I guess Shadow Ridge is not for everyone

[gblotter]

This is not intended as an insult to all you happy Shadow Ridge owners - just offering another perspective.

Our family just returned from a Thanksgiving road trip. On the way home, we stopped by Shadow Ridge (The Villages) and took a short tour. Although the facilities all looked nice and well-maintained, I was not tempted to stay there. To me it has the feel of an apartment complex - not a resort. I was surprised to see there was only one main pool complex to be shared by so many units. I can easily imagine overcrowding problems at the pool during peak times. The units were well-decorated but seemed quite small - similar layout to Newport Coast Villas. We are not big golfers, so I can see boredom setting in quite quickly (especially since we vacation with our four kids). The location was unappealing as well - out in the flat desert area close to the freeway. Much prefer the lush resort areas around Indian Wells close to the mountains.

Different strokes for different folks.

 

[ciscogizmo1]

LOL.... I don't like Palm Desert, Palm Springs or Indian Wells at all either. Funny thing is that I own at Shadow Ridge. I'm just not a desert person at all. However, I know people who go every year and my unit rents everytime I put it up for rent. There are lots of sporting events between January and April which are very popular like Bob Hope Classic to the Indian Wells Tennis Tournament. Plus, people are very active in general that like to play golf or tennis every day this would be the place to go. Unfortunately, we cannot travel during those times because of work. So, we never been. This was our first timeshare we bought and we bought within driving distance but not using distance. We can stay 2 weeks in December which we have done and had a nice week. But we really are beach/water people. Alot of people like to just get away from LA and this where they go. Kinda like South Lake Tahoe is to Sacramento. A quick getaway trip. Now that you know you won't have to go.

 

[Empty Nest]

We live in Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakes, so water and beaches are not the big attraction for us. We have that all summer. It's the dry hot desert in January, February, March that gives us respite from the bitter cold and thaws us out.

Imagine everything around you flat and white, with gray skies and no green leaves anywhere. Fire hydrants have flags on them so they don't get buried in snow drifts. Cars have flags on them so drivers can see each other at intersections. The hair in your nose freezes as soon as you take a breath outside.

Sitting on the patio at Shadow Ridge or Desert Springs looking at distant mountains and palm trees is a whole new world. We always ask for a golf course view, and DH does golf there--a lot. We rarely use the pools now that our kids are grown.

Lately we've spent a week in the desert as a halfway point on our way to Hawaii. It makes for a relatively short trip, and our internal clocks are better adjusted.

We love California, and have traveled extensively to all parts. But we're guaranteed that the desert will be warmer than what we left, sometimes as much as 90 degrees warmer.

Glad there is a place for all of us wherever it may be!

 

[indyhorizons]

We live in Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakes, so water and beaches are not the big attraction for us. We have that all summer. It's the dry hot desert in January, February, March that gives us respite from the bitter cold and thaws us out.

Imagine everything around you flat and white, with gray skies and no green leaves anywhere. Fire hydrants have flags on them so they don't get buried in snow drifts. Cars have flags on them so drivers can see each other at intersections. The hair in your nose freezes as soon as you take a breath outside.

Sitting on the patio at Shadow Ridge or Desert Springs looking at distant mountains and palm trees is a whole new world. We always ask for a golf course view, and DH does golf there--a lot. We rarely use the pools now that our kids are grown.

Lately we've spent a week in the desert as a halfway point on our way to Hawaii. It makes for a relatively short trip, and our internal clocks are better adjusted.

We love California, and have traveled extensively to all parts. But we're guaranteed that the desert will be warmer than what we left, sometimes as much as 90 degrees warmer.

Glad there is a place for all of us wherever it may be!

Empty Nest,

I agree with you 100%. We are in Indiana, and have concluded that Palm Desert is the 1 place that we have found that is consistently warm during spring break (1st week of April). Even parts of FL can be inconsistent, so we opted to start doing Spring Break in PD. So we bought an EOY at Shadow Ridge and have enjoyed it tremendously. And it has proven to be a great trader as well.

 

[MabelP]

Has anyone been to the Enclaves? What are they like?

 

[j.d.]

Shadow Ridge continues to be a great value!

I just returned from spending a great week at Shadow Ridge!
The weather was upper 70's- 84 each day! I do not know anywhere in the country that has the best weather in the month of November!
Although i have not taken up golf, i enjoy seeing the golfers hitting the little ball around!
i have enjoyed going to this resort for the last three years! The resort had 4 pools not one as described!
My 8 year old son enjoys the slide pool plus the kids area that has games including wi, playstation etc. I live within 1 hours drive so i enjoy day passes as well as the 2 weeks that i go for each year!
To each his own but i really have been impressed with this gem! The area includes , Rancho Mirage plus several desert malls within 30 minutes. Several Casinos are within minutes from this resort.
A great value plus the city of Palm Springs is 7 minutes away!

 

[sologirl]

not for me, either

Stayed there over President's Day weekend. Kinda soured my opinion of Marriott in general.

 

[GrayFal]

I like Palm Springs, have visited several times and stayed here once, but my preference is a TS with a hotel attached. I like Westin Mission Hills and the two Marriotts at the JW, Dessert Springs I & II.

 

[Deb from NC]

It just shows how different we all are...I thought Shadow Ridge was the nicest timeshare we've ever visited! Maybe you didn't see all of the pools (I'm not familiar with all the different sections there), but we went for swims in 3 different pools while we were there, and were often the only ones there.
Loved the landscaping and the beautiful (to me) views..so different from NC!
And the weather in mid-Feb was lovely
Deb