Avalon Hotel and Bungalows Palm Springs

It seems everything old becomes new again someday; who’d have thought Palm Springs could relive its glamorous glory days? Yet that’s just what’s happening, as a new generation of Angelenos skips out on Beverly Hills and heads inland to this desert oasis hideaway. And in Palm Springs, it doesn’t get more stylish than Avalon Hotel and Bungalows Palm Springs — once the Estrella, this place has seen it all, from Joan Crawford and Errol Flynn to American presidents and one King.

Unlike some Palm Springs hotels, the Avalon is no Rat Pack wax museum or Jetsons-modernist fantasy — this hotel’s hacienda-style Spanish tile roofs and whitewashed stucco walls hide stylish interiors, a modern take on the Hollywood Regency style of the resort’s golden age, decorated in a smart contemporary palette of blacks, whites and yellows. Each of the Avalon's three courtyards is centered around a heated pool, surrounded by manicured gardens and citrus trees, and each is served by Chi Chi restaurant, a chameleon-like Cali-Latin eatery morphing from daytime casual bites to a cocktail-driven gourmet experience at nightfall.

Rooms are elegant and luxurious, with patios or balconies overlooking the courtyards and gardens, and the one- and two-bedroom villas are nearly palatial, with outdoor banquette seating, parlor rooms, and space enough to sleep four and six respectively. No expense is spared on the creature comforts, including Italian linens and robes and Thymes bath products. And though Palm Springs may feel like another world altogether, the Avalon isn’t exactly off the grid; broadband internet means that, for better or worse, business is just a fiber optic line away — or, if you’re old-fashioned, Los Angeles is just a two-and-a-half-hour drive.

How to get there:
Avalon Hotel and Bungalows Palm Springs is approximately a 2½-hour drive from Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County.