In the past, I have blogged about our stays at the Marriott Vacation Club properties, where my parents have been owners for about two years. We took advantage of the villas in France earlier this year, as well as the Newport Coast Villas this summer. While the boys were camping for cub scouts this weekend, we decided on a quick overnight mother-daughter visit to Shadow Ridge out in Palm Desert. The Palm Springs area is a great place for kids that I have talked about in the past, and Shadow Ridge is a great option for families!
Main Lobby/Entrance at Shadow Ridge
The Resort offers studio, one bedroom, and two bedroom villas with mountain, golf course, and lake water views. Of course, golf is a huge part of the recreation in Palm Springs, and I’m sure the course is a fun one to play – my dad will be doing so in a couple of weeks 🙂 The one and two bedroom rooms are spacious with large kitchens and washer/dryers in the unit. The studios only have a “kitchenette”, but the microwave, fridge, coffee maker, toaster and dishes are nice to have! It was perfect for us! We ended up with a great view of the water and golf course looking East, so we saw an incredible moon-rise as well as an amazing sunrise in the morning! Definitely a fan of the accommodations here! Check in was a bit of a hiccup as they told/wrote down the wrong room number and the lobby is a good distance from the villas, but fortunately a call from the house phone resolved the situation quickly. We loved our building location which was right across from the main pool and kids center, in the 1400’s.
The Main Lobby and a Look at Our Studio Villa – pull out sofa, kitchenette, King Bed, and full balcony with water and golf course views
There is plenty to do both on and off the property to keep busy at Shadow Ridge with little ones. My daughter loved the main Chuckwalla Pool, splash pad, and water slide, which she did many times! They did have to close it for maintenance a few hours on a Saturday morning and on the hour for short breaks for the lifeguards. The food, drinks and service at the pool bar wer decent but overpriced, and I’d definitely recommend bringing as much as you can from home to use in the villas and save money. They do give coupons for nearby restaurants and shopping in town, where there’s lots of options. As mentioned in another blog, there’s a Children’s Museum, Living Desert Zoo, and other activities off property for kids.
The pool, slides, and Splash pad are all great – -plus there were some freebies like chips and sangria outside the bar in the evenings! 🙂
The best things on property at Shadow Ridge are the Kids Center, which opens at 9 AM and closes at 9 PM. We loved the daily pancakes kids could make/decorate themselves ($5), with Bloody Marys or Mimosas for the adults (also $5). Every afternoon, sundaes were available at 2pm to decorate, also for a small fee. They have crafts available to paint and decorate for a small fee, but most of the activities – including the movie theater, games, out door games like pool and ping pong, basic arts/crafts, and group activities are included with your stay. Bikes are available for rent and there are plenty of walking and jogging tails around the property. A second pool in the newer Enclaves section of the Resort has a big screen TV (where they played the very long World Series Game on Friday 🙂 ) for night movies, and another splash pad and bar as well. My daughter also enjoyed the playground and simple activities like the putting green and stone animals to climb on. Sangria and chips with live music were offered Friday night, and there is always a full program with all the events going on throughout the week – ranging from games to snacks to classes to wine tastings and more! Many of them are complimentary and included with the nightly Resort Fee, so be sure to check them out!
So much to see and do in the Kids Activity Center! Plus – parks, playgrounds, and freebies by the pool! 🙂
Overall, this is a great place to enjoy the Resort itself for a few days, while with longer stays I’d venture off into Palm Springs and take advantage of the many amenities and things there are to do there, including the Aerial Tram. My kids will be back with their grandparents soon for another visit to Shadow Ridge! I book plenty of stays there (you do not have to be an owner to visit), so contact me today! 🙂
We Cain Travel 