The Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage

The Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage sits on a hillside above the Coachella Valley, inside the Santa Rosa Mountain range. From this position you look out over Palm Springs and the valley floor — the hotel is high enough that the view takes in a wide arc of desert, with snow on the mountain peaks visible from the same terrace that catches the desert heat below.

The property holds two hundred and forty-four rooms and suites, each with a private balcony or patio. The interiors use stone, wood, and fire as their primary materials — a direct reference to the desert geology surrounding the building — rather than the generic resort palette common to the region.

The spa draws on indigenous herbs and plants native to the Sonoran and Colorado desert zones, working them into treatments rather than importing a generic spa menu. The kitchen takes a similar approach, building its menu around California produce and local ingredients.

Rancho Mirage itself is a short drive from central Palm Springs, giving you access to the shopping, restaurants, and mid-century architecture of the wider desert cities without the hotel sitting inside the busier Palm Springs grid. The hillside position means the drive down is the start and end of every excursion into town.