Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa, Rancho Mirage

Likes: Basically everything. Splashtopia is AWESOME, the rooms are just as beautiful as the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas... we got a view of the golf course, and two ducks waddled over and stayed around for a while! So cute! The waterslides were DA BEST at Splashtopia. Basically everything is fun, and it's not as crowded as amusement parks. Splashtopia is full of people, of course, but when night falls, they play a movie right in front of the pool! And they don't have many people in Splashtopia by then. You'll spend all day there! LOVE IT, would love to go back! Much better than strolling through Beverly Hills or staying at Las Vegas's Mandalay Bay. Dislikes: Only the price is all. But if they made it cheaper, it would be WAY too crowded! Please, if you just discovered this resort, you won't regret booking it unless you hate fun! My entire family loves this place. It was my first real vacation, too, especially involving a resort.

My family loved this resort it is such a beautiful place full of tranquility and peacefulness!

Wait until 5:30 to get checked in. Carpet was dirty and house cleaning never cleaned it. Housekeeper didn't even speak English. Screen door broke. Missing coffee pot. Pool ran out to towels. Not sound proof. Too many kids and not enough parental guidance. Too much drinking.

Besides pretentiousness, the $35m upgrade misses. No soundproofing was added so "Thumper" above us was a real negative. It already is showing lack of maintenance and cleanliness. Top of filter in bathroom had a months dust collected and there was hair in all corners of bathroom. Tub drain did not close. Ventiliation was ineffective. The TV selections were mundane - e.g. no PBS available. We noticed staff had "Not My Job" attitude when they rode around dropped towels in parking lot. Resort fee of $22 is a way of getting a higher rate for room. When I called to discuss the Resort fee, I spoke to three people and left a message for the manager, Woo, to call me. Never happened. We never received value for the $22 extra charge. Lobby computers are $15/10 minutes. Room service is not available if you are the ONE to call for a time first, it may work. Wanted 6 am room service on departure and was told there was already one for that time slot! The PTA (pleasure to assist) marketing gimmick is inefficient. It is one number on the phone and they did not assist with the room service situation. Restaurants are pretentious and not sufficient. This is the third time we stayed, the first as a KSL resort. Marriott did a MUCH better job. I would recommend checking other hotels before settling on this one.

Rancho Las Palmas was a very pleasant surpise! I have 3 children - ages 9, 6, and 4. To celebrate my 40th birthday we were looking for place to stay that would have enough "fun factor" so that the kids could stay entertained all day, while the adults enjoy a great atmosphere along with the rest of the hotel amenities - pool, restaraunts, local attractions, etc. The hotel pool was the single most important "fun factor" for our decision to stay at Rancho Las Palmas - and it did not disappoint. Let me also state that it was so important, that I initially only booked a room for one night, so that if we were unhappy, I could move us to another nearby hotel (there are many). We arrived late on a Thursday night and were immediatley impressed by the clean and very upscale feel of the resort. I am as snobby as anyone and have stayed at plenty of 5 star resorts - Rancho Las Palmas holds up, and not just "for the money" - it is very nice at any price. I was not impressed by fact that the internet reservation I had made earlier that day had not been "updated to the hotel's system yet". This caused check-in at 1am to take about 35 minutes while my family waited impatiently in the car outside. I was lucky to have printed my internet confirmation, since without it, I think the process would have taken much longer. The person behind the desk (very nice by the way - just slow) stated that no poolside rooms were available; however she found one when I produced a confirmation showing that I specifically paid for a poolside room. She was also going to charge me 260.00 instead of the 195.00 rate I got on the net - until I pointed out the rate on my confirmation sheet. ADVICE: Bring your confirmartion slip. For the most part, that is the end of my real disappointments. We woke up early the next morning and because I was a bit miffed by the check-in experience, I drove to a few nearby hotels to compare the hotels and pool environments. We looked at La Quinta, Hyatt Grand Champion, and Marriott Shadow Ridge - none of them hold a candle to the pool scene at Rancho Las Palmas FOR KIDS. All of the hotels I mentioned have beautiful, tranquil, well landscaped pools - just none of them would keep my kids occupied for 3 days. We quickly turned back for Rancho Las Palmas and never regretted out decision. After my bad checkin experience the night before, I was very happy to find that the night shift person had informed one of the oncoming day-shif folks about my situation. Despite the hotel being "sold out", the day shift person was holding my room (I told them I may want to extend the night before), and she knew all about the issues with my rates, and was able to assure me that I was getting the promotional rates as promised on the internet. The kids AND parents loved the pool scene. Again, we were not looking for a quiet place to chill out, although Rancho does offere a pool like that too. Splashtopia (which is what RLP calls their pool attraction) provided non-stop fun for all of us. The lazy river is excellent, water slides great, and the sand beach that leads into the splashtopia pool provided our 4 year old (and the 6 year old too) hours of entertainment. WARNING: The resort STRICTLY enforces a 48" height requirment for the waterslides. Your child under 48" will not get to slide - ask my 6 year old. He was pleasantly rejected with "lifegaurd hugs" and laughs 4 or 5 times before he gave up. That said, my 9 year old spent more time in the lazy river than on the slides, somy 4 or 6 year ld really did not protest. There in PLENTY to do for those under 48". I am convinced that there is no other hotel in the area with a better pool scene (for kids) - and yes, there is poolside service from the bar and restaraunt. FINAL TIPS: 1. Stay on the 2nd floor of a poolside building. I suggest bldg 14. Room 1424. 2. Claim your poolside chair with a towel EARLY. 3. Bring snacks for kids - hotel food is $$$$$.

