The Original Casitas — “Where It All Began”
In 1926, La Quinta Resort & Club began as a secluded desert retreat imagined by founder Walter H. Morgan, a San Francisco businessman drawn to the Coachella Valley’s restorative air. Surrounded by citrus groves and mountain views, he partnered with architect Gordon Kaufmann to create 20 Spanish-style casitas, each built by hand using adobe bricks and tiles crafted right on the property.
This was the beginning of a different kind of luxury—one rooted in simplicity, stillness, and sunlight. Artists, writers, and early Hollywood figures soon found their way here, drawn by the quiet beauty beneath the Santa Rosa Mountains.
Nearly a century later, the original casitas remain, preserving the spirit of Morgan’s vision. Over 165,000 handmade bricks and tiles shaped the foundation, and each of the first casitas was named after a saint. La Quinta, meaning a place of rest, still lives up to its name.