One of the first campsite reservations we made when starting this adventure was at Catalina Spa and RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Dates: 2022-01-20 to 2022-02-06 (17 nights).

Weather: sunny, windy several days (gusts up to 40 mph), high temps around averaging 70°F, lows around 50°F.

Noise: from neighboring sites, but no trains or road noise.

Site: back-in, sand, full hookups (50 amp power, water, sewer), small, about 45 feet long by 18 feet wide, with hedges on both side. No table or fire pit. Not really enough room for our truck, but fortunately there was parking behind our site.

Internet: unreliable single-device Wi-Fi; T-Mobile good, AT&T and Verizon okay.

Amenities: mail service, daily garbage pickup, pool, rec room, various outdoor games.

Here’s the review Jenn wrote on Campground Reviews:

So much potential, in need of a refurb

We had high hopes for this resort based on reviews and YouTube walk-throughs, but it seems to have gone downhill since then. At its peak, this would have been a fantastic place, but it’s looking a little rough around the edges. The pools and spas could have been spectacular but were kind of average. The temperatures were erratic (for instance: one day, the upper spa was maybe one degree warmer than the pool), and the plaster was starting to look a little shabby. Despite numerous signs that you must rinse before going into the pool, I never saw anyone else doing so. Signs regarding glass containers were similarly ignored, especially in the “family pool,” which was party central in the afternoon. If you’re looking for a nice quiet soak in the hot springs, look elsewhere. It is nice that the pools are open 24/7, but they need to fix the lights around the upper pool. Several streetlights are missing or burnt out, and it was a very dark walk back to the coach after we had a post-dinner swim.

Our site was supposedly an “Elite Plus” site, described as “50 amp service, landscaped dirt/gravel/sandy mix site; may come with a cement slab; full hook-ups, includes wifi & cable, more spacious & private site with a great view maximum size 55′”. Not in a million years would I describe the site as “spacious” or “private” or as having a “great view”. Our 40′ motorhome barely fit from front to back and we had to trim some of the oleander shrubs to make it work. There was no way we could fit our tow vehicle beside it and have any outdoor living space so we parked it around the corner. Even so, we barely had room for our rug and chairs between the coach and the shrubs. Our neighbors were so close we could watch and listen to their TV. When there wasn’t someone in a site across the way we sort of had a glimpse of the distant hills, so I guess that counts as a “view”, but mostly all we could see was our neighbors and their trucks parked all along the roadside. I would knock out about half the interior sites and make them all really long pull-throughs. Considering that the park was never full the entire time we were there (in peak season), it’s not like they’d lose a ton of revenue.

The paid WiFi we got with our site was very slow and continuously disconnected and was only good for one device. In order to do Zoom calls for work, I had to use the 5G connection on my cellphone for reliable service. We camped at Catalina Spa RV Resort in a Motorhome.

Here’s the map:

The satellite view:

Pulling in off the road, a welcome sign and a glimpse of the office:

The entrance security gate (opened via a proximity card):

Horseshoes, cornhole, etc games:

An entertainment / party area:

The lower clubhouse:

They have a mail room, but were getting overwhelmed with packages, so had non-USPS ones available for pickup in the clubhouse:

Looking out the window at the lower pool:

The pools at this resort are fed by mineral hot springs, which is quite pleasant… though the temperature regulation was a bit inconsistent, being warmer or cooler on various days. We enjoyed the pools several times during our stay:

A sign:

Rock art:

Our campsite:

We could almost fit our truck next to our coach, but it would have been a tight squeeze:

Our rug, chairs, and table:

Me sitting underneath the bedroom slide-out for shade:

Jenn:

A view of our campsite from the back:

We couldn’t go back any further, due to a shrub. But there’s a gap behind the shrub leading to an overflow parking area, where we parked our truck:

The hookups were conveniently located, though I couldn’t get a good seal on the sewer, as the screw was mounted too low:

A wander around, looking at other sites:

The upper pool, which we preferred:

Playground:

Pickleball:

Mini golf:

We enjoyed a round:

Cabins:

A pair of ponds:

A pair of ducks; I always enjoy a duck sighting:

A bird visited our site:

A raven made a ruckus in a palm tree behind our site:

The wind here was pretty bad at times, with gusts up to around 40 MPH; we considered bringing in our slide-outs, to protect the toppers, but didn’t; they survived okay:

One last pic of our campsite, after our downhill neighbor left: