Peachhead™ Approved Vacations: Morongo Casino Resort and Spa - Cabazon

I recently heard about Morongo Casino Resort and Spa being a great place to take families.

Since the weather was cold in LA and very hot in Palm Springs, I decided to try out Morongo Resort. It was 20 degrees warmer than LA and 10 degrees cooler than Palm Springs. I got a great deal online $182.00 for 2 nights (included tax and resort fee) and a $50 food credit (they still have the same special Sunday - Thursday 2 night minimum $69.00/night and you get a $50 resort credit). My girlfriend was meeting me there with her 2 daughters so we got 2 connecting rooms which worked out great for us. The 4 girls in one room and me and my friend in the other...ahhh the quietness in our room. When we first arrived the girls were hungry. The hotel has a food court with Nathans, Fatburger, Panda Express and Haagen Daaz. Lunch was very reasonable priced and good.

Next we headed to the pool. The pool is really great (although the water was pretty cold Wednesday and Thursday, Friday it was perfect). They have a nice large pool that is 3 ½ ft deep, a smaller pool with water fountains in it that is 1 ½ ft deep, a lazy river (that the kids loved), 2 jacuzzis, and a water slide. They have nice cabanas with TV's. The girls had a blast in the water all day. The drinks at the pool were not as pricey as other hotels that I have stayed at. They have great smoothie drinks (with alcohol, although I didn't taste any alcohol??) for the adults and non-alcohol for the kids served in these really fun tall glasses. My drink was incredibly good.The next day when I ordered the same drink they gave it to me in a regular cup (much smaller than the special glass). They had run out of the larger fun glasses but the waitress told me that you can use the same glass and they will discount the drink for you. I did not realize they didn't recycle the glasses.

After hanging at the pool all day we had dinner at the buffet at the hotel. Food from all over was available including the carved meats with roast beef and turkey. We all enjoyed our dinner and it was only $14.95 adults and $7.99 for kids 12 and under. After dinner we took a shuttle from the hotel 2 minutes away to the Morongo Bowling Lanes. The kids had so much fun bowling. They even have bumper bowling as well as an instrument that little kids can roll the ball on if they are too little to push the ball themselves. After dinner my friend and I decided to do a little gambling. I found a Pai Gow Poker table which is my favorite game and only a $10.00 minimum. We played for over an hour and even won a little money. All in all a good day for us.

The next morning we decided to go shopping at the Cabazon Outlets (less than 5 minutes away). We stopped at Ruby's for breakfast which is between Morongo Casino and the outlets. After shopping for a little bit (it was pretty hot) we headed back to the hotel to hang out at the pool. We were able to find a couple of chairs surrounding the lazy river but they tend to fill up quickly. They also have chairs that actually sit in the pool if you are lucky enough to get one of those. It was another great day at the pool. For dinner we went to the buffet again and then headed to Palm Springs for the Thursday night Palm Springs Village Fest. They close the main street down and have stands set up with music, artists, and people selling their crafts. It was still very hot (even at 9:00 PM) so we went to Cold Stone to cool the kids down. I stopped in at LG's Steak house for a drink. On Thursday nights they have happy hour from 5:00 – 10:00 PM. They were very nice and told us to hang out on the outdoor patio and didn't mind me bringing the kids with me. They gave the kids water and my friend and I had $5.00 margaritas and sangria (after I had my chocolate raspberry martini, of course). While walking back to the car, there was a guy making these incredible paintings using spray paint and stencils. We had him make one for the girls and he even personalized them for us.

 

Morongo Resort is a great nearby family getaway. The rooms are very nice and the beds are very comfy. The bathroom is very large with a great shower. The one problem with the bathroom is there is really no where to hang your bathing suits to dry. There is a beautiful glass decorating the wall between the bathroom and bedroom. We had a nice view of the mountains from our room as well. There is an arcade in the hotel just before you head out to the pool. The hotel has a spa and you are allowed to use the spa facilities and the fitness room for free (it is included in your resort fee). The fitness room has cardio machines with TV's. They have headsets available at the reception desk however the fitness room is open 24 hours so if the spa is not open at the time you plan on working out, bring your own headset. The free weights go from 5 to either 10 or 15 lbs, can't remember, but there were no 7 or 8 lbs. They also have free internet access. I requested a refrigerator for our room but they were out of them so they told me to feel free to empty the mini bar and use the refrigerator and they would credit me the mini bar charges. If you plan on driving somewhere, be sure to call the valet ahead of time to get your car so you don't have to wait long for it.

Morongo Resort was a great inexpensive, nearby, fun family get away. I can't wait to go back.

Linda Perry, July 2009 
Peachhead2@aol.com 
www.peachhead.net