Weekend Escape: Rancho Mirage, a desert vacation with one-stop convenience

Turns out there’s more to the desert than just Palm Springs. Case in point — Rancho Mirage, a town of about 17,000 residents with an outdoor shopping plaza called the River at Rancho Mirage. This area is home to a movie theater, 10 restaurants (including Michael’s Pizzeria and Sam’s Sushi), eight retail outlets and three spa/beauty/health businesses. For those who prefer to park their cars and not drive while on vacation, the River is across the street from the 444-room (and 22-suite) Omni Resorts Rancho Las Palmas. Between the resort and the nearby shopping, you can get a few days’ worth of fun just by crossing Bob Hope Drive. The tab: In mid-November, a weekend room at the Rancho Las Palmas can be had for $279. Dinner for two can be had for about $40 at Acqua Pazza, in the River plaza.

The bed

Your personality dictates the type of room you should reserve at Rancho Las Palmas (41-000 Bob Hope Drive; [760] 568-2727, www.rancholaspalmas.com). Golf lovers might prefer a lakeview room overlooking the fifth and sixth fairways, while families looking for easy access to Splashtopia — the children’s pool with a 425-foot lazy river, sandy beach and two 100-foot water slides — might choose a poolside room. Regardless of location, each Spanish Colonial-inspired room features either a patio or balcony. Opening the French doors and enjoying the view is an ideal way to relax after spending a fun-yet-exhausting day under the desert sun.

The meal

Acqua Pazza (71-800 Highway 111; [760] 862-9800, acquapazzabistro.com; no single item more than $29.99) is a laid-back California bistro where shorts and sandals are just as appropriate as a jacket and slacks. To complement the casual attire, Acqua Pazza serves an array of pasta dishes, pizzas, quesadillas and clearly marked gluten-free and vegetarian options. Guests who arrive hungry should order the three-course feast, from a select menu of appetizers, entrees and desserts, for $19.99.

The find

Every grown-up needs to be reminded about what it’s like to be a kid. You owe it to yourself to ditch the adult pool at least once and head to Splashtopia, where the inner-tube traffic jams on the lazy river and water slides are somehow more fun in your 30s than when you were 8. At night, head to the Fun Zone Arcade, where billiards, pingpong, pop-a-shot basketball, a love tester machine, digital jukebox, card games, checkers and those oh-so-frustrating claw machines prove to be better stress relievers than fancy cocktails.

Lesson learned

Ask for a room in the 200, 300 or 400 building at the Rancho. Doing so means that you are less than a minute’s walk from the gym, spa, adult pool, check-in/out and numerous on-site eateries, but you’re also directly across the street from the River. Sure, the other buildings aren’t terribly far from the shopping area, but when you’re in the desert and it tops 90 degrees at night, the last thing you want is to go to dinner drenched in sweat.

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