We arrived late Memorial Day. It was obvious it had been a busy weekend with all the cleaning up that the staff was doing. We spent three days mid-week during a time when most schools are still in session, so it was not crowded. The pool amenities for kids are the highlight, with a regular pool that is mostly 3 1/2 feet deep with a small 4 foot area; the lazy river (3 feet or 3 1/2 feet deep); a small sand area for the toddler set; a small center splash zone with several features; and the slides. My seven year-old enjoyed the regular pool & jacuzzi and lazy river, but was afraid to do the slides and spent minimal time in the splash features. My just three-year old enjoyed the pool, the sand and the splash zone, but was intimidated by the lazy river. I noticed that many of the little kids didn't seem to like the river as much, which was surprising to me. There were a multitude of life guards, which scores big points with me. My husband and I did the slide, and it was fun. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Food service at the pool was very good and the quality of the food was very good. Rooms were decent and clean. The area around the rooms shows age, but the areas around the lobby and restaurants were done up nicely.

My family and I were really looking forward to a great weekend this last Mothers day. I spent a great deal of time to see if this newly remodeled resort was ready for business. Here is what I found: -The new rooms are very nice -The Kids/lazy river pool is not near big enough for the capacity of guests. Our family of 4 spent nearly 2 hours searching for chairs both Saturday and Sunday. -If you plan to get chairs for a family, plan to get to the pool before 7:00 on weekend days too reserve your space, or pan to fight for one later. -The food at the hotel is limited to the very cheap tasting microwave type($15 burgers), to the very expensive that is not confy with kids. Hopefully by next year they will figure things out. The food is unacceptable, not enough space at the pool, and the staff is mediocre at best. Good Luck

Of course we were coming from northern Indiana, in February, so we were open to a positive experience. But, objectively, this hotel/spa was fabulous! We are picky when it comes to cleanliness and this place was primo in that regard! The bed in the hotel room was VERY comfortable, something that I've rarely found to be true when traveling. The pools were clean. The exercise equipment in good shape and available when we needed it. Best of all is the spa! I came to the spa for rejuvenation after 6 months of chemotherapy and a battle with cancer. I am certain that experiencing the mud wrap, fitness center, swimming pool and massage aided in my recovery. It was so relaxing! I am in remission too! Best vacation spot!

nothing this hotel was very nice i liked it a lot i would totally go back if i could which should be very soon.The service was very nice and i don't dislike anything in this hotel

Everything is fantastic, especially if you have kids, the scenery is also beautiful, the place is clean, alittle out of palm springs but not too far. My family's fave