The Insider’s Guide to Palm Springs When the Crowds Are Gone And The Rates Are Delicious
Everyone wants Palm Springs from October through May: fighting for reservations, overpaying for rooms and waiting in line for tables. The restaurants are slammed, and pool chairs are claimed before 9 a.m. The boutique hotels book out months in advance. And you’re standing on Palm Canyon Drive in March, sweating in a crowd of 40,000 festival-goers, wondering when this became your idea of a getaway.
Summer is Palm Springs’ best season, according to locals: fewer crowds, better rates and exclusive access to the city’s most stylish pools and boutique hotels. Palm Springs summer temperatures reach triple digits (often 107°F), but the city’s built for extreme heat with misting systems, plunge pools at boutique hotels, ice-cold air conditioning and cocktail programs that offer maximum cooling. The whole city is a cooling machine dressed in mid-century modern architecture and neon signs. You just have to know how to use it.
Summer Splash is the annual savings program from Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels, a collection of over 80 independently owned boutique properties. Through the end of September, participating hotels roll out deals including free nights, steep discounts and room upgrades. Rates at some properties drop 30 to 50 percent from spring peaks. The only thing left to do is pick your pool.
1. The It-Girl Hotel That Started It All
If you follow anyone with a good eye on Instagram, you already know The Skylark. Developers built this 28-room boutique in 1955 and restored it to its mid-century peak in the Uptown Design District. The rooms overlook a heated pool framed by the San Jacinto Mountains, the kind of view that makes you feel like you’re in a film. Mornings come with a complimentary continental breakfast that justifies getting up early: fresh waffles, yogurt, fruit and coffee, served daily from 7:30 to 11 a.m. The on-site restaurant, Lost Property, handles coastal American bar fare for the rest of the day. Summer here means a pool that’s open 24 hours and hotel rates that feel suspiciously good for this level of design.
Skylark
1466 N Palm Canyon Dr
Palm Springs, CA 92262
760.322.2267
2. Think Pink, Very Pink
Trixie Motel doesn’t need an introduction. It’s done the rounds on every “most Instagrammable hotels” list since drag superstar Trixie Mattel and her partner David Silver opened it in the Old Las Palmas neighborhood. It features seven themed rooms, including the Queen of Hearts, the Atomic Bombshell and the Oh Honeymoon Suite with its bee motif. There’s also a pool area replete with pale-pink loungers and matching fringed parasols, and the Barbara Bar, a lobby bar that serves cocktails and snacks daily. Summer here is a revelation. Guests who visited in August have reported having the property to themselves, floating in the pink pool under palm trees at night like the main character in a stylish dream.
Trixie Motel
210 W Stevens Rd
Palm Springs, CA 92262
760.808.0014
3. Florals? For Summer? Groundbreaking.
At Fleur Noire, the murals hit you first. Internationally renowned artist Louise Jones, a.k.a. Ouizi, painted sweeping, oversized floral scenes across the exteriors of this 21-room adults-only boutique. Think secret garden energy, but make it desert. Inside, each casita or bungalow has its own look, courtesy of bold wallpaper by designer Ellie Cashman and mid-century modern touches throughout. The heated pool runs daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., fire pits glow in the courtyard evenings and the complimentary snack pantry keeps you fed between dips. The pièce de résistance is La Boisson, the hotel’s speakeasy champagne and rosé bar hidden behind pink doors in the clubhouse. And your first glass is on them.
Fleur Noire
1555 N. Indian Canyon Dr
Palm Springs, CA 92262
760.459.3865
4. Breakfast Is Served (in a Basket)
Named for the Jacques Dutronc rock anthem, Les Cactus is 27 rooms of quiet-luxury boho charm built in the 1930s. The design mixes pink doors, woven hammocks, a grand piano and colorful California details into something that feels like a Slim Aarons photograph come to life. The saltwater pool is the social center, and the complimentary breakfast has developed something of a cult following. Fresh croissants, yogurt, granola, fruit and coffee are all delivered in the cutest basket. (Snapping pics before eating is totally encouraged!) Take it poolside or to the rooftop deck. Then, borrow one of the free bikes for downtown exploring, and enjoy this summer rhythm.
