palm springs

a jazzy car in front of a jazzy house in palm springs, california

a jazzy car in front of a jazzy house in palm springs, california

 

There are very few places in this world that I would visit more than once. Even if I absolutely adored my time spent somewhere, I am generally of the mindset that there are too many places in this world to explore a city/area/destination twice. Palm Springs is an exception. I FUGGING LOVE Palm Springs. It is beautiful and warm and colorful and I love it. The hotels are amazing, the vintage shopping is killer, the kitsch factor is high, the scenery is stunning and the architecture of the homes is just the cherry on top. Please god go to Palm Springs asap if you haven’t been yet. I’ve also included my notes for other areas outside Palm Springs (including Joshua Tree) that were just as bonkers wonderful as PS itself.

Palm springs

Where to stay:

  • The Saguaro (supes colorful on the outside but rooms are nothing special)

  • Ace Hotel (my favorite)

  • Sparrows Lodge (supposed to be supes kewl)

  • Parker (would stay here if I had the QUICHE)

  • Korakia Pensione (ditto to what I said for Parker)

  • L'horizon resort and spa

  • Colony Palms hotel

  • Rendezvous b&b (so vintage and kewt)

Things to do:

  • take a pic in front of #thatpinkdoor (1100 Sierra way)

  • PS modern tours (great tour of the home architecture!)

  • Moorten Botanical Garden (def do this, quick/easy and cool)

  • Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

  • Coachella Valley Vista Point (highway 74)

  • Best of the Best Tours

  • take pics with the wind turbines :)

Restos:

  • Birba (tasty pizza)

  • King's Highway (adorable interiors)

  • Workshop Kitchen + Bar 

  • The Sandwich Spot (get dutch crunch bread!)

  • Ernest Coffee 

  • El Mirasol (legit Mexican food)

  • Mister Parker's (at Parker hotel, supes chic)

  • Cheeky's (great brunch, gets busy)

  • El Jefe (the bar at The Saguaro) 

  • Rick's 

  • Purple Palm (chèvre + dates)

  • Palm Greens Cafe

  • Johannes (Austrian Asian)

  • Copley's on Palm Canyon

  • Melvyn's restaurant (old school fancy)

  • Sherman's Deli and Bakery

  • Chi Chi (at the Avalon)

  • Trio

  • Rooster and Pig (Vietnamese)

  • Woody’s (burgers)

  • Smoke Tree BBQ

  • The Tropicale

  • Dish Creative Cuisine

  • Spencers (fancy)

  • Eight4nine

  • Ruben and Ozzy's oyster bar

  • Tinto (at The Saguaro)

Bars:

  • Amigo Room at Ace Hotel

  • Bootlegger Tiki (was v into this place)

  • Viceroy's Citron Bar

  • Woody’s Back Room (for live music)

Sweet shops:

  • Balboa candy

  • Rocket fizz

  • Peninsula Pastries (this was guud)

  • Palm Springs Candy Co (in Cathedral City)

Shopping on North Palm Canyon Dr:

  • Palm canyon galleria

  • Trina Turk

  • Angel View (on Indian Canyon)

  • The shops at 1345

  • Wil stiles

  • The frippery

  • Retrospect

  • Flow modern

  • Retro et cetera

  • Dazzles

  • Route 66 west

  • Soukie modern

  • Paul Kaplan studio

  • Bon vivant

Other shopping:

  • Mitchell’s

  • Estate sale company

  • Revivals

  • The End

  • Backstreet art district

  • Gypsyland in desert hot springs

  • Angel view thrift mart in desert hot springs

  • Collectors corner in rancho mirage

Hiking trails:

  • Indian canyon

  • Tahquitz canyon

  • Agua caliente Indian reservation

  • Andreas canyon

  • Palm canyon


Outside of Palm Springs

Places to go:

  • Desert Hot Springs (go to The Spring or Hacienda Hot Springs)

  • Joshua Tree National Park (must do if you have the time)

  • Salvation Mountain (so colorful and greaaatttt)

  • East Jesus (art commune in slab city, right by Salvation Mountain)

  • Sunnylands

  • Smoke Tree Stables

  • Collectors Corner (rancho mirage, vintage shop)

  • Thousand Palms Oasis (north of Indio, very cool spot to see) 

  • Shields Date Garden (date shakes in Indio)

  • Oasis Date Garden (south of Indio) 

  • Bautista date farm (north side of salton sea)

  • Painted Canyons (northeast of salton sea)

  • Dos Palmas oasis (northeast of salton sea)

  • International banana museum (hilarious pit stop)

  • Bombay Beach Ruins (east side of sea)

  • Imperial Sand Dunes (far south)

  • Salton Sea State Park (dead fish beach, creepy but the sea has an interesting history)

  • Davis Schrimpf Seep Field (south side of sea)

  • Buckshot Deli and Diner (near slab city)

  • Anza Borrego Desert State Park (west of sea)

Stops en route to PS from LA:

  • Cabazon Dinosaurs

  • Desert Hill outlets

What to see in Joshua Tree:

  • Hidden valley

  • Keys view

  • Cholla cactus garden

  • Skull Rock

  • Cap rock

  • Ryan mountain trail

  • Arch rock

  • Lost horse valley

  • Town of Twentynine Palms on the way out

Towns outside PS to check out:

  • Desert Hot Springs

  • Indio

  • Coachella

  • Salton Sea

  • Slab City

  • Joshua Tree

  • Twentynine Palms

  • Borrego Springs