Palm Desert – IAMNOTASTALKER

July 11, 2014July 11, 2014

JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa from “Saved by the Bell”

This Labor Day, Lifetime is set to air The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story about the making of the Saturday morning classic which ran from 1989-1993. Um, YAY! (How did I not know about this, by the way?? Ordering it now!) While the show was admittedly as cheesy as they come, I loved it as a youngster and still find myself getting sucked in whenever I come across an episode on TV. Once I heard the news about the behind-the-scenes docudrama (thanks to my editor at Los Angeles magazine), I decided it was high time I did some stalking of the original series’ locations – especially being that one of them is right in my own backyard. (I blogged about it once before here.) During the show’s third season, Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen), Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley) and the gang headed out to Palm Desert to attend the wedding of Jessie’s father, Mr. Spano (George McDaniel). In the two episodes, which were titled “Palm Springs Weekend: Part I” and “Palm Springs Weekend: Part II,” the group stayed at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa. Amazingly, despite an extensive remodel, the hotel is still recognizable from its onscreen appearance 23 years ago.

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The JW Marriott Desert Springs is one of my favorite hotels in the Coachella Valley and quite possibly the largest resort I have ever seen. The place is massive – like 450-acres massive.

The hotel originally opened in February 1987 and currently features 884 (!!) rooms, an eight-story atrium lobby (pictured below), four pools, a 38,000-square-foot spa, twenty tennis courts, an 18-hole putting green, basketball courts, a salon, two golf courses, five restaurants, and, most importantly, a Starbucks.

The resort’s most stunning feature, though, is its massive waterway system, which guests are able to view via manned gondolas.

The main boat launch is pictured below.

Sadly, the property underwent a $25-million renovation from 2007 through 2012 and looks quite a bit different today than it did in when Saved by the Bell was filmed in 1991. It is still, thankfully, somewhat recognizable, though. You can check out a photograph of the original lobby here.

In the “Palm Springs Weekend” episodes, Jessie’s dad is said to manage the J.W. Marriott Desert Springs and the property was featured extensively in the shows. Just a few areas that were used include the front exterior;

the main entrance;

the lobby doors;

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and the boat launch.

As you can see, the launch looks much different today than it did onscreen.

Mr. Spano’s wedding was held in the Marriott’s lobby, which also looks much different today, sadly. I have to say I prefer the hotel’s original design to the current one.

The resort’s Valley Golf Course also appeared in the episodes, but I did not venture out there to take any pics. (Cut me some slack – it was 110 degrees at the time. Winking smile )

One of the Marriott’s former restaurants was used several times on the shows, but, sadly, during the remodel that space was completely gutted and subsequently reopened as a different eatery named Rockwood Grill.

I am guessing that the Desert Springs’ actual fitness center was utilized in the episodes’ gym scenes. Unfortunately, the entire spa was gutted during the remodel and no longer looks anything like its previous self.

I was not able to pinpoint which of the Marriott’s pools appeared in the episodes. I did track down a photograph of the Saved by the Pool pool online and the caption states that it is located at the Desert Springs Villas II (a time share community that is part of the resort), but, oddly, I can’t find a pool on aerial views that matches up.

I would really LOVE to see it in person, too, being that it is where Zack and Kelly rekindled their romance in “Part I.”

The JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort has popped up onscreen several times since Saved by the Bell. In 2006, the hotel was where Kimberly Bryant got a little crazy while on vacation with her girlfriends in the third episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County’s first season.

In 2007, Chrissy Schwartz and her friends spent a couple of nights at the Marriott in the pilot episode of Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County, which was titled “Crush . . . Interrupted.”

Oddly, in the episode the group dines at Mikado, which is supposedly a restaurant in the O.C., prior to their trip. Mikado is actually located at the Desert Springs Resort, though, which means that the dinner scene was filmed during their vacation, not beforehand. So much for “reality” TV.

In 2009, Desert Springs was where Alexis and Jim Bellino spent a romantic weekend sans kids in the Season 5 episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County titled “Nothing Is As It Seems.”

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa, from the “Palm Springs Weekend” episodes of Saved by the Bell, is located at 74-855 Country Club Drive in Palm Desert. You can visit the hotel’s official website here.

September 9, 2011September 8, 2011

Castelli’s Ristorante in Palm Desert

Early last week, one of my mom’s friends told her about a Palm Desert-area eatery named Castelli’s Ristorante that he had just dined at the previous evening. While he was lauding the place’s authentic Italian fare, he happened to mention that its walls were decorated with hundreds upon hundreds of photographs of the various celebrities who had been spotted there over the years. Well, once my mom heard that she immediately called me up to see if I was aware of the establishment. Amazingly enough, I was not! I, of course, just about died of excitement upon hearing those two magic words – “celebrity photographs” – and quickly added the place to my Coachella Valley “To Stalk” list. And while we were in the area this past Sunday night, I dragged my parents and the Grim Cheaper right on over there to grab a cocktail.

