To understand just how deep the appreciation for architecture goes in Palm Springs, California, look to its most mundane of properties: its gas stations, like the Circle K on the north edge of the city shaded by an ultra-thin concrete canopy built to look like it's floating.
Smart design is the rule in Palm Springs, literally written into the postwar planning codes as the city transformed from a Hollywood desert playground to a world-class resort. Today, mid-century modernism lives on across town, from the angular swimming pools hosting cocktail hour to the views from the mountains of neatly parceled tract housing.
But Palm Springs is no time warp. A new movement defined by luxury hotels and restaurants with clever winks to the past is proving that modernism can be modernized.
Day 1
Breakfast: California cool by the pool
The 65-foot saltwater pool at the Colony Palms Hotel may be the city’s most stylish, and the poolside restaurant, The Colony Club, is where the fashionable set comes to see and be seen. Start your visit here, among the Spanish tiles and scalloped trim umbrellas, choosing from the healthful and California cool breakfast menu. Among the favorites, a green, protein-packed yogurt bowl, shakshuka for two, and a smoothie made from almond butter and dates, an historic crop in this part of the state.
Staying at the Colony Palms Hotel: The Old Hollywood origins of the Colony Palms Hotel still hang in the air, with bold-patterned décor and neatly trimmed hedges that would serve well to obscure a passing celebrity. Rooms are spacious and gilded with luxe touches, like a gourmet pantry and Le Labo bath products.
Morning: An architectural driving tour
A class of young modernist architects drawn to the desert by the opportunity to build outside of big firms is responsible for much of the mid-century housing stock in Palm Springs, a time when the city was rapidly expanding. Tour companies, like PS Architecture Tours, whisk guests through the most distinctive of the 47 neighborhoods, pointing out trends in rooflines and arch design and the signature marks of each founding father. Stops at celebrity homes, like the Dinah Shore estate —set on a bias to maximize yard space for the pool and tennis court—are for more than just gawking; they reveal the artistry and history behind this architectural mecca.
Lunch: A shaded patio at a luxury inn
Set under an azure South of France-esque awning, The Pantry, the restaurant of the One MICHELIN Key Holiday House, is transportive, evoking seaside dining in the middle of the desert. Brunch here is a local tradition, while a recently updated lunch menu from Chef Jon Butler (also of The Barn Kitchen at Sparrows Lodge) features a winning grain bowl and a jumbo California-themed hot dog topped with pico de gallo, avocado, and bacon.
Staying at Holiday House (One MICHELIN Key): Architectural designer Herbert W. Burns, a leading figure of the Palm Springs desert modernism style, is behind the attractive property, first opened in 1951. Charming throwbacks, like a shuffleboard court and a bimonthly fried chicken family dinner, link the hotel to the bygone, while the rooms are outfitted en vogue, with modern art and maximalist prints.
Afternoon: Modernist shopping
With the landmarks of Palm Springs’s design greats fresh in your mind, begin work on your own modernist collection in the shops of Palm Canyon Drive. This main drag is lined with spots for furniture, clothing, and household knickknacks – many one-of-a-kind pieces that convey the city’s remarkable sense of place.
Market Market is a sprawling vintage emporium housed in the space of a former grocery store with some 75 different SoCal-based vendors, from sturdy menswear to campy bar sets to a standout French Art Deco screen. The California designer Trina Turk, who has a prominent home in town, showcases her trademark colorful patterns in side-by-side clothing and home goods boutiques. The Webster sells in-demand brands like Thom Browne and Gucci from the sleekly refurbished studio of interior designer Arthur Elrod, a local legend. And Modernway, on the outskirts of town, is chock-full of Atomic Age furniture and décor finds from some of the desert modernism movement's biggest names.
Dinner: Bar Cecil
There are signs that Bar Cecil knows it’s the hottest reservation in a city with a predilection for one era: caviar deviled eggs and an over-the-top martini on the menu, Calder gouache paintings on the walls, Andes mints arriving with the bill. But the buzz here is anything but retro. Owners Richard Crisman and Jeff Brock, behind some of the most talked about projects in town, have figured out how to bridge mid-century and today in a restaurant that feels forward-thinking even as it takes its cues from the past.
Night out: Tiki bar crawl
The design aesthetics of mid-century modern and Tiki culture have always been kitschy cousins, both emerging as Palm Springs and Hawaii become made-for-postcards American vacation destinations. A trio of decked out Tiki bars in town today line up perfectly for a chauffeured evening bar crawl. Start at Bootlegger Tiki, set in the same space as the original Don the Beachcomber restaurant opened in 1953 – one of a handful of outposts of the country’s first Tiki bar that established the trend in Hollywood two decades earlier. Down the road, Tonga Hut has a menu of Tiki favorites and inventive originals, plus a secret room hidden behind a phone booth. And The Reef, from local Tiki connoisseur Rory Snyder, sits just off the pool at the historic Caliente Tropics Resort, which sports an iconic hyperbolic A-frame entrance.
