Who's Going
LA Weekenders, Local Foodies, Value-Travelers
Reason to Stay
Downtown Location, Stylish Restaurant, Value Prices
Hotel Type
Boutique Hotel
On a speedy-strip of downtown Palm Springs near the famed Movie Colony and Spanish Inn, this '30s Spanish Colonial boutique hotel is fresh out of a $15-million makeover. Its location is close enough to walk to the shops and restaurant of Palm Canyon Drive as well as the nearby Spa Hotel and Casino. A whitewashed façade with not-quite-finished landscaping frames a circular valet area with lone-attendant wearily waiting under a cardinal-blue umbrella. Colorful tile floors and arched entryway leads to a small corridor and one-room reception area with brocade tapestry, ornate front-desk and walls covered in semi-nude photographs. The hotel sprawls between two separate courtyards, the more picturesque being around the main pool area and the other in an adjacent pavilion surrounded by six freestanding casitas. The main pool area offers great views of the San Jacinto Mountains, surrounded by metal loungers strew with terrycloth towels and a stylish outdoor bar attached to Purple Palm Restaurant. A star-shaped Jacuzzi area bubbles throughout the day and night, but could be better if removed from the main hotel thoroughfare. By night the restaurant is where the action is, attracting a packed dining room of second-home locals and Hollywood gays in their pastel linens.
The Room
A tile and terracotta walkway leads to a pavilion of casitas at the edge of the property. Immature landscaping has caused erosion on much of the flagstone walkway leading to the room, and a faint smell of sewage is noticeable. A heavy-wood door opens to a small entryway and mini-bar stalked with big-bottled Patron and Belvedere with sparkling silver emblazoned ice bucket. The casita room features a predominant queen size bed flanked by two stylish end tables and boldly colored fabric headboard. Textured walls are half-painted in red and white with a suspended plasma screen TV hung from the wall, as well as those signature artsy nudes. My room featured a man entirely free of body hair reclined on a lounger with flexed abs glistening in sunlight next to another photo of a couple standing in a hotel bathroom with opened robes and dramatic expressions. The bed is tucked with polyblend cotton sheets and quilted duvet cover, but with two of the heartiest synthetic pillows ever mined. Two rickety sliding doors open to a large furnished patio with white-canvas loungers, umbrella and awkward bathtub that I believe should double as a whirlpool. Perhaps if the patio had higher walls or was more private from the nearby walkway this would be an amenity, in this case its simply impractical. The bathroom area flows openly with the main room with a sturdy marble-topped cabinet and good selection of SF’s Essentials toiletries. A large white-tile shower could use some fluffing, with a $5 showerhead that sprays directly into the door and spilling onto the bathroom floor. Air Conditioner-lovers should keep in mind that all rooms are equipped with locked thermostats that stop at 72-degrees.
Preferred Room
Casita
Special Features
Downtown Location, Historic Hotel
Amenities
Pool, Jacuzzi, Planned-Spa, Planned-Gym, Valet, Private Whirlpools, Patios
