A Winter Escape to Indian Wells

For the first time in years, we actually had a winter in Los Angeles — cold and rainy for days on end — meaning hats, gloves and scarves had to be donned for outdoor activities. The bright spot in my family’s winter, however, was ringing in the New Year at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort, Villas and Spa in Indian Wells, Calif.

With all the holiday craziness behind us, my husband and I and our two kids (ages 4 and 8) headed for the Palm Springs area on the last day of the year. While our friends were huddled in front of a fire someplace, my kids and I spent an entire day poolside. My husband enjoyed the weather by playing a round of golf at one of the resort’s two championship golf courses (home of the LG Skins Game and Senior PGA Tour events). We hadn’t been in shorts and T-shirts, let alone bathing suits in months and the kids and I were delighted to splash around for hours. There were several pools to choose from, as well as a waterslide, and there was plenty of service too. The chicken nuggets arrived warm with fries and ketchup, and there were towels and chaise lounges in spades.

The resort loans bikes to guests — we meant to go for a ride but couldn’t tear ourselves away from the pool. And the resort’s kids club, Camp Hyatt, was open. Had we been staying longer, we would have used it for a day or two as well. Late in the day we headed back to our nearby room, spotting little white-tailed rabbits scurrying about along the way. The room was sunny and airy, as was the vibe all over the resort.

The hotel throws a fancy New Year’s Eve gala (with babysitting services available), but we decided to spend the evening together instead. We enjoyed dinner and a movie at The River entertainment complex nearby, and watched the ball drop in Times Square on the flat-screen plasma TV in our room.

New Year’s Day there was a bowl game we really wanted to see (my nephew was playing), so we walked over to the resort’s new IW Club golf clubhouse. We were blown away. It’s big — 53,000 square feet — new, and luxurious, with several retail offerings, golf services, plus two restaurants. We grabbed coffee and a muffin at the cafe and caught the game on the big-screen TV upstairs, looking out over the green expanse of the links.

On our way out of town we were going to hit the Palm Springs Ariel Tramway — the largest rotating aerial tramway in the world, which takes you from the floor of the Coachella Valley to near the top of San Jacinto Peak. We had our hats and gloves and snow clothes at the ready, but decided to stay warm just a little longer instead.