Cotino vs. Toscana Country Club: Comparison Breakdown

New-construction lagoon living in Rancho Mirage versus established private golf-club living in Indian Wells

Last Updated: July 18, 2026 | Time To Read: 15 minutes | Author: Mark Miller | Category: Cotino Resource Hub

Cotino®, a Storyliving by Disney® community, and Toscana Country Club are both luxury communities in the Coachella Valley, but they are built around fundamentally different ideas of what everyday desert living should be.

Cotino is a new master-planned community in Rancho Mirage organized around Cotino Bay, an approximately 24-acre lagoon, new homes, parks, creative programming, and the optional Artisan Club. Its appeal is water, family-oriented recreation, new construction, Disney-influenced placemaking, and a community that is still being created.

Toscana is an established Indian Wells home community organized around a private equity country club, two Jack Nicklaus Signature golf courses, Club Villa, dining, spa, tennis, pickleball, wellness, and a long-standing member culture. Its appeal is golf, mature private-club living, and an amenity system that is already fully defined.

The right comparison is not simply Cotino versus Toscana by home price. It is lagoon lifestyle versus golf lifestyle, new construction versus established homes, optional club membership versus high-commitment equity membership, and future-oriented development versus a mature private club environment.

Cotino is centered around a destination. Cotino Bay, the beaches, the future public town center, the Artisan Club, parks, wellness spaces, creative studios, courts, and social programming are intended to create a neighborhood that feels like a daily resort and community gathering place.

Toscana is centered around a club. The home is part of a larger private-club ecosystem built around golf, dining, tennis, pickleball, fitness, spa services, wellness, events, and member relationships. The courses and Club Villa are not secondary amenities; they are the organizing principle of the community.

That distinction affects how the communities feel even before comparing costs. Cotino is more likely to appeal to someone who wants a visually distinctive new environment and a broad range of activities for family and guests. Toscana is more likely to appeal to someone who wants a private club routine and expects the rhythm of life to revolve around golf, dining, racquet sports, wellness, and member events.

Cotino offers a different type of luxury from a traditional country club. Its residential offerings are organized into four home categories—Villa, Cottage, Grand, and Estate—with designs from Shea Homes, Davidson Communities, Woodbridge Pacific Group, and Brian Foster Residences. Villa contains Cotino’s most compact homes, Cottage emphasizes manageable and flexible desert living, Grand provides the broadest selection of floor plans, and Estate offers the largest homesites and greatest potential for customization.

The collections should not be treated as age designations. Cotino is primarily an all-ages community, while Longtable Park includes designated 55+ homesites from the Villa, Cottage, and Grand collections. Cottage homes are also planned for future all-ages phases, so buyers should confirm the age qualification of the specific homesite rather than relying on the collection name.

The builder mix also varies by collection. Shea Homes currently offers Villa and Cottage residences and participates in Grand alongside Davidson Communities. Estate homes are offered by Woodbridge Pacific Group, Brian Foster Residences, and Davidson Communities. Buyers should compare the individual floor plan, builder, homesite, age designation, garage configuration, outdoor-living potential, structural options, views, and upgrades—not simply the collection name or published base price. (Cotino Home Collections Explained)

Cotino’s centerpiece is Cotino Bay. The lagoon creates the visual identity of the community and supports a lifestyle that does not depend on golf. Artisan Club members have access to member-oriented beach and club amenities, water recreation, dining, wellness, creative programming, tennis, and pickleball. Community parks and the future public-facing Cotino Bay Beach, Dining and Shops add another layer that is separate from the private club experience.

The important limitation is that buying a Cotino home does not automatically provide full access to the lagoon, private beaches, or Artisan Club facilities. Homeownership, HOA obligations, Artisan Club membership, and public access are separate concepts.

Cotino is also still evolving. That creates excitement and the possibility of a larger destination environment over time, but it also means buyers should be comfortable with construction, changing availability, future phases, and amenities that may be subject to revised timing, rules, fees, or operating decisions.

Toscana’s identity is more traditional and more club-dependent. The community is organized around 36 holes of Jack Nicklaus Signature golf, a substantial Club Villa, restaurants, a sports club, spa, tennis center, pickleball courts, resort pool, bocce courts, practice facilities, and a social calendar.

The current club materials describe approximately 631 homes and estate homesites. Residences range from roughly 2,400 to more than 7,000 square feet, including existing residences, custom homes, and premium fairway or mountain-view properties.

Toscana’s member experience is particularly different for golfers. Golf members receive access to both courses and the practice facilities, with walk-on access and no tee times required under the published membership benefits. Golf membership also includes the broader club ecosystem, including dining, Spa Bella Vita, the Sports and Tennis Club, resort pool, pickleball, bocce, locker rooms, the Bill Harmon Performance Center, and Villa Toscana.

