Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage

The Agua Caliente towers over a lonely strip of highway overlooking desert sand dunes and the Santa Rosa-San Jacinto Mountains. Palm trees line the driveway and rough brick columns add decoration to the entrance, though overall the hotel has a reserved, corporate feel. Wood paneling and husky yellow lighting make the reception area rather dark, allowing the bright neon of the casino area to draw immediate attention. With slot machines, table games, and designated poker and high-limit rooms, the casino is one of the hotel's main draws. The pool area is simple and beautiful, featuring a large stone patio circled with palm trees and a considerable amount of plastic chaises and chairs. Umbrellas are scattered every few feet, so finding shade shouldn't be a problem. The pools are uniquely designed in a multi-lateral, Tetris-like manner, where the shape of the pool grows and condenses into larger and smaller rectangles at different points. In similar fashion, the hot tub looks like the three connected rectangles. 

The Agua Caliente is large and self-contained, with its own restaurants, conferences rooms, and nightly entertainment. With few immediate neighbors, the hotel feels a bit remote, but additional attractions aren’t far away. Rancho Mirage proper is only about a 10-minute drive south. Reaching Palm Springs, with its variety of eating and shopping options, will take less than 20 minutes by car, while Palm Springs International Airport and its air museum are less than 15 minutes west.

Deluxe Guest Rooms, the standard units at the Agua Caliente, are typical in size and design for an upper-middle-ranch chain hotel. Plush, generic bedding, 42-inch flat-screen TVs, workspaces, and free Internet can all be found here. Bathrooms have nice perks like TVs, and include dual vanities and separate showers and tubs. Suites are large with separate living rooms and bedrooms; bathroom spaces in them are almost as large as some of the bedrooms. The decor, like that found in the property’s common spaces, is dark and bland, demonstrating quality without giving a sense of comfort. 

The Agua Caliente is a full-service venue with a fitness center, spa, and casino as well as two large pools and a hot tub. In addition to a poolside bar, coffee shop, and deli, there are three on-site restaurants as well. The Grand Palms buffet is large and plentiful in its offerings if lacking in decor, while Waters Cafe, which serves three meals a day, is casual, and decorated in cool blue colors with beautiful, bulb-like hanging lamps. The eatery's large bar is surrounded by posters and paraphernalia of musical acts, with a few guitars on the walls as well. The Steakhouse, a more upscale establishment, is designed in dark red tones befitting its signature meaty dishes. Reservations are recommended. And The Show theater offers a range of high-profile live acts throughout the year, with an emphasis on musical performers like Huey Lewis & The News.