Step back to 1926, when La Quinta Resort & Club first opened its doors as a secluded desert hideaway dreamed up by founder Walter H. Morgan. A San Francisco businessman drawn to the Coachella Valley’s healing air, Morgan envisioned a peaceful country retreat surrounded by citrus groves and mountain views. He enlisted architect Gordon Kaufmann to design 20 Spanish-style casitas, each lovingly built by hand with adobe bricks and tiles crafted right here on the property.

This was the start of a legacy in luxury and hospitality—where travelers came not for grandeur, but for serenity and sunlight. Artists, writers, and early Hollywood stars soon discovered the charm of this oasis beneath the Santa Rosa Mountains. Nearly a century later, the original casitas remain a testament to Morgan’s vision: a place where beauty and rest come naturally.

Did you know?

·       Every adobe brick and tile was handmade on-site—over 165,000 pieces in total.

·       Each of the first 20 casitas was named after a saint in alphabetical order.

·       La Quinta can mean “country villa,” “place of rest,” or “a stop after weary travel.”

Continue to the next stop → The Main Plaza