The Sports Club and Spa membership is the non-golf path. It includes the social, dining, spa, fitness, tennis, pickleball, bocce, pool, and wellness side of Toscana, but excludes the golf courses and golf practice facilities.

Toscana’s homes are not automatically packaged with club access. Ownership of a home or homesite does not itself include club membership or rights to the club facilities. Membership is separately approved and separately paid for.

Recent closed-sales evidence is where the markets diverge most clearly. Toscana recorded 41 MLS transactions during the preceding 12 months, with a median closed price of approximately $3.40 million and a median sold price of approximately $854 per square foot. Cotino had only two recorded MLS closings during that same period, which is not enough to establish a dependable recent median or resale trend.

The most useful buyer comparison is therefore the expected finished purchase price—not a Cotino base plan compared directly with a completed Toscana resale. Compare similar home sizes, lot quality, views, pools, landscaping and finished improvements, then add the applicable HOA and club expenses discussed below.

The cost of owning in Cotino has several distinct layers:

1. The home purchase, including the base price, homesite premiums, structural options, design-center selections, pool, landscaping, and other upgrades.
2. The applicable HOA or association charges, which vary by neighborhood and may include additional Longtable Park obligations for the 55+ area.
3. Possible CFD, special-tax, assessment, insurance, and property-tax obligations that should be reviewed for the specific homesite.
4. Optional Artisan Club membership.
5. The Artisan Club’s annual food-and-beverage minimum and any additional charges for selected activities, events, or special uses.

The current Cotino fee table is intentionally embedded so the HOA and Artisan Club figures can be updated without rewriting the comparison article. The key issue is not only the amount of each charge, but whether the charge is mandatory, optional, recurring, one-time, or connected to a specific access right.

Artisan Club membership is voluntary and separate from buying a home. The Resident and Resident Extended options are designed around different household and extended-family access needs. The initiation fee, annual dues, and food-and-beverage minimum are separate from the HOA.

The food-and-beverage minimum should not be treated exactly like a pure membership fee because it is generally an obligation to spend on qualifying food and beverage purchases. It still belongs in the annual lifestyle budget because a buyer who does not naturally use the club’s dining venues may experience it as an additional cost.

The most important Cotino cost question is therefore: “What does the desired daily lifestyle cost after the home is purchased?” A buyer who does not want Artisan Club membership may experience Cotino mainly as a new-home community with parks and a future public destination. A buyer who wants the full private beach, dining, wellness, water, and programming experience should include Artisan Club costs in the ownership model from the beginning.

Using the $750 HOA as a planning figure, the recurring community-and-club baseline is approximately:

• Sports Club and Spa path: $2,340 per month before property taxes, insurance, utilities, home maintenance, dining charges, and other personal expenses.
• Golf path: $4,470 per month before property taxes, insurance, utilities, home maintenance, dining charges, golf-cart costs, locker costs, and other personal expenses.

The initiation fee is not included in those monthly figures. The Sports Club and Spa path carries a $120,000 non-refundable initiation fee. The Golf path carries a $180,000 non-refundable initiation fee. The club’s published materials also state that it does not charge a food-and-beverage minimum, although dining and other personal charges still apply.

The current published membership schedule does not present a separate social-only membership. The non-golf option is the Resident Equity Sports Club and Spa membership. It provides access to the social, dining, racquet, wellness, spa, fitness, pool, and bocce environment while excluding the golf courses and golf practice facilities.

This is an important distinction for a buyer who does not play golf. A non-golfer may not need to purchase the $180,000 Golf membership, but the Sports Club and Spa path is still a significant private-club commitment, with its own initiation fee and monthly dues.

Membership terms, availability, approval requirements, and fees can change. A specific purchase should be evaluated with the current club membership documents and the resale disclosures for the property.

Neither community should be evaluated by looking only at the HOA field on a listing.

At Cotino:

• Homeownership does not automatically include Artisan Club membership.
• Homeownership does not automatically provide full private-beach or lagoon access.
• Artisan Club membership is voluntary and separately paid.
• Public Cotino Bay access is a separate concept from private member access.

At Toscana:

• Homeownership does not automatically include club membership.
• Club access is subject to a separate application and approval process.
• The $750 HOA is not a substitute for Sports Club, Spa, or Golf membership.
• Golf, sports, dining, spa, and social access depend on the membership selected.

The difference is that Cotino’s optional membership is built around a lagoon and a Disney-influenced lifestyle, while Toscana’s optional membership is built around a private country club and golf infrastructure.