Les Cactus
555 S Warm Sands Dr
Palm Springs, CA 92264
760.422.5500
5. For the Group Chat That Finally Got It Together
Limón books as a full property. Six suites, up to 14 guests and a chic mid-century steel building inspired by the color and energy of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics are all yours. Yellow doors, pattern-heavy wallpaper, a community kitchen stocked for a private chef and a pool with mountain views that justifies every group chat debate it took to get here. Guests arrive to a delectable charcuterie board and chilled sparkling wine, and a takeaway breakfast option keeps the morning easy before the day begins. Celebration specialists handle the logistics: transportation, golf, catering, everything. For the bachelorette that needs to be legendary, the reunion that actually happens, or the friend group that needed an excuse, this is it.
Limón
560 S Grenfall Rd
Palm Springs, CA 92264
760.203.6475
6. Nine Rooms, Zero Bad Vibes
The Muse is the adults-only boutique in the Warm Sands neighborhood that does exactly what it promises. Expect feather chandeliers, bold floral wallpaper, striped awnings and pops of color in every corner of nine uniquely styled suites, each named after a famous muse. The heated courtyard pool is ringed with loungers and a pergola strung with swings. There’s a hot tub, an outdoor fireplace and a self-serve bar built for mixing your own cocktails under café lights. It’s small, it’s personal and it’s one of those hotels where the vibe resets the moment you walk in. Easily bought out for a group; equally wonderful solo.
The Muse
537 S Grenfall Rd
Palm Springs, CA 92264
760.537.6411
7. The New Kid With the Best Pool Energy
If you’re looking for a place to suspend yourself in a turquoise pool and let go of everything, Float is calling. Formerly known as Tortuga del Sol, this adults-only midcentury boutique was reimagined around a single concept: the quintessential Palm Springs image of a person on an inflatable, surrounded by blue sky and palm trees. Owner Tayfun King put it simply. It’s a space to meet people or be with your crowd, and it’s “a very sociable space.” Lush landscaping surrounds a private pool and jacuzzi, and summer rates make this one of the most accessible ways to do Palm Springs right.
Float
715 E San Lorenzo Rd
Palm Springs, CA 92264
760.249.7630
Now, About That Itinerary
The summer schedule here is non-negotiable. Mornings are for doing, afternoons are for not doing and evenings are for everything. Get your iced coffee from Koffi. The original location is on North Palm Canyon in the Uptown Design District, and the frozen blends are just what the desert ordered. For an early morning adventure before the heat peaks, the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway takes you from the desert floor up to Mount San Jacinto State Park. The rotating tram car reaches an elevation where the temperature can drop 30 degrees in a matter of minutes.
Midday is pool time. You know this. Afternoons are also made for the shaded stroll through Palm Canyon. This Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians heritage site is where native fan palms line a cool canyon floor just south of downtown. It’s the kind of walk that makes you feel grounded and very glad you wore SPF.
Come evening, the city exhales. The light turns that gold-orange that only happens in desert summers, and the restaurants stop requiring a 45-minute wait. For a sweet fix before dinner, Great Shakes on South Palm Canyon handcrafts milkshakes from premium ice cream made exclusively for them by a local dairy. And the date shake with walnuts is a religious experience. For something plant-based, Kreem serves artisanal vegan ice cream in adventurous rotating flavors that are as creative as they sound.
For the main event, pull up a seat at Tac/Quila on North Palm Canyon Drive. This Michelin Guide-listed Mexican restaurant is hacienda-elegant and serves tortillas made in-house. Order the margarita flight in the courtyard, with rotating flavors that make the whole table happy. And the churro ice cream sandwich: order it, and you’ll understand when it arrives.
Swim, drink, repeat. Summer has never been more yours.
To explore Summer Splash deals at Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels, visit palmspringspreferredsmallhotels.com. Offers vary by property and are valid throughout summer. Some blackout dates and exclusions apply.
