BárbPalm Springs, CA, USA
We started our trip to Palm Springs by shopping at Desert Hills Premium Outlets and then stopped by Cabazon Dinosaur for a photo or two. I mean, obviously. We only just made it for sunset and enjoyed a ride in Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to the top of the Mt. San Jacinto State Park.
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Been there, loved it
Palm Springs Visitors Center
It is a former Tramway Gas Station by Albert Frey and Robson Chambers. It is the perfect entrance into the modernist mecca of Palm Springs. First built in 1965 as a gas station, abandoned for most of the 1990s, restored as an art gallery in 2000. The structure was restored and updated for its current use as a home for the Visitors Center starting in 2003.
Ice Cream & Shop(pe)
It is a combination of cute little ice cream parlor and gift shop with all the Palm Springs tropical necessities (from an inflatable flamingo to pineapple sunglasses!) located at the Arrive Hotel. Don’t forget to take a portrait in front of an epic ice cream neon with your scoop or two! Inside this trendy hotel, you can also find an all-day eatery and coffee lab. The outdoor patio has perfect lighting and a mosaic tile floor of your dreams. This favorite brunch spot has a great pool with a mountain view where you can come and take a dip! They are open to the neighborhood with general admission at the door for $10/person. We didn’t have a chance to enjoy all the experiences Arrive Hotel offers except two scoops of ice cream each. But we already know what our future steps in Palm Spring will be. The Arrive is on our next-time-book list and I am looking forward to ticking it off!
Palm Springs Door Tour
Are you a lover of colorful front doors and typical Palm Spring architecture? Let’s wander along East Sierra Way street! You can even find those famous baby pink door. Thanks to the #thatpinkdoor hashtag, there is always a line of tourists waiting to snap their „gram“ by this pink door! We got lucky and found ourselves alone there. We had just an hour or so, so we didn’t have a chance to see the all amazing doors stated in this Self Guided Palm Springs Door Tour. Next time we will rent bikes and do it, baby! That’s for sure! If I owned a home I would definitely go for some super unique front door color as well!
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
Enjoy a ride in the world’s largest rotating tram car that took us to the top of the Mt. San Jacinto State Park. Two-and-one-half miles ride along the breathtaking cliffs of Chino Canyon was an AMAZING experience. Having a tramway for ourselves on the way up was just icing on the cake. Nobody expected it.
Next time, we want to stay
I can imagine just to experience a staycation in Palm Springs! Either each day staying in a different hotel and just hanging out by the pool, enjoying stylish brunches in themed bistros and cafes and enjoying plenty of photo opportunities, especially during the golden hour. Or, since many hotels in Palm Springs allow outsiders into their pool area for a day fee, grab our towels and start exploring Palm Springs via pools! So there are a couple of tips, where I would like to stay/swim one day, besides the Arrive Hotel.
The Parker Hotel is full of different patterns and bold colors everywhere. But the white wall at the entrance caught my attention the most! This hotel is where I wish to stay next time we visit Palm Springs, but it is a pricey one so we would like to visit the pool one afternoon at least. Or just to admire this majestic entrance + do a photoshoot there :D.
The Saguaro Hotel is a rainbow hotel you see everywhere on Instagram! All the bright shades of pink, purple and yellow on the doors and walls are awesome! Make a shortstop in the backyard parking lot for some colorful shots.
ACE Hotel and Swim Club in Palm Springs is somewhat of a legend, and rightfully so. Well-known for its big ACE letters in the parking lot and eclectic design. Day passes to the Swim Club are issued based on hotel occupancy and at the discretion of the staff.
My attention caught Korakia Pensione – a Mediterranean-style resort with tons of nature. Or Sands Hotel & SPA with luxury retro interiors further from Palm Springs. I would love to explore Sparrow’s Lodge, completely restored 1950s retreat, as well.
Cabazon Dinosaur
Next time, we want to do
Explore Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium. Rent and ride vintage Vespa’s w/sidecar. Drive CA-111 road. Visit Robolights exhibition. Shop clothes at Elizabeth & Prince and desert gems and home decor at Thick as Thieves. Explore windmills. Enjoy Desert X, free art installations that pop up all around the Greater Palm Springs & Coachella Valley area. Visit Palm Springs Art Museum. Vintage shop at The Frippery.
Next time, we want to eat
Get a hot dog at Frankinbun Gourmet Sausages, hot dog joint that has its own custom made wallpaper! Do a bacon tasting at Cheeky’s. Order an ice cream at Kreem. Grab a cup of coffee at Ernest Coffee and IW Coffee. Dine at a modern boho Azucar restaurant. Eat at like-an-art-gallery-restaurant Evzin.