A brass plaque sits in the patio on the south side of the main building at La Quinta Resort & Club, behind the Santa Rosa Room. Under it is a time capsule buried on July 4, 1990. Palm Springs Life reported that it is "waiting to be opened during the resort's centennial celebration this December." Judy Vossler was the hotel's general manager from 1980 to 1993, and she told the magazine she doesn't remember what went inside. "But the resort itself is a time capsule," she said.
Her line fits this season. The resort opened on December 29, 1926, according to the City of La Quinta's history page. That puts the 100th birthday inside a holiday season the resort built almost entirely from traditions it already had. Meanwhile, the biggest physical change proposed for the property's second century is a family pool expansion with a water slide, and it is still under review at City Hall. If you own a villa on the grounds or live along Eisenhower Drive, you're dealing with both at once this winter.
Twenty Casitas Then, a Small Town Now
The property opened with 20 casitas. Palm Springs Life puts today's count at 620 casitas and 98 private villas. Going from 20 doors to more than 700 explains how the resort describes its holidays. On its holiday page, it says the property "turns into a small town for the season" from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve, with lit shop windows on the Plaza and "neighbors and guests" gathering under what it calls the tallest live tree in the Coachella Valley.
The same page names Frank Capra, who the resort says worked on It's a Wonderful Life here. That history shows up all over the calendar. The resort has a Capra Ballroom, and it hosts the first Breakfast with Santa of the season. The film itself screens on the Main Lawn on December 12.
The centennial has added a few touches of its own across the year. The resort posted in March that it had added centennial dishes to the regular dinner menus at Twenty6, Morgan's in the desert and Adobe Grill. At Spa La Quinta, Locale Magazine listed three anniversary treatments: the Centennial Garden Bath at $100, and the 100-minute Centennial Journey and 100-minute Legacy of Serenity Ritual at $450 each.
Five Weeks on One Calendar
The holiday program runs Thanksgiving week through New Year's Eve. Thanksgiving weekend has the most going on. Here is how the published schedule lays out:
- Tracy Austin Family Tennis Clinics: Thursday through Saturday, November 26 to 28, 10 to 11 a.m. at the Tennis Center.
- Annual Tree Lighting: Sunday, November 29, 4 p.m. on Main Drive, with live music, complimentary cookies, cocoa and carols.
- Breakfast with Santa: November 29 and December 19, seatings at 9 and 11 a.m., with a Bloody Mary, bubbles and mimosa bar. The Luma booking page lists $58 a seating, with the Capra Ballroom on November 29 and the Fiesta Ballroom on December 19.
- Cooking demonstrations: Saturdays, November 28 through December 19, 10 a.m. at Morgan's in the desert.
- Chestnut roasting and dessert demonstrations: the same Saturdays, 7 to 9 p.m. in the Lobby.
- New Year's Eve Celebration: Thursday, December 31, with dining, live music, dancing and a midnight champagne toast. The resort says more details are coming.
Saturdays from November 28 through December 19 work like a double feature. There's a morning demo at Morgan's, a 7 p.m. film on the Main Lawn and chestnuts in the Lobby during the same evening hours. Locale Magazine describes the December 31 celebration as the close of the centennial year.
The Lawn Lineup, Night by Night
Holiday Movies on the Lawn start at 7 p.m. on select Fridays through Sundays. Popcorn and hot cocoa are free, and alcoholic drinks are available to buy. The published schedule runs from November 27 to December 27:
- November 27: The Nightmare Before Christmas
- November 28: Elf
- November 29: The Polar Express
- December 4: Miracle on 34th Street
- December 5: Frosty the Snowman
- December 11: Home Alone
- December 12: It's a Wonderful Life
- December 18: A Charlie Brown Christmas
- December 19: A Christmas Story
- December 25: The Santa Clause
- December 26: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- December 27: A Christmas Carol
Sunday, November 29 is the busiest day on the calendar. It has a Santa breakfast in the morning, the tree lighting at 4 p.m. and The Polar Express at 7.
What the Holiday Tables Cost
All three resort restaurants are serving prix-fixe menus for each of the three holidays, and the holiday page says all of them require reservations.
| Restaurant | Thanksgiving | Christmas | New Year's Eve |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan's in the desert | $110++ | $110++ | $110++ |
| Adobe Grill | $90 | $95 | $95 |
| Twenty6 | $85 | $85 | $85 |
Twenty6 charges the same $85 all season and costs $25 less than Morgan's before Morgan's adds tax and a 1.926% Historic Preservation Fund charge. On Thanksgiving, its main courses are maple-glazed turkey breast or roasted prime rib. Morgan's offers herb turkey breast, Hokkaido scallop or braised bone-in short rib, and Adobe Grill pairs a traditional turkey roulade with braised lamb barbacoa. For Christmas and New Year's Eve, Morgan's moves to half-duck, lobster Thermidor or Chateaubriand. Twenty6 serves pecan-crusted halibut or roasted prime rib, and Adobe Grill serves surf and turf or branzino al pastor.
Getting There From Outside the Gates
The resort's FAQ says it doesn't sell pool or day passes to anyone who isn't a registered guest. It quotes overnight parking at $25 per vehicle per night for self-parking and $30 for valet. If you're coming from outside the resort for the tree lighting or a movie night, call the front desk about access and parking before you go.
The City also holds its own Tree Lighting Ceremony, free, on Friday, December 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Civic Center Campus. That's the same night Miracle on 34th Street plays on the resort lawn, so you can make it to both.
Golfers face a different timeline. The resort's maintenance schedule keeps the Dunes Course cart-path-only through November 15. The Mountain Course reopens from overseeding on November 16 and stays cart-path-only through December 6. Full cart access on both courses comes back right as the December holiday weekends start.
The Proposal Waiting for the Second Century
While the holiday program repeats familiar traditions, the City of La Quinta has a project on file that would change the property itself. Its planning page for the La Quinta Resort Family Pool Expansion lists the status as Under Review. The applicant is Pyramid Hotel Group, and the site covers about 1.1 acres. The plan would expand the family pool and add a water slide, a children's water play area, cabanas and similar amenities. It would also remove four existing pickleball courts. The family pool sits just south of the Morgan House, east of the tennis complex and west of Avenida Obregon.
KESQ reported in July that the slide structure would reach about 34 feet at its highest point, with one slide around 22 feet tall and the other close to 30. The station also reported that the resort had held a listening session with the La Quinta Tennis Villas, and that residents of Mountain Estates had raised concerns about the structure's height and noise. According to KESQ, project architect Gary Houston said the play area and slide were positioned to send sound back toward the resort, with landscaping to blend the structure into the surrounding architecture. In a statement KESQ published, the City laid out how the process works:
"The City has received public comments on this project and continues to encourage comment both in writing and in person at all public meetings. When the application is scheduled for a public hearing in the future, all comments will be considered."
The City's project page lists consulting planner Nicole Criste as the contact, at [email protected]. Written comments can go to that address now, and the City says it will consider them once the application is scheduled for a public hearing.
If you own one of the 98 private villas or a home near the resort and want to talk about how the centennial season and the pool proposal might affect your plans, I'm happy to help. Visit Kathleen Galigher and let's connect.
