Best Palm Springs Hotels

A massive makeover in 2008 breathed new life into this mid-century celebrity playground, which had been showing its age. It was the setting for the 1963 hit movie “Palm Springs Weekend,” starring Connie Stevens and Troy Donahue, and little had changed. But now the Riviera is buffed out. It attracts