A closer look at some famous Palm Springs hotels and some itinerary ideas for your Palm Springs trip

Last month I was in Palm Springs for Alt Summit-a conference for creatives-and this year it was spread out between four famous Palm Springs hotels: the Saguaro Palm Springs, the Ace Hotel, The Riviera and the Parker Hotel. The conference was in Palm Springs for six days and five nights and I was definitely torn about where I would stay.  In order to get the conference pricing we had to book into the full five nights of the conference for our hotel pick and this was probably the biggest factor in choosing my hotel-I chose the only hotel that I could cancel last minute and the one that I already had status at because of our American Express Platinum Credit Card.  Since the whole conference was spread out between the four venues, Alt Summit conference guests were able to get a feel for each of the Palm Springs hotels so I now know which hotel I definitely want to revisit the next time I come back to the area.  If you’re headed to Palm Springs and are looking for hotel ideas for your Palm Springs Itinerary, hopefully this helps you out as well too.

The Parker hotel in Palm Springs

The Parker hotel in Palm Springs was the most expensive hotel property you could choose to stay at during Alt Summit and in the photos after the conference, this hotel seemed to be the one that was the most photographed.  The Parker Hotel is a stunning place to stay with an incredibly exclusive aura that hits you the second you pull up to its iconic unlabeled giant orange doors.  If I ever win the lottery I would love to stay here, but right now I can’t justify the spendy price-especially at a conference where I would be out of my room most of the day.  It was amazing to be able to walk the grounds though and if you love beautiful hotels you might want to have brunch at Norma’s just so you can wander through the lobby and get pretty photos in the morning light.

The Riviera Palm Springs Hotel

I booked my stay at the Riviera Palm Springs Hotel long before we got our schedule of events and was excited to find it would be a good homebase for the keynotes and some other activities during Alt Summit.  It was also the reason I booked a car for this trip because the Riveria seemed a little far from downtown Palm Springs and I wanted to be able to easily get everywhere I needed to go without having to wait around for a shuttle.  Having free parking here was very helpful and if I didn’t have a car I wouldn’t have had as many fun adventures as I did on this Palm Springs trip so booking a car was probably one of my best decisions.

I was upgraded to a Junior Suite at the Riviera hotel because of my credit card status, but my room here was a little worn and a little odd-if it didn’t have a funky smell every time I entered it, or if the bathroom didn’t have so much water damage or maybe even if the sheets on my bed didn’t have a hole in them too, I would definitely be able to recommend this hotel.  But my room also opened out to a courtyard and parking lot and if I left the curtains open it made the room feel too vulnerably visible and if I opened the curtain behind the bathtub everyone in the courtyard and parking lot would have seen me so I definitely kept that closed too.  I noticed some rooms by the pool that looked like they had a bit better location so I think a stay at this hotel might depend on the room you are put in.  The shared spaces, the pool area and restaurants all were lovely and it was a convenient hotel for the conference so it was otherwise comfortable and reasonably priced.  I think they even had free bike rentals but I didn’t get a chance to try them this time.

The Saguaro hotel in Palm Springs

The Saguaro hotel in Palm springs is fun and colorful and its probably one of the most recognizable hotels you will see on social media-I recently saw a picture of the Saguaro hotel in Scottsdale and didn’t realize that there were two of these properties in existence.  The public spaces in this hotel are very picture-perfect and when I was there, La Croix and a giant mural of Frida Khalo made it even more amazing.  The pool area and restaurants here also seemed very trendy and picturesque as well.  From friends who stayed here, I heard that the rooms were not as plush or comfortable as the actual hotel seemed and the most common description was that they were ‘motel-ish’.  Many rooms also backed onto a big parking lot and had an open hallway so this might not be my first choice when staying alone.  If getting a picture with the hotel is high on your list, I would probably recommend eating a meal here for sure.  It also sounds like many rooms are getting revamped this summer too so if you book one of these rooms, please let me know what you think.

