La Quinta Resort & Club
The La Quinta Resort opened its doors to guests on January 1, 1927 — the casitas ready for occupation two days after the formal opening on December 29, 1926. Gordon Kaufmann designed the Spanish Colonial Revival buildings, the style with stucco walls and red tile roofs that would become synonymous with California's desert resort aesthetic. From the beginning, the resort attracted the kind of guests who wanted privacy and warm air: Hollywood people, writers, those with enough money to spend weeks or months away from the city. Frank Capra came, and he kept coming.
Capra's Desert Office
Frank Capra was a frequent guest at La Quinta through his most productive decades — the period when he was making the films that would define him: It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, You Can't Take It With You, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The resort provided the combination of warm weather, isolation, and comfort that supported extended work sessions. The Frank Capra Ballroom, named for him in recognition of his long association with the property, is now one of the resort's primary event spaces. The naming acknowledges a connection that was personal as well as commercial: Capra did not merely stay at La Quinta, he worked there, producing the screenplays that he considered in their natural habitat.
Tennis Before the Open
From 1981 to 1986, La Quinta Resort hosted a tennis tournament that was the direct predecessor of what became the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells — the tournament now ranked as the 'fifth Grand Slam.' Jimmy Connors won there. Yannick Noah won there. The desert location and resort infrastructure suited the format of a major professional tennis event, and the experience accumulated during those six years at La Quinta contributed to the organizational knowledge that eventually produced the Indian Wells venue. The resort's relationship with professional tennis predates the Indian Wells Tennis Garden by years.
The Next Century
In December 2021, the resort was sold to Henderson Park for $255 million — a transaction that reflected both the property's continued commercial value and the increasing interest in historic hospitality assets. The deal came as the resort was preparing for its centennial, and a restoration program was underway to bring the 45-acre property's 718 accommodations — 620 of them original casitas — into their second century. The filming that took place on the property in the years just before the sale reflected its continued ability to double as a setting: Olivia Wilde's Don't Worry Darling (2022) and season sixteen of The Bachelorette (2020) both used La Quinta as a production location, a function the resort has served since the days when Capra was revising scripts in a casita by the pool.
From the Air
La Quinta Resort & Club is located at approximately 33.69°N, 116.31°W in La Quinta, California, in the southern Coachella Valley. The resort's 45-acre grounds, with their signature red-tile rooflines and palm-lined grounds, are identifiable from lower altitudes against the surrounding desert and residential development. The Santa Rosa Mountains form a dramatic backdrop immediately to the southwest. Palm Springs International Airport (KPSP) is approximately 10 miles to the northwest. Bermuda Dunes Airport (UDD), a general aviation facility, is approximately 8 miles to the northeast and is suitable for private aircraft visiting the resort. Valley floor elevation at this location is approximately 200 feet above sea level.