The only officially authorized IW 2013 travel thread

[GRANITECHIEF]

And have to go get the free lunch if there's no wicked matches in progress:

USTA Member Appreciation Day & Reception – Tuesday, March 12, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Garden Club Hospitality - USTA members enjoy refreshments and visit with ATP World Tour and/or WTA players. Hosted by the USTA. Valid USTA membership card is required for entry.

[sureshs]

2 pm sounds more like cookies and soda than lunch

[Cindysphinx]

Hey, all.

The gals and I are going to IW this year. We would like to go to a nice restaurant and then walk around the swanky part of Palm Springs/Indian Wells. You know, wherever tourists go where they have cute shops and lots of atmosphere and charm.

Can anyone tell me what part of town I should be considering for our evening out?

[sureshs]

Cindy, when will you be there?

[TennisJC]

Originally Posted by sureshs

I am available 7th afternoon to 10th night.

Why don't you shoot for trying to get a court for 7th evening since you will be there beforehand? We can split the cost if any. But not too far from the main area around the Garden. I am not familiar with the place.

Hey sureshs,

I am close to pulling trigger on going 3/7-3/11 (cheap flight out to San Diego) and plan to rent a car. How are you guys with getting a court or playing? I'd love to join - I'm a 4.0/4.5 from DC area. I heard there is suppose to be an amateur tourney there at IW but couldn't find any info on TennisLink either.

Also trying to find a hotel that won't break the bank...came back from Aussie Open a few weeks ago. Any suggestions anyone??

Thanks,
JC

[sureshs]

I will be at the Holiday Inn.

I will be driving from San Diego. When are you in SD?

[BigGame]

Originally Posted by TennisJC

Hey sureshs,

I am close to pulling trigger on going 3/7-3/11 (cheap flight out to San Diego) and plan to rent a car. How are you guys with getting a court or playing? I'd love to join - I'm a 4.0/4.5 from DC area. I heard there is suppose to be an amateur tourney there at IW but couldn't find any info on TennisLink either.

Also trying to find a hotel that won't break the bank...came back from Aussie Open a few weeks ago. Any suggestions anyone??

Thanks,
JC

Try hotwire or check out the palm springs craigslist - vacation rentals for a reasonable $$ place to stay.

[TW Staff]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Hey, all.

The gals and I are going to IW this year. We would like to go to a nice restaurant and then walk around the swanky part of Palm Springs/Indian Wells. You know, wherever tourists go where they have cute shops and lots of atmosphere and charm.

Can anyone tell me what part of town I should be considering for our evening out?

Hi Cindysphinx,

I am from the Palm Springs Area (Indian Wells) and hopefully can help you out. Here are some of the swanky restaurants in the downtown Palm Springs area: Workshop Kitchen and Bar, LuLu California Bistro, Trio Restaurant, and Le Vellauris. If you want restaurants more in the Indian Wells/Palm Desert/La Quinta area, let me know and I can give a list.

Also, a couple playtesters will be in the desert (including me!) for the BNP Paribas Open and we will be having a couple events at the TW Tent. Hope to see you there.

Brittany, TW

[sureshs]

Watch for the wind turbines near Palm Springs - spectacular sight.

Then, in the shopping area, there are mist-making machines which spray water droplets to keep tourists cool in the scorching heat.

These are pretty much the only things I remember about PS from a trip a long time ago.

[Cindysphinx]

Originally Posted by TW Staff

Hi Cindysphinx,

I am from the Palm Springs Area (Indian Wells) and hopefully can help you out. Here are some of the swanky restaurants in the downtown Palm Springs area: Workshop Kitchen and Bar, LuLu California Bistro, Trio Restaurant, and Le Vellauris. If you want restaurants more in the Indian Wells/Palm Desert/La Quinta area, let me know and I can give a list.

Also, a couple playtesters will be in the desert (including me!) for the BNP Paribas Open and we will be having a couple events at the TW Tent. Hope to see you there.

Brittany, TW

Wow, thanks Brittany!

I would appreciate your recommendations in the Indian Wells/Palm Desert/La Quinta area. We are staying at the Renaissance Esmerelda, and we are trying to decide whether to rent a car or not.

I will look for your tent!!

Sureshs, our group will be there M/T/W (second and third round).

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Wow, thanks Brittany!

I would appreciate your recommendations in the Indian Wells/Palm Desert/La Quinta area. We are staying at the Renaissance Esmerelda, and we are trying to decide whether to rent a car or not.