The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs

The Ace Hotel was my favorite hotel of all the hotels I saw for the conference in Palm Springs and I liked it more each time I went back to the property.  It has a very guest-centric feel and it was the hotel I most enjoyed hanging out at when I had free time.  The main pool area is in a central courtyard and people were actually hanging out in the pool when I visited and there was a good mix of people of all ages so I would feel comfortable bringing my kids here for a family trip. One morning I grabbed a muffin at the King’s Highway Diner and someone there told me their favorite dish was the chilaquiles.  Because breakfast is served until 2 pm, I came back and ate breakfast for lunch at the Kings’ Highway Diner and the chilaquiles were very amazing and vegetarian-the mushroom chorizo in them was meat-free.  Some of the rooms here had their own private little patios with fireplaces and I think one of those would be absolutely dreamy.

The Rowan Palm Springs, a Kimpton Hotel

The Rowan Palm Springs was not a hotel I stayed at and it wasn’t on the conference hotel list but it’s on my list of hotels I would definitely consider if I went back to Palm Springs.  I ended up here for breakfast one morning at the Juniper Table and I loved that it was a casual, order at the counter style cafe, but the restaurant was still a really beautiful space. I took a peek at the rest of the hotel after breakfast and the lobby had the same comfortable aesthetic I experienced in the restaurant.  The Rowan Palm Springs is only a few blocks away from the Palm Springs Art Museum which is free every Thursday from 4-8pm and a hike trailhead that I wanted to check out but was too scared to hike alone. It is also in the heart of downtown Palm Springs so it is walkably close to many shops and every Thursday there is Villagefest on the Main Street nearby-a weekly festival where 200 booths selling art, merchandise and food set up in the streets.  This hotel feels like a boutique hotel but it is also part of the IHG brand so you can also get rewards points for staying here which means potentially more travel because of your stay which is a great perk for sure.

Arrive hotels Palm Springs

I also popped into the Arrive hotel Palm Springs twice because of its coffee shop and bagel restaurant and it was walkable from the Riviera.  At Wexler’s my egg bagel sandwich was decadent and delicious and I sat overlooking the empty pool and the Arrive hotel felt like it would be a luxuriously quiet and peaceful place to stay. I thoroughly enjoyed my coffee and croissant from Cartel Coffee there too.  I peeked at the reservations page for the Arrive hotel Palm Springs and the transparent way the prices are laid out for each night makes it feel like it would be easy to book a whim trip to this hotel too.  I love that it really does seem like a ‘neighborhood hotel’ and my pleasant experience here, even just for breakfast and coffee will make me consider it in Palm Springs on my next visit and I’m now also intrigued about other hotels in other cities by this brand.

Airbnb in Palm Springs

I was surprised at how many people I talked to at Alt Summit were using Airbnb in Palm Springs so I also did a quick search and found so many cool properties that seemed reasonably priced.  It would be so fun to stay in a colorful place with your very own pool, and I would like to visit this one just to see the flamingo wallpaper in real life.  This dome-shaped airbnb rental has no pool but it might be awesome just to hang out in the middle of the desert for a night or two in a seemingly-isolated place like this.  I can definitely see the appeal of renting an Airbnb in Palm Springs because of all the amazing architecture.  I also saw a few Palm Springs Airbnb experiences that looked very interesting-a wolf ambassador hike, and a custom knife making workshop –I would not have thought of either of these experiences when searching things to do in Palm Springs.

I am so thankful that I went to Alt Summit even just for the excuse to go to Palm Springs and explore an area that I haven’t been in ages and I heard it will be back there again for 2020.  It was so cool to drive myself around and be independent and I was totally inspired by my last solo California trip with a car.   Another fun conference I’ve been to for blogging was Mom 2.0.  Now I’m frantically trying to rally my family and friends to go for a visit just because I had such a great time.  Have you been to Palm Springs?  Have you stayed in one of the famous Palm Springs hotels above? Or did you find another amazing place to stay in like an Airbnb in Palm Springs?  I’d love to hear about it!

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)