Cotino gives buyers the opportunity to choose a new home, select finishes, compare builders, and become part of a community during its formation. That can be attractive to buyers who value fresh construction, modern floor plans, current building systems, and the ability to shape a home rather than inherit someone else’s renovation decisions.

The trade-off is that Cotino is not yet a finished environment. Construction activity, future phases, changing inventory, evolving access rules, and the timing of the public town center are part of the purchase decision. The buyer is purchasing into a long-term development story as well as a house.

Toscana offers a more established setting. Mature homesites, finished streetscapes, existing club facilities, and an active membership community allow buyers to understand the environment more clearly before purchasing. A resale buyer can evaluate the exact home, lot, views, landscaping, pool, renovations, and location within the community.
The trade-off is that the home may require renovation or modernization, and the buyer is entering an expensive club system whose initiation fees and monthly dues are materially higher than a typical HOA or optional social amenity package.

Cotino is designed to make family use, creative programming, water recreation, and extended-family participation part of the lifestyle story. The Resident Extended Artisan Club option is particularly relevant for owners who expect regular involvement from adult children, grandchildren, parents, or grandparents.

Toscana also has family memberships and a strong guest culture, but the experience is more structured around club participation. Guests generally experience the community through a member, and the value is strongest for households that will actually use the golf, dining, racquet, wellness, and social calendar.

The practical question is not which community has more amenities. Both have a substantial amenity package. The question is whether guests are more likely to gather around a lagoon and beach or around a private club, golf course, dining room, pool, and racquet center.

Cotino may be the stronger fit for a buyer who:

• Wants new construction and a modern master-planned environment.
• Is attracted to lagoon living, beaches, water recreation, and non-golf luxury.
• Wants creative, wellness, social, and family-oriented programming.
• Likes the Disney connection and the idea of living in a highly branded community.
• Wants an all-ages option or is specifically interested in Longtable Park’s 55+ setting.
• Is comfortable buying while the community continues to develop.
• Understands that Artisan Club membership is a separate lifestyle purchase rather than an automatic benefit of ownership.

Cotino may be less compelling for a buyer who wants a mature neighborhood, immediate certainty about the final environment, traditional private golf, or the lowest possible ongoing carrying costs.

Toscana may be the stronger fit for a buyer who:

• Wants private club golf to be central to daily life.- Values 36 holes of Jack Nicklaus Signature golf and walk-on access. 
• Wants established dining, wellness, spa, tennis, pickleball, bocce, and social programming.
• Prefers existing homes, mature landscaping, fairway views, and a finished community setting.
• Is comfortable with a separate membership approval process and a substantial non-refundable initiation fee.
• Wants the choice between a full Golf membership and a non-golf Sports Club and Spa membership.
• Expects to use the club frequently enough for the monthly dues to create meaningful value.

Toscana may be less compelling for a buyer who does not want private-club obligations, is primarily interested in water recreation, wants a lower initial membership commitment, or prefers the excitement of a new community still taking shape.

The cleanest way to compare the two is to make five decisions in order:

1. Choose the lifestyle centerpiece. Is it Cotino Bay and the Artisan Club, or golf and Club Villa?
2. Separate the home from the membership. In both communities, the house and the club are different financial and access decisions.
3. Compare total recurring cost. Include HOA, club dues, food-and-beverage obligations, property taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance, and likely capital expenses.
4. Compare the development timeline. Cotino offers newness and future potential; Toscana offers a more established operating environment.
5. Read the access documents. Confirm who receives access, what guests can use, whether membership transfers, what happens on resale, and which fees can change.

Cotino and Toscana are not interchangeable luxury communities. They represent two different versions of the Coachella Valley lifestyle.

Cotino is a new, lagoon-centered, Disney-influenced community where the most distinctive experiences are connected to water, beaches, creative programming, wellness, family, and the future growth of the master plan.

Toscana is an established, club-centered community where the most distinctive experiences are connected to golf, private-club access, dining, spa, racquet sports, wellness, and a mature member network.

The strongest Cotino buyer is not necessarily looking for a country club with a lagoon added to it. The strongest Toscana buyer is not necessarily looking for a new neighborhood with golf added to it. The communities are built around different daily habits, and the best choice is the one whose central lifestyle will actually be used often enough to justify the home price, HOA, club commitment, and long-term carrying cost.

Community fees, membership terms, access rights, amenities, rules, availability, construction timing, and future plans can change. Figures in this comparison are intended for buyer education and should be confirmed against current builder documents, HOA documents, club membership documents, resale disclosures, and lot-specific purchase materials before entering into a contract.