Palm Springs, CA tennis
- Thread starter mario58
- Start date
LuckyR
Legend
Nope, but report back with your review.
TW Staff
Administrator
I grew up in the desert area and the JW Marriott has a really cool feature where you can play tennis on hard, clay, and grass courts. The club has twenty courts so there will always be some available. The club is run by the Peter Burwash International group and the tennis director is Jim Leupold. I know they offer private lessons as well as clinics. There use to be a "fun wall" that is an interactive wall you can hit against (like hitting at lighted targets), however I am not sure if that is still there. I love the surrounding area with the snow on the mountains and the great weather. Don't forget while you are at the JW Marriott to take the boat ride to dinner one night!
Brittany, TW
JW Marriott -- I assume you mean Palm Desert and not Palm Springs. Are you staying in the Desert Springs Villas I or II or the Hotel.
If you are staying in Villas II you get free tennis. Otherwise DSV I and the hotel require that you pay. The folks at the tennis shop will provide free player matching. Check in with them regardless and have them put your name on the available list since they will call you to fill in on "a page". You can also start your own "page" and they will find players for you to play with.
It's a great facility!!
If you are staying in Villas II you get free tennis. Otherwise DSV I and the hotel require that you pay. The folks at the tennis shop will provide free player matching. Check in with them regardless and have them put your name on the available list since they will call you to fill in on "a page". You can also start your own "page" and they will find players for you to play with.
It's a great facility!!
How much did a lesson with Jim cost? Thanks.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Ironwood
Professional
Considering an RCI timeshare exchange into Palm Springs this fall and looking for one of the RCI resorts with a decent tennis facillity. The two most promissing from the research I can do on-line appear to be Palm Springs Tennis Club and Desert Isle of Palm Springs. They are not tennis camps, but are resorts with decent looking courts....at least on the basis of the stock photo on-line. Would love to be able to book the JW Marriott, but it's not available to me on a trade. Does anyone have any experience with either resort above?
I usually stay at the fancy La Quinta Resort when I'm down in the desert (mostly for their clay courts), but I hear good things about the Palm Springs Tennis Club, with their 11 hardcourts, matchmaking, and lots of pools and hot tubs. Desert Isle only has 2 hardcourts. Both places look great, but if I had a choice, I'd go to the Tennis Club.
i've played there. i highly recommend it. the grass court is terrific, and the entire place is maintained beautifully. the best part may be the staff. jim leopold has some records for longest rallies (the destroyed balls from that record are on display in the lounge area of the pro shop). terrific guy. actually the best part of the whole facility is the staff. there is a (sporting goods store) down the road (google it) with an indoor court and 20+ current rackets to demo. so, since it's hotter than &#@! in that area during summer, what i do is hit the courts first thing in the morning for 3 sets in the heat, then go to the indoor facility nearby to demo some rackets indoors.
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topspinlob
Rookie
my wife and I will be visiting Palm Springs in a couple of weeks.. are there any courts that have drop-in tennis? or places to play some "pick up" tennis? .do some hotels have tennis matching services? we will be staying at the riviera...thanks in advance!.
If it interests anyone I have 2 houses located on a golf course just minutes away from the Indian wells tennis facility that I rent out for a very good price.
Both houses are 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage, swimming pool w/ jacuzzi. They are very spacious and sit right in front of the greens at the golf course. They are professionally decorated as well. There is also a gym for you tennis training needs.
When ever I go I make sure to play at Indian wells. If you call in just ask them to set you up for a tennis match they do it every time. I always seem to get setup with some great singles and doubles matches.
Email Colby@uoregon.edu if you are interested and I can give the link to may site to see pictures and read more about it or I can give you a call and tell you all about it.
Both houses are 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage, swimming pool w/ jacuzzi. They are very spacious and sit right in front of the greens at the golf course. They are professionally decorated as well. There is also a gym for you tennis training needs.
When ever I go I make sure to play at Indian wells. If you call in just ask them to set you up for a tennis match they do it every time. I always seem to get setup with some great singles and doubles matches.
Email Colby@uoregon.edu if you are interested and I can give the link to may site to see pictures and read more about it or I can give you a call and tell you all about it.
