Jon,
I don't know if you live in the Coachella Valley, but when it only takes you 15 to 20 minutes to get from La Quinta Inn all the way to Escena you let me know. Whether you take the 111 or I10 to get to Escena it is going to take you well over 30 minutes to get from one to the other. The Valley is a lot more spread out than most people imagine. Also being there in prime season, traffic is often congested, you hit a lot more lights.
For my suggestions since I know every course there pretty well. If you are staying at La Quinta Inn, just go ahead and play La Quinta Mountain, it is a very fun course, and has some great holes along the mountain.
Other suggestions would be Marriot Shadowridge, very underrrated. I just played Indian Wells Golf Resort Players Course a couple of weeks ago, and I was blown away by how good of shape the course was in, and that is coming from a guy that works in turf. To be honest, it was in better shape than most private clubs, and it is a very good golf course.