delivery timeline, and the La Quinta community would depend on it for one of its marketed amenities. Anyone who values surf should ask what written rights members get, at what fee, and who operates the facility.
What the Wait Costs
Between now and 2028, Coral Mountain is a community under development. The developer says construction of the initial phase is underway. Its site says the sales office is "opening soon." As of August 31, 2026, an independent development tracker found no verified public opening date, release schedule, or official pricing. It also noted that the 85 residential lots in the conditionally approved final map and the 91 approved Phase 1 home sites have not been reconciled in the public record. The approved designs range from about 3,281 to 6,521 square feet. The developer's portfolio describes roughly 300 homesites, including Villas, Golf Cottages, and custom homes.
Infrastructure is the other open question. Public discussions in early 2024 linked an Avenue 58 substation upgrade to Coral Mountain and other planned developments, and staff described work of that kind as taking years. I did not find a current status, so ask whoever is selling the homesite what power delivery looks like for your phase.
Andalusia's own new-home program, built by Sunrise, is a useful contrast in timing. Sunrise builds the homes and operates the club, and after the 2018 acquisition it renovated Tapas Restaurant, the pool, and the fitness center. Brokerage listings in mid-2026 show new Andalusia plans starting around $1.3 million with the homesite included, and resale homes ranging from the high $1 millions to roughly $3.8 million. Those are asking figures from sales pages, so treat them as a starting point.
Questions to Put in Writing Before You Compare
- What is the current total HOA assessment at Andalusia, and what portion funds the Sports Club?
- What are the 2026 golf terms in effect on the day you would close, and is the Premier trial still offered?
- For Coral Mountain, what are the membership category, initiation fee, and dues, and is there a waitlist?
- What written commitment exists for the Thermal Beach Club surf access, including cost and ownership of the facility?
- Which Coral Mountain phase and homesite are you considering, and what is the delivery date for the golf course and clubhouse serving it?
- What utility capacity has been confirmed for that phase?
Two Short Answers
Does an Andalusia home include golf?
No. The home includes one Sports Club Membership through the HOA, and golf membership is separate and optional.
Is there a wave pool at Coral Mountain in La Quinta?
Not on the La Quinta site. The current plan has no wave basin there, and members are slated to have access to a planned lagoon at Thermal Beach Club.
If you are weighing Andalusia against what is coming across Madison Street, Kathleen Galigher can pull Andalusia's current HOA budget and membership schedule and set them beside whatever Coral Mountain has put in writing. Let's Connect.
