With its own airport and two-hour drive-time from Los Angeles and San Diego, the Californian desert town of Palm Springs reels in visitors from near and far. And for good reason — travelers flock here for the area’s rejuvenating abundance of sun & warmth, retro fare & midcentury modern design, country club golf courses & tennis courts, as well as a plethora of chic hotels, shops, restaurants, plus bars. The town’s boutique hotel scene is prolific — and as your boutique hotel gurus, we feel it’s our duty (& honor) to share our favorites with you.
Casa Cody
4 Stars | Website | Palm Springs Intl. Airport
30 | 2 swimming pools; Free WiFi; Pet friendly | 1
Indian Canyon; Downtown Palm Springs; Agua Caliente Casino
Having opened in the 1920s, this place was a watering hole for Hollywood’s golden-age elite. Located two minutes by foot from Downtown Palm Springs’ main thoroughfare, this 30-key hotel comprises an assemblage of bougainvillea-laden casitas, secret gardens, and a pool optimal for the area’s sun-licked days. Midcentury modernism, adobe-style touches, and California Spanish Colonial-style design make up the hotel.
Holiday House
4 Stars | Website | Palm Springs Intl. Airport
28 | 1 swimming pool; Pet friendly; Bar | 1
San Jacinto Mountain; Palm Springs Air Museum; Desert Highland Park
Midcentury modern design awash with pop art, bold textiles, and volleys of blue — that’s the aesthetic of this 28-key boho-cool hideaway in the desert. Guests are gifted a glass of rosé and love beads at check-in. The pool, shuffleboard court, citrus orchard, and views of the vicinity’s dramatic mountains are what you can expect with your stay.
The Colony Palms Hotel & Bungalows
4 Stars | Website | Palm Springs Intl. Airport
52 | 1 swimming pool; Spa; Bar | 1
San Jacinto Mountain; Moorten Botanical Garden; Palm Springs Air Museum
The Colony Palms Hotel is a five-star bolthole destined to put you in a good mood. A flush of Spanish Colonial-style stucco edifices, with desert green-striped umbrellas, plant-centric patterned lounge chairs, and an orthogonal pool that’s the solution to dramatically hot days. Restaurant Purple Palm offers an atmospheric patio and a menu inspired by Latin American and California fare (The Wagyu Beef Carpaccio for dinner is a winsome order if you ask us).
Sands Hotel & Spa
4 Stars | Website | Palm Springs Intl. Airport
46 | 1 swimming pool; Spa; Pet friendly | 1
Agua Caliente Park; Palm Springs Air Museum; Moorten Botanical Garden
Ok, so this one is a bit further from Palm Springs in a town by the name of Indian Wells, but we had to include it, being that we’re obsessed with the décor. A motel-turned-chic-boutique-hotel, the Sands Hotel & Spa is a Martyn Lawrence Bullard masterpiece. A white-and-black-tiled Moorish-esque entrance leads into a square-shaped pink-stucco exterior that wraps around a courtyard pool sided by sunloungers. Pink Cabana, the hotel’s restaurant modeled after the area’s iconic tennis & racquet clubs from the 1950s & 1960s, sports an open layout that protrudes into a desert-plant-studded garden.
Hermann Bungalows
4 Stars | Website | Palm Springs Intl. Airport
24 | 1 swimming pool; Spa; Bar | 1
Moorten Botanical Garden; Baristo Park; Desert Highland Park
The category is “desert chic,” and Hermann Bungalows outclasses. This ultra-luxe oasis spans 24 modern bungalow accommodations, with midcentury modern architecture at the forefront. The Patio Bungalow is one of our favorites, with its walnut-paneled walls enveloping its exterior, Italian terrazzo floors, plus indoor and outdoor showers. Spend mornings doing yoga with one of their private instructors, afternoons lounging lido-side, and early evenings getting pampered at their spa, with its range of nourishing treatments, white canvas cabanas and idyllic indoor-outdoor blueprint.
The Parker Palm Springs
5 Stars | Website | Palm Springs Intl. Airport
156 | 2 swimming pools; Fitness center; Spa | 1
Palm Springs Art Museum; Moorten Botanical Garden; Indian Canyons
Perhaps Palm Springs’ most iconic hotel, this retro gem has seen a wealth of celebrities, past and present, stay here (before operating as a hotel, it was Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch estate). You’ve probably seen a picture of someone you know posing in front of the Insta-worthy punchy orange doors at the hotel entrance. Inside, Jonathan Adler-designed interiors invoke a 1960s-style look comprising clashing patterns, dissonant colors, and whimsical sculptures. On-site restaurant, Norma’s at the Parker’s, serves up a weekend brunch is what dessert dreams are made of.
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Korakia Pensione
4 Stars | Website | Palm Springs Intl. Airport
28 | 1 swimming pool; Spa; Free WiFi | 1
Agua Caliente Cultural Museum; Palm Springs Desert Museum; Desert Highland Park
At the base of the San Jacinto Mountains and at the tail of Palm Springs’ locus sits Korakia Pensione. An eclectic assemblage of architecture houses the hotel’s accommodations: a 1924-built Moroccan-style villa, a Mediterranean villa, and a Spanish adobe house are part of that mix. Many rooms feel private, weaved into the different gardens and courtyards spanning the grounds. Breakfast in the Moroccan courtyard is an excellent way to start the day.
Les Cactus
4 Stars | Website | Palm Springs Intl. Airport
27 | 1 swimming pool; Pet friendly; Free WiFi | 1
Desert Highland Park; Agua Caliente Park; Palm Springs Air Museum
This 27-room boutique hotel is both adorable and budget-friendly. A muted-pink exterior, along with poolside parasols shaded under green-striped and bright-pink parasols help put you in vacation mode.
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