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Castelli’s Ristorante is a very old school-style eatery that closely resembles my former San Fernando Valley-area favorite Vitello’s, which, as I mentioned last week, drastically changed its menu (and not for the better) earlier this year. But I digress. With its wood-beamed ceilings, dark lighting, lace curtains, Rat Pack music and painted frescos, walking through Castelli’s front doors I was instantly transported back in time and, like one reviewer on Yelp stated, I half expected to see Tony Soprano sitting at a nearby booth. The restaurant, which is owned and operated by brothers John and Michael Castelli, first opened over 23 years ago and, thanks to its authentic, fresh-cooked Italian cuisine, has been going strong ever since.

Since we had already eaten dinner at the La Quinta Cliffhouse shortly before hitting up Castelli’s, we sadly did not order any meals while there, but the menu looked absolutely amazing. And once I heard that the place served cannoli (I learned today that “cannoli” is actually a plural noun, the singular form of the word is “cannolo”), I just about died and promptly ordered up a serving. Amazingly enough, I had actually never sampled a “cannolo” until this past June and have been absolutely obsessed with the ricotta cheese-filled desert ever since. Because I am diabetic, I can only have them on special occasions, but, let me tell you, my cravings for them are so strong I feel like I a pregnant woman! Winking smile And I have to say that Castelli’s cannoli were some of the BEST that I have ever had. Oh my god were they good! My dad liked them so much, in fact, that he ordered up a second serving immediately after we had finished the first.

The best part about Castelli’s – even better than its cannoli – though, had to be its celebrity photographs. Oh, the fun that my parents, the GC, and I had roaming around the restaurant trying to figure out who was who in each of the pictures. We even had the waiters running around trying to help us out. Just a few of the luminaries who adorn Castelli’s walls include Martin Short, Bob Hope, Burn Notice’s Jeffrey Donovan, Kevin Nealon, Gary Valentine, Norman Schwarzkopf, Dick Cheney, Robert Wagner, Stefanie Powers, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle, Dick Butkus, Joe Pesci, Sylvester Stallone, Craig T. Nelson, Dennis Franz, Emmitt Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Sinise, Jerry Lewis, Kurt Russell, James Caan, Dennis Farina, Hal Linden, John O’Hurley (aka “Mr. Peterman” from Seinfeld), and sportscaster Chris Berman. I think it goes without saying that I cannot more highly recommend stalking this restaurant! In fact, I think it is safe to say that the place is my new favorite Desert eatery.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Castelli’s Ristorante is located at 73-098 Highway 111 in Palm Desert. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

September 5, 2008February 13, 2009

Armando’s in the Desert

This past weekend, while vacationing in Palm Springs, I dragged my boyfriend and my parents to Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell’s fave Mexican restaurant in the Desert called Armando’s Dakota Bar and Grill. I’ve heard from several friends who live in the Palm Springs area that the Hollywood couple dine at Armando’s every Sunday evening during Palm Springs’ high season. I’ve blogged about Armando’s once before, but at the time had yet to eat at the restaurant. So this weekend I was determined to hit the place up.

Unfortunately, we didn’t spot any celebs while lunching there this past Sunday, but according to our super-friendly waiter Jeffrey, aka “Duke”, anyone who’s anyone has eaten at Armando’s. Besides regulars Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, who always eat outside on the restaurant’s front patio even though people constantly walk by and gawk at them, Duke also recently served Nikki Hilton who came in to grab a bite to eat, while her sister Paris sat outside in the car the entire time talking on her cell phone. LOL Heiresses are so strange! According to Duke, during the “Season” in Palm Springs, Armando’s turns into celeb central. So if you want to dine next to a celeb, your best bet is to hit up Armando’s during the months of October through February.

Every since discovering Don Antonio’s Restaurant in West LA (much thanks to Speidi!), I have fancied myself something of a Mexican food connoisseur. But I can rarely find a restaurant that is even on the same playing field as my beloved D.A.’s. I must admit, though, that Armando’s was really, really yummy! I would say that it ranks a very close second to Don’s and is the perfect place to get your Margarita on if you can’t make it out to West LA. I highly recommend stalking Armando’s if you ever find yourself in Palm Desert – as much for the food as for the celeb sightings.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Armando’s Dakota Bar and Grill is located at 73-260 El Paseo in Palm Desert. If you get a chance, also hit up She She, an adorable little boutique across the street at 73-999. I picked up a fab shirt on their “Super Sale Rack” for $9.99 and a super cute Hamsa bracelet for $10.