Palm Springs Celebrates 5th Annual Restaurant Week

The fifth installment of Palm Springs Desert Resorts Restaurant Week was held on June 1-10, 2012 throughout the Coachella Valley. Featuring dining deals, exclusive hotel packages, and special rates at area attractions, the Restaurant Week's signature "Eat. See. Stay." experience provided guests with a unique opportunity to explore Palm Springs and its neighboring communities.

More than 100 local businesses participated this spring, including Ernie's at La Quinta Resort & Club and PGA West, bluEmber at Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Cuistot in Palm Desert.

Throughout the 10-day event, diners chose from three-course, prix fixe menus, available for $24 or $36 per person, at over 65 participating restaurants in Indio, La Quinta, Palm Springs, Indian Wells, Desert Hot Springs, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, and Cathedral City. These value-driven menus enabled restaurants to showcase their signature dishes and allow food lovers to explore the diversity of restaurants in the Coachella Valley. Rounding out the "Eat. See. Stay" experience and providing a unique component to the Restaurant Week, select hotels and area attractions—from golf courses to water parks and the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway—offered special rates and perks available exclusively during Restaurant Week.

Resorts, including La Quinta Resort, offered suite specials during the week and continue to offer deals throughout the low season summer. Opened in 1926, the resort became famous as a paparazzi proof hideout for Hollywood legends Clark Gable, Katherine Hepburn and Frank Capra. Set against the spectacular setting of the Santa Rosa Mountains, La Quinta Resort offers high-ceiling white-washed single-story casitas decorated with Mexican pottery, wrought iron mirror frames and colorful textiles and featuring fireplaces, jacuzzi tubs big enough for two and private patios. The retreat houses five restaurants, 41 outdoor pools, 23 tennis courts, a small shopping center and a huge spa. Although massive in size, each guest building has access to one of several dozen pools enhancing the feeling of privacy.