Desert Oasis

Set high on a bluff overlooking Coachella Valley, The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage will inspire you to reach for the stars

- John Griffiths

DINAH SHORE, BOB HOPE, HIS ROAD-TRIP buddy Bing Crosby. Streets named for these and other classic stars stretch through Rancho Mirage for a reason: Those biggies found the arid escape’s charms so inescapable that they wound up calling the area home, at least part time. More recently, a certain recent POTUS—right now just an occasional visitor to the area— joined the local, oh-so-exclusive Thunderbird Country Club. Barack Obama Boulevard, anyone?

Close to Thunderbird, Frank Sinatra Drive basically trails off into another divinely situated retreat: The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage, one of the most inviting and soothing outposts in the resort chain’s universe. Nestled among reddish boulders in a canyon hill above the town—and a proverbial stone’s throw from also-famous Palm Springs—the deceptively low-slung lobby opens to sky-lit cactus gardens, a cavernous spa with outdoor “plunge” ponds, and a serene guest pool with stunning views of the Coachella Valley (and its hugging, sometimes snow-capped mountains).