Fluffy
New User
To apjones01: Take a day to go see Joshua Tree NP. One of the most beautiful national parks so close to town. Pictures do not do it justice. Take Hwy 62 north of Palm Springs to the town of Joshua Tree. Turn on Park Blvd and I remember a visitor center on the right. Once inside the park, you can drive to an overlook of Palm Springs if clear (no rain). Many easy hikes to do. Exit the park on the Southeast entrance on your way back to Palm Springs. Lightly traveled and some jaw dropping scenery. You will exit out on Hwy 10 southeast of the Palm Springs area. Ask for info at the visitor center.
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Thank you! This is definitely on our list, but we were lacking some details. Much appreciated.
tavarua
New User
Stayed there a few times... You can play on hard, clay, or grass courts. They have gondolas that can take you from inside the lobby to the restaurants. The restaurants are pretty expensive. There's a Starbucks in the lobby for early coffee and a treat. They also have lots of charging stations if you have an electric car.
Got it. Thanks for the tips!
NE1for10is?
Semi-Pro
When I was there they had a mixer where you could play on all three surfaces, clay, grass and hard. You played on each surface with different groups for a while and kept personal scores. The ones with the highest scores at the end got a prize of some free court time. It was the most fun ever. A buddy I travelled with wound up winning a prize, so we got an hour of free court time, which we used to play more on the grass court. I had never played on grass before, so it was a fantastic experience and I would highly recommend it. I was sore for days due to all the different muscles, apparently needed to play on grass.
Thanks for this. I leave this evening for a week out there and will definitely be checking this out. I’ve also asked them to get me matched up for an opponent for tomorrow.
One thing I learned... with the resort fee (I think you’re forced to pay), you do get one hour of free hard court time each day and also two racquet rentals per day
TennisFreak004
New User
I love the JW Marriott. It has very nice hard courts as well as a few grass courts. It is a little bit of a walk from the hotel but nothing terrible. I will be there in two weeks as well.
Thanks! Have you been out there this time of the year before? Wondering how crowded it is at this time- I called the pro shop this week and they indicated it’s been slow.
tavarua
New User
Yeah, It may be slow now, but it will be booked solid during the event. Or, maybe this "Coronavirus" may have an effect on the crowds???
I just got back and will post a full review of the their program shortly. To answer your question though... it was pretty busy last week and they were expecting extremely heavy activity leading up to the tournament. Never heard anyone there express any virus concerns.
Here are my thoughts on the JW Marriott and their tennis program after having spent a week at there:
Tennis-related pros:
- The instructors are generally good. I worked primarily with Zack and Shea and both give very good instruction with positive attitudes
- The head of the program, Jim Leupold, was out for the first half of the week I was there. However, I did take one clinic with him after he returned and he was quite knowledgeable as well. He also went over the allotted time by 10-15 minutes
- The clinics are all helpful for beginner / intermediate players who are still learning the game
- The courts are all in good shape, including the grass. First time playing on grass for me and it was a great experience
- Their round robin doubles event is pretty cool, though you need critical mass (it was canceled the first day due to lack of participants)
- They never cancel clinics or drills, as long as they have at least one player signed up. In mine, participants ranged from 2-10. The advance drill session went one day with just one person. In other words, if attendance is light, you can get some personalized instruction in clinics / drills for a fraction of the cost of a lesson.
- There are six courts with lights for night play. You can just walk onto those.
Tennis-related cons:
- Based on my experience, they vastly oversell their ability to match you up with players (i.e. "guaranteed player matching"). This created some friction at one point, as I asked for a free half-hour lesson when they weren't able to match me (in accordance with their policy which is posted online). They matched me one day with a player who was 1.5 levels above mine; we ended up just hitting as I would have been slaughtered in a match. You're probably better off just going to the clinics / drill sessions, being social and asking if players want to play / hit at a later time.
- Private lessons are $100. I took one and really didn't get that much out of it.
