(reposted as new topic)
This trip report is a followup to an earlier thread in which we asked for information on Palm Springs in anticipation of our visit to Terra Cotta Inn. Our trip was of 10 day duration (9/22-10/2/2010) and we rendezvoused in Palm Springs with 4 other (60ish) couples. To sum it up we had a great time, the weather was sunny and HOT but very comfortable under umbrellas around Terra Cotta's pool. We also visited De Anza Springs and Glen Eden resorts and have included brief descriptions thereof.
In another thread the comment was made that the facilities at Terra Cotta are dated- NOT so, at least not by our standards! The rooms were beautifully decorated, the beds very comfortable and it all exceeded our expectations, especially the breakfasts and late afternoon wine and appetizers. The owners Tom and Mary Clare and their staff were all very gracious, friendly and happy to accommodate all of our needs/wants.
Our favorite activity was, no surprise, vegging out around (and in) the pool but we also really enjoyed the big hot tub and the firepit at night. We met several very nice couples and liked sharing with them our experiences at various nudist resorts, etc. One member of our group played tennis several mornings, thanks to arrangements by Tom. Some of us took a day trip to Joshua Tree National Monument and also up to Idyllwild, a scenic town up in the mountains. Those who went enjoyed both trips very much. We intended on taking the tram ride up the mountain next to Palm Springs but it was closed for repairs.
We had 2 of the suites with kitchens and this facilitated eating in for lunch and also several dinners. We did order delivered meals from the local pizza place a couple of times (it was good!) and ate out on the town a few nights. In particular, we took advantage of the Villagefest street fair in downtown Palm Springs on Thursday night to sample food from the stands, we ate Mexican at the Blue Coyote one night (excellent but pricey drinks) and also drove North 30 miles or so up to Pioneertown on Saturday night for a good down-home dinner and live country music at Pappy and Harriet's.
After our week at Terra Cotta we headed south past the Salton Sea to De Anza Springs, passing by Slab City and Salvation Mountain on the way- what a hoot! We only spent 2 days at De Anza but enjoyed it a lot. Our motel room was a bit of an unpleasant surprise (very small with just a double bed) but we found out that our room, M6, was the only real small one, just our bad luck, and the other rooms were occupied the second night so we could not move. Anyway, the excellent hiking trails and very nice pool more than compensated (even though the weather was mostly cloudy).
On Friday we headed North up to the Glen Eden Sun Club for one night's stay before flying home from Ontario airport. GE is a very impressive place, lots of beautiful flowers, a great cactus garden and overall excellent facilities. We chose a small rental trailer for our accommodations and were quite happy with it, everything we needed and located very close to the large pool and clubhouse (and indoor pool). The restaurant offered a nice selection of sandwiches, etc but strangely did not offer alcoholic beverages- I had to trek on down to the office to buy beer. We sat in on the karaoke session that night and danced to a few of the tunes. The place was fairly empty for this, maybe just 6 or so couples.
In summary we recommend all three of these resorts to anyone seeking a little unclothed relaxation in the California sun. Please feel free to post or PM us with any questions you may have.
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Chuck and Joni
