Bob Hope, Presidents Eisenhower and Ford came to play golf. Ralph Bellamy and Charlie Farrell founded a prestigious Racquet Club to satisfy their dedication to tennis.Today names such as John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova liven the courts.

Jack Benny often broadcast his Sunday Night radio programme from the Plaza Theatre, a site attended by such local visitors as Greta Garbo.

The list of film stars escaping to Palm Springs from Hollywood for R and R could fill volumes . . . John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, Clint Eastwood, Kirk Douglas, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Doris Day, Lucille Ball ,and that's just getting started.

George Hamilton, Jane Fonda, Sylvester Stallone, Sonny Bono, Tom Selleck, David Hasselhoff, the Walt Disneys and on and on.

Prince Charles arrived to play polo and even Baroness Thatcher, the former British Prime Minister, discovered it as a place to unwind. So do Liza Minnelli, Raquel Welch, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Paul Newman.

So strong was that celebrity presence today one still drives on roads bearing names such as Bob Hope Drive, Dinah Shore Drive, Gene Autry Trail, Frank Sinatra Drive, there's even an "Avenue Bermudas" and Bermuda Dunes and Bermuda Dunes Country Club. And, of course, a walk of stars honouring famous celebrities.

What attracted them starting in the Thirties and continuing now? The same sort of things that very likely appeal to you. Some vacationers are lured to the desert seeking sun and solitude, others prefer the mountains for dramatic scenery, perhaps added bonus of a high altitude forested landscapes with cool temperatures.

Then again, for many vacationers, a glitzy shopping area with uniquely chic boutiques is very tempting when their itinerary includes a particularly sophisticated hotel.

Only rarely can such a combination be found together in one exciting location. Why do you think all those movie stars rush off to Palm Springs? First off, it's only 120 miles from Los Angeles, and is very easily accessible.

Even while working on a film in production at the studio, they could be back on the set if needed within hours.

And despite its glamour image, it has a remarkable variety of accommodations in all price ranges. Gated private estates that can be rented, largescale posh resorts, quiet exclusive hideaways, comfortably priced chain properties . . . really something to fit all tastes and budgets.

We've stayed at a cross-section of properties there over the years, including a glamorous celebrity hideaway originally built by the wealthy owner of the Pierce Arrow Auto Car Company that became a favourite with stars such as Sinatra, Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner and Howard Hughes.

What was the Palm Springs Marquis is gone, now existing under another identity. We had enjoyed a luxury two-bathroom suite there large enough to serve as a permanent home.

But equally fun, a place we've returned to a couple times, is a particularly attractive Spanish-style Embassy Suite in Palm Desert, just at the edge of Indian Wells.

We even once joined a recreational vehicle press tour during which journalists were assigned RVs and spent some time in a highly-rated Palm Springs recreational vehicle park catering to such vehicles.

Then we all drove off exploring on our own, rendezvousing each evening at a scheduled overnight stop. It was a great fun experience.

There are so many things that are special about Palm Springs, starting with its dramatically designed international airport (complete with putting green to while away waiting time), we'll only be able to cover the tip of the iceberg here.

But obviously with 350 days of sunshine, the only snow you'll ever see in this desert Utopia will be up in surrounding mountains. And for this mountain enthusiast, they're one of the main reasons this geography is so special.

Yes, the collection of towns stretching from Palm Springs through Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert, on past Indian Wells all have distinctive attractions; along with impressively landscaped grounds. They're covered under the umbrella of the Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Convention and Visitors Bureau.

There are tempting shops galore, including a surprising number of consignment ones. The fashionable set here is very trendy, changing jewellery and everything else frequently (in many cases including spouses).

Expect a long list of gourmet restaurants, night life, spas, art galleries . . . all the things that keep Hollywood jet setters entertained. You can select a chic celebrity restaurant, like the one where we once saw Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, who had flown in just for lunch via his private plane, or opt for a budget-priced, but bountiful Hometown Buffet.

There are several lively Indian-owned casinos, including 228-room Spa Resort Casino on Indian Canyon Drive, mineral hot springs and more than 115 golf courses that attract the likes of Arnold Palmer.

But it's what you don't expect to find here that has lured us back for encore visits. For us, it's those dramatic and lofty peaks rising above the desert with their ever changing hues that are the star attraction.

But don't just admire them from the desert floor, but rent a car and drive up out of town on route 74 heading for Idyllwild on highway 243. En route you'll pass some interesting resorts and soon enter scenery worlds away in mood.

Browse in shops in Idyllwild's mountain resort area, and continue on route 243, making a loop trip weaving through endless vistas of San Bernadino National Forest to Interstate 10.

You'll also want to save time for several very intriguing day trips. One is to Joshua Tree National Park, which covers more than 1,200 square miles of Mojave and lower Colorado deserts.

And if you've always wondered what the much feared San Andreas Fault looks like, this is the place where it and other fault lines have thrust rocks up in such dramatic geology.

World War Two is more than a distant memory here. Start at Palm Springs Air Museum with its impressive collection of still fly-able World War Two aircraft. Some volunteers here are pilots who actually flew those planes.

As four-wheel-drivers and Hummers prowl around exploring the back country, it will come as a surprise to learn General George Patton brought his troops here to prepare for desert warfare. To visit that region, at Joshua Tree turn off Interstate 10 and exist 168, where you're 24 miles east of Indio.

North of here at 29 Palms is Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Centre. So you can see there's a bit of everything.

Don't miss Palm Springs Aerial Tramway which has the world's largest rotating tram cars justifiably rated a WOW experience. Swiss-built, they carry oohing and aahing tourists up rocky China Canyon to the 8,516-foot mountain station, up to the Santa Rosa and Mount San Jacinto National Monument.

The ten-minute ride carries you through five different geologic zones from Sonoran Desert to near Alpine. Temperatures can be 30 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit cooler.

We're still just warming up to the subject. You've yet to visit a date grove and savour a date milk shake . . . or drive out to the tribally-owned Indian Canyons and go on to explore the remote waterfall in Tahquitz Canyon used by Frank Capra in his 1937 film Lost Horizon.

You won't want to miss Palm Springs' 1930s General Store Museum, an historic site recalling an earlier era. It's well worth your time.

There isn't space to catalogue the long list of special packages offered at significant savings from June to September considered off-season. You can learn more about specifics at www.palmspringsusa.com. Also check givenintothedesert.com. Telephone: 760-770-9000.

My favourite local story still remains one involving Marlon Brando, who liked to park his recreational vehicle in the driveway of the elegant old Pierce Arrow estate property when he checked into one of its suites.

Truckers tooling down route 10 never realised that interesting conversationalist who enjoyed talking to them on his CB radio while parked there wasn't one of them, but a very famous film star.

Next week: In the footsteps of Jane Austen