As I mentioned a few months ago, we were planning to take our Father’s Day weekend back to the desert again this year… and we did! This is the third Father’s Day in a row that our family has spent out at the La Quinta Resort and Club, and as the saying goes, third time’s the charm. But really, anytime’s a charming time while out staying at La Quinta. A Waldorf-Astoria property (part of the Hilton family of hotels), this five-star, 40+-acre resort never fails to impress us. From the local but lovely (and in spots lush) landscaping to it’s 40-something pools on property, La Quinta manages to cater to high-end resort pleasure-seekers all while preserving a piece of history.

Opened in the 1920s as a getaway and hideaway for Hollywood-types, La Quinta Resort and Spa still loves to recount the old tales of its storied past. There are numerous, now-restored guest bungalows from the original days of the resort, such as the (Frank) Capra Suite, where its long-rumored and under great authority that he holed up and wrote “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Beautiful, hand-painted tiles adorn steps leading up to mini-suites and other rooms scattered about the property. Guests arrive in adobe-brick courtyards and structures through arched halls and doorways and their wooden and wrought-iron gates.

If a modern, 21st-century resort experience is one you desire, La Quinta Resort and Club is not the place for you to plan your next mini-vacation (or extended stay). However, if you are seeking a historic California experience full of charm, high-end customer service, and you also love to golf, swim, play tennis, and/or just require a place to hide yourself for a weekend (or week or month if you can swing it), then this would be perfect for you to enjoy any or all of those activities (or no activity at all!).

On this visit, we talked some friends into joining us at our favorite family destination. Yes, RMT’ers, La Quinta is a perfect place for families. From the pools to the playground, there’s something around every turn for the kids to enjoy. Heck, T even just loves running around the main pathways that meander the resort grounds or roll down the grassy hillsides near the main courtyard. And from the looks of it, his friends got a kick out of those simple pleasures also.

Now please understand and consider yourselves fairly warned: It is HOT out there from around June through September. I don’t mean summer hot, I mean desert, Death Valley-level, hotter-than-bejezus hot. However, this helps us out when it comes to booking rooms as they are considerably cheaper these three months of the year than any other time (and considerably more available). While Father’s Day weekend is growing in popularity (I’ve definitely noticed a bigger crowd as the years go by), we booked our rooms sometime back in February or March for under $100/night (excluding mandatory $27 resort fee per night, which includes parking, gym access, and other amenities on-site). I absolutely attribute that especially low rate to our planning ahead and, again, the hot, hot heat. Trust me that if we were to stay out there in, oh, say one of the more temperate, 80-degree months like March that the prices would be a wee tad higher than that (upwards of $300+/night at times for the smallest room – oh, yes, we’ve checked, and no matter how much we love it there, we still take a pass at that price!).

Yet having said all that, we love to go here at least two weekends a summer to getaway and enjoy all that La Quinta has to offer. We just load up on water and sunscreen, and we stay inside from about Noon until 3p.m; that plan has worked so far for us for the last three years and nine stays during that time, and we’ve not had a single complaint from T. But why would he complain? He’s usually allowed to swim as early as 8a.m. and as late as 9p.m. That’s what vacation time is all about, right RMT’ers?!

Have a wonderful summer vacation! Whether you are home all summer or getting away from it all for a weekend or two, enjoy the special time (and places) together with your families!