- The clinics and drill sessions aren't cheap at $35-$50 for each
- Bring sunscreen - you'll be directly in the sun on any of the courts
- They don't really screen levels for the clinics (but do for drill sessions). So, just understand that if you're a 4.5+, you may end up playing / hitting with a 3.0 in a clinic
Some other tennis notes:
- They'll string racquets for $20 if you have your own strings
- They advertise demo / rental racquets being available (covered with your resort fee) but note they partner with Wilson, so that's all you'll get access to
- This is a PBI facility, which means they have a very specific teaching method. They drive home the point that "contact" trumps everything else in tennis. You can have bad footwork, an off grip, poor follow through, etc. which is all fine, as long as you make contact. They drive home that point ad nauseam. I get it, but not sure I entirely agree, though that's probably a topic for another thread.
- Also covered with a resort fee is one free hour of court time per day. In my experience, they didn't really enforce that (basically give you what you want), but again, it wasn't that busy during that week
Resort notes:
- The Marriott was nicer than I thought it would be. They recently did a renovation to many of the rooms, so ask if you can get one of those.
- The pool area was not very busy while I was there and fairly nice
- As others have noted, the place is MASSIVE. I'm a fast walker, but it could take people ~10-15 minutes to walk from hotel room to the tennis facility
- Not a golfer, but the courses looked amazing
- Not a fan of hotel restaurants so I ate elsewhere the whole trip
Happy to answer questions...
Tennis-related pros:
- The instructors are generally good. I worked primarily with Zack and Shea and both give very good instruction with positive attitudes
- The head of the program, Jim Leupold, was out for the first half of the week I was there. However, I did take one clinic with him after he returned and he was quite knowledgeable as well. He also went over the allotted time by 10-15 minutes
- The clinics are all helpful for beginner / intermediate players who are still learning the game
- The courts are all in good shape, including the grass. First time playing on grass for me and it was a great experience
- Their round robin doubles event is pretty cool, though you need critical mass (it was canceled the first day due to lack of participants)
- They never cancel clinics or drills, as long as they have at least one player signed up. In mine, participants ranged from 2-10. The advance drill session went one day with just one person. In other words, if attendance is light, you can get some personalized instruction in clinics / drills for a fraction of the cost of a lesson.
- There are six courts with lights for night play. You can just walk onto those.
Tennis-related cons:
- Based on my experience, they vastly oversell their ability to match you up with players (i.e. "guaranteed player matching"). This created some friction at one point, as I asked for a free half-hour lesson when they weren't able to match me (in accordance with their policy which is posted online). They matched me one day with a player who was 1.5 levels above mine; we ended up just hitting as I would have been slaughtered in a match. You're probably better off just going to the clinics / drill sessions, being social and asking if players want to play / hit at a later time.
- Private lessons are $100. I took one and really didn't get that much out of it.
- The clinics and drill sessions aren't cheap at $35-$50 for each
- Bring sunscreen - you'll be directly in the sun on any of the courts
- They don't really screen levels for the clinics (but do for drill sessions). So, just understand that if you're a 4.5+, you may end up playing / hitting with a 3.0 in a clinic
Some other tennis notes:
- They'll string racquets for $20 if you have your own strings
- They advertise demo / rental racquets being available (covered with your resort fee) but note they partner with Wilson, so that's all you'll get access to
- This is a PBI facility, which means they have a very specific teaching method. They drive home the point that "contact" trumps everything else in tennis. You can have bad footwork, an off grip, poor follow through, etc. which is all fine, as long as you make contact. They drive home that point ad nauseam. I get it, but not sure I entirely agree, though that's probably a topic for another thread.
- Also covered with a resort fee is one free hour of court time per day. In my experience, they didn't really enforce that (basically give you what you want), but again, it wasn't that busy during that week
Resort notes:
- The Marriott was nicer than I thought it would be. They recently did a renovation to many of the rooms, so ask if you can get one of those.
- The pool area was not very busy while I was there and fairly nice
- As others have noted, the place is MASSIVE. I'm a fast walker, but it could take people ~10-15 minutes to walk from hotel room to the tennis facility
- Not a golfer, but the courses looked amazing
- Not a fan of hotel restaurants so I ate elsewhere the whole trip
Happy to answer questions...
sureshs
Bionic Poster
Not worth it