Chateau at Lake La Quinta

It’s not quite the French Riviera, but you can’t fault this 24-room villa for trying. Enter into the lobby, a vast hall with a fireplace and red velvet armchairs, and the emphasis on design is immediately apparent. Vibrant, cosmopolitan guest rooms have unexpected touches like Victorian-inspired chandeliers and hardwood floors. The whole property backs up to a shimmering man-made, but nevertheless picturesque, lake. Compared to the swarms that await you at some other local hotels, this place is entirely too civilized. But once you’re sipping champagne out on the patio and watching sailboats drift by, who are you to complain?