Day 2
Breakfast: Cheffy brunch fare
Set in a Spanish Revival-style building with a large, popular patio, Cheeky’s is a breakfast go-to that’s evolved well past traditional AM fare. The menu, which changes every two weeks, is threaded by cheffy touches: scrambled eggs are made custardy with gobs of cheese, frittata is loaded with rainbow chard and heirloom squash. Then there are the staples, like a flakey cinnamon bun prepared like a croissant with laminated dough, and the by-the-piece bacon tasting, with flavor options, like Bloody Mary, that rotate regularly.
Morning: A hike through, and behind, the art museum
Architect E. Stewart Williams designed the Palm Springs Art Museum as almost an extension of the San Jacinto Mountains that rise sharply up from just beyond the brutalist building’s limits. Like the hulking ridgeline, the museum’s power rests in its breadth, spread across two 10,000-square-foot cube fronts that jut out on an angle and house an important collection of modern and contemporary works, with a focus on California artists.
The gleaming structure on its south lawn, the Aluminaire House, was opened last year as a monument to its architect, the influential modernist Albert Frey, and his utopian belief in the potential of mass-produced housing. The compact three-story home was the country’s first made of all metal, a national phenomenon when it was erected in 1931 from pre-fabricated material, like sheet-metal and plate glass. It was disassembled and rebuilt multiple times before arriving in Palm Springs in a tractor-trailer.
After a visit, a trailhead for a short hike into the mountains themselves runs right behind the museum's parking lot. The 1.4-mile Museum Trail is a strenuous and steep out and back climb with sweeping views arriving quickly. Keep an eye out for the Frey House II, Frey’s longtime residence in Palm Springs, visible from above about halfway through the journey.
Lunch: Eclectic Tex-Mex
The eclectic tendencies of Palm Springs design shine through in the Taq/Quila dining room, stuffed with oxblood leather banquettes and a mishmash of mirrors and pendant lights. If there’s a throughline in the look, it’s a sense of fun, which explains why lunch here is so busy. Come with friends and work your way through a margarita flight and a sampling of heaping street tacos.
Afternoon: Googie pool party
As the day clocks its high temperature, head to the Ace Hotel & Swim Club to undress and unwind. Once a Howard Johnson’s and Denny’s designed by Armet & Davis, a postwar firm that popularized the flashy Googie movement, the property was converted by boutique hotel darling Ace Hotel in 2009 with 70s desert road movies in mind. The pool – day passes are available through the ResortPass app – is an angular masterpiece, with 14 sides that zig and zag in the shape of an acid trip bowtie. A renovation finished this year added more daybeds, cabanas, and custom-designed bungalows (with cushions that float in the water) to the pool deck, plus a new DJ booth that hosts artists each weekend.
Staying at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club: There’s a retro campground vibe to the Ace Hotel, with patterned textiles in the rooms and record players and vinyl collections in some suites. The massive pool here is the centerpiece, and shared patio spaces and fire pits that promote making friends are scattered throughout.
Dinner: 4 Saints
The city’s checkerboard of neighborhoods is on clear display from a coveted terrace table at 4 Saints, the tallest vantage in downtown outside of the mountaintops on the horizon. Set on the rooftop of the posh Kimpton Rowan Hotel, the restaurant is a fitting spot to take stock of a whirlwind itinerary. The menu is crowd-pleasing, with generous cuts of steak, a dijon beurre blanc salmon, and a scallop risotto. And the region’s emblematic date fruit returns infused in a refreshing old fashioned.
Night out: A Sinatra-approved piano lounge
Melvyn’s, a glamorous haunt of Frank Sinatra’s, is the kind of place that looks like it hands out martinis as a welcome drink. Set in a verdant desert garden estate, with an Old Hollywood awning and black and white photos lining the walls, the restaurant and lounge has been a boozy evening mainstay in Palm Springs since 1975. From 6 to 10 p.m. each night, a pianist performs the Great American Songbook and more modern classics as the bar and leather banquettes quickly fill up. The house martini made with Absolut Elyx is shaken tableside and the bourbon for Manhattans and old fashioneds is barrel-aged in-house.
Address Book
The Colony Club
572 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
Holiday House
200 W Arenas Rd, Palm Springs, CA 92262
The Barn Kitchen at Sparrows Lodge
1330 E Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92264
Market Market
1555 S Palm Canyon Dr UNIT F, Palm Springs, CA 92264
Trina Turk
891 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
The Webster
850 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
Modernway
2500 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
Bar Cecil
1555 S Palm Canyon Dr UNIT F, Palm Springs, CA 92264
Bootlegger Tiki
1101 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
Tonga Hut
254 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
The Reef
Caliente Tropics Resort, 411 E Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92264
Cheeky’s
622 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
Palm Springs Art Museum
101 N Museum Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
Taq/Quila
415 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
Ace Hotel & Swim Club
701 E Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92264
4 Saints
100 W Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs, CA 92262
Melvyn’s
200 W Ramon Rd, Palm Springs, CA 92264
Hero image: Jason Busa / Adobe Stock
