Renaissance Esmeralda Resort

Ratings: Baby/Child Friendliness: Romance: More about the ratings... Contact Information 44-400 Indian Wells Lane Indian Wells, California 92210-9971 Phone: (760) 773-4444 Fax: (760) 773-9250 www.marriott.com

The Renaissance Esmeralda showcases the unique beauty of the California desert with its mountains views, palm trees, and serene lakes.

The Renaissance Esmeralda Resort's name refers to the emerald necklace of Spanish legend said to ensure health, happiness and other blessings on its owners. The actual necklace is on display in the lobby.

The first thing that captured my attention at this pleasant, Mobil Four-Star and AAA Four-Diamond award winning resort was the elegant ambiance that never felt snobbish. When I walked into the mezzanine, I was struck by the lovely, cascading fountain that flows through the lobby floor into a shimmering pool on the terrace level. Such a structure is fascinating to young children and babies. The terrace is decorated with handset marble floors, sculptures, paintings and tapestries. A double-grand staircase leads from the terrace to the lobby level. I visited this resort directly after La Quinta Resort and Club, which is quite an act to follow. The Renaissance Esmerelda held its own and, although quite different, I was not a bit disappointed. Hotel guests are able to receive complimentary faxes during their stay, and are able to select from a variety of dining options within the resort including:

• The Sirocco Restaurant is a three-story, fine-dining restaurant offering Mediterranean cuisine and an award-winning wine list of vintage domestic and imported wines. Classical music helps to set the mood in this setting.
• Charisma serves contemporary California dishes all day long.
• Las Estrellas Lounge is a wonderful place to enjoy music and dancing.
• The Starbuck's Kiosk serves pastries, juice, and, of course, coffee.

Recreation Activities:

• An acclaimed golf course; four tennis courts, volleyball, basketball, and croquet courts, are all on-site for diverse sporting interests.
• Two outdoor whirlpools and a fitness center with sauna and steam rooms, including spa treatments and fitness training sessions are available to guests.

Baby/Child Friendliness:

• Kids' Camp is available from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. daily for children ages five to twelve. All activities are closely supervised. A special glass-walled building houses the camp. It is located near the basketball court and a grassy lawn for playing. Activities include nature walks that lead beyond exotic trees to a pond where children feed koi, bass and catfish and bring back a container of water for observation. Children learn about the surrounding environment in a program designed by an award-winning artist and teacher who capitalize on the desert setting. Kids make orange juice, fly kites, participate in arts and crafts, sidewalk science, lawn games, and use sand and swim time. Children are also served lunch and can see a movie and get a remembrance take-home gift. The fee for this program is $30.00, per child.
• The Sandy Beach Pool is provided and allows children to build sand castles and dip in a wading pool.
• The resort offers a children's menu for children eleven and under. Breakfast includes dry cereal, oatmeal, Wally Waffles, Peter Pancakes, and Fancy French Toast. Lunch offerings are hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese, and chicken fingers.
• Baby-sitting is available.
• Refrigerators (mini-bars) are found in rooms, and convenient for baby food or formulas.
• Videos can be accessed, including a section of "Kids And Family" for many G-rated and animated films.
• Laundry service provided, and is a convenience for cleaning baby clothes.
• Room service is available until 1 a.m. if you do not feel like going out with the babies or children.
• Air conditioning and heating make babies and children very comfortable.

Nearby Family Attractions:

The hotel can prepare your family a box lunch for visits to the following locations with your children:

• Tramway--ascends Mt. Jacinto to an elevation of 8516 feet. The temperature dips to forty degrees cooler than the desert floor.
• Oasis Water Park--twenty-one acres of waterslides, surfing waves, splash pools, beaches, cabanas, volleyball courts, and picnic areas. The "Adults Only" club section of the park includes a lounge, steam caves, saunas, therapy pools and fitness rooms.
• Center Ice--Ice skating rink in Palm Desert Town Center shopping center. Cool off on desert days. A full-time disk jockey is on duty.
• Hot air balloons nearby the resort.
• Idyllwild--north of Palm Springs, high Alpine mountain community. Beautiful and artsy.
• Jeep tours--access into the Santa Rosa Mountains. Climb from the desert floor through the Big Horn Sheep reserve, an ancient oasis where the runoff created spectacular cliffs, waterfalls, and painted canyons.
• Children's Discovery Museum--children love to visit this attraction.
• El Paseo--the Rodeo Drive of the desert provides upscale shopping. Visit the Gardens on El Paseo, an upscale cluster of shops including Saks Fifth Avenue.
• Celebrity Tours--one-hour tours drive past the houses of the rich and famous of the Palm Springs area.

Romance:

While La Quinta Resort and Club is structured with numerous casitas, the Renaissance Esmerelda is designed as an eight-story atrium containing four towers, each named after a gemstone. Our room was on the sixth floor in the Ruby Tower.

My room overlooked the stunning Water Temple Pool. Other views from opposite sides are of the mountains and golf course. The Water Temple Pool contains a ten-foot cascading wall of water. The enormous pool is structured around a lovely pavilion bar. The pool area contains many private covered gazebos for sitting quietly in the shade, listening to the waterfall, and gazing at the huge pool as well as the stunning Santa Rosa Mountains. This creates a highly peaceful and romantic ambiance.