Which desert city to stay during COVID (Riverside, Palm Springs: renting, houses)

[roadwarrior101]

We're thinking of renting a house with a nice pool/hot tub/outdoor space for a week between Xmas - New Years. We're a family of four (2 kids - age 8 and 5) and we want to be able to do some socially distanced vacationing that the kids will enjoy. We live in the SF Bay Area, so this is about as far as we'd want to drive and probably will have the warmest weather in CA that time of the year (do not want to fly anywhere). We'd like a nice place with great indoor and outdoor space and are prepared to spend a decent amount of money, but under $1k per night. We'll likely spend most of our time in and around our house but may want to do a couple day hikes and/or takeout/delivery from local restaurants.

Here are some questions we have:

-Which desert city would best suit our needs (Palm Springs, Palm Desert, La Quinta, etc.)?
-Do most houses keep their pools heated year round?
-Is it typically warm enough to use the pool and sunbathe during the daytime?
-How are the COVID cases in that area right now and is it safe to plan this trip? (I see Riverside County rates are very high but perhaps those are in poorer areas)