I will look for your tent!!

Sureshs, our group will be there M/T/W (second and third round).

I am leaving on Mon so I won't be able to get your autograph on a large tennis ball. Maybe next year.

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Wow, thanks Brittany!

I would appreciate your recommendations in the Indian Wells/Palm Desert/La Quinta area. We are staying at the Renaissance Esmerelda, and we are trying to decide whether to rent a car or not.

I will look for your tent!!

Sureshs, our group will be there M/T/W (second and third round).

Remember what happened the last time you gals rented a car in IW and then one took it to the airport or got a ride or something and then never paid her share of the gas? Don't let it happen again.

And another thing you can do is that you can use a mapping app and it will show you all the restaurants and malls nearby, complete with Yelp comments and other suggestions.

[sureshs]

Here I have located restaurants near California Lulu Bistro for you to study:


http://maps.google.com/maps?q=restau...rants&t=m&z=17

[Cindysphinx]

Originally Posted by sureshs

Remember what happened the last time you gals rented a car in IW and then one took it to the airport or got a ride or something and then never paid her share of the gas? Don't let it happen again.

Nah. That never happened. You are remembering things incorrectly, by quite a lot.

[Cindysphinx]

Originally Posted by sureshs

Here I have located restaurants near California Lulu Bistro for you to study:


http://maps.google.com/maps?q=restau...rants&t=m&z=17

Hey, thanks!!!!!

[TW Staff]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Wow, thanks Brittany!

I would appreciate your recommendations in the Indian Wells/Palm Desert/La Quinta area. We are staying at the Renaissance Esmerelda, and we are trying to decide whether to rent a car or not.

I will look for your tent!!

Sureshs, our group will be there M/T/W (second and third round).

Cindy,

Of course! Palm Springs is a little far away if you are staying at the Esmerelda. I have a ton of recommendations and hopefully some will meet your needs. In La Quinta, there is a great sushi restaurant, Okura Sushi, Mexican restaurant, Las Casuelas Quinta, and steakhouse, LG's Prime Steakhouse. In Palm Desert, I would recommend seafood restuarant Pacifica Seafood, the island vibe of Tommy Bahama's, and California cuisine from Cork Tree. Indian Wells is pretty small and not many restaurants. A lot of the really good restaurants are located in the hotels like Esmerelda, Miramonte, and Hyatt.

You can check out my blog from last year for more places to go:
http://blog.tenniswarehouse.com/cate...bas-open-2012/

Hope that helps! Please feel free to ask any more questions!

Brittany, TW

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Hey, thanks!!!!!

Here are the restaurants near your hotel:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=restau...rants&t=m&z=17

[AlpineCadet]

I'm possibly going on the 11th, but definitely going on the 12th with day/night suite tickets.

[TennisJC]

Originally Posted by sureshs

I will be at the Holiday Inn.

I will be driving from San Diego. When are you in SD?

Was planning to just stay one night in SD somewhere near Airport? And then head out early in the morning?...But now I'm wondering if I should check out the SD sites before driving over to IW on Fri (OR I can see sitesee on the way back).

Also, anyone have advice on how long to spend in IW and SD? I usually get kind of burned out after 4 days of watching tennis (ie: Aussie Open, US Open) - much rather be playing** The events are fun, and will definitely checkout the weekend activities.

3/12 UPDATE:

My pics are up on Flickr (didn't want to spam this board) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/demiace...lls2013/page3/

Saw some of the TW playtesters and their demo court but unfortunately the line was a little too long when I got there (very popular attraction this year).

As for playing tennis - Got invited to fill in for some missing guys at Monteray CC - part of 4th annual "Team Tennis Championships" for a Minnesota team that needed extra 4.0 men...

It was exactly what I was looking for from this thread...(play tennis in the morning, watch more in the afternoon + at night); great people and awesome dinner* Hope they have something like this at other tourneys too

**Btw, I checked out La Jolla - beach just north of SD and was cool to see the seals out there on the beach.

The drive on Rt 74 (aka "Pines to Palms" Hwy was very cool - light dusting of snow like Granite said...) - recommend doing this route only in the day time though - Big Horn has a lot of twists and turns but extremely fun for spirted drive

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by TennisJC

Also, anyone have advice on how long to spend in IW and SD?

IW = 1 week
SD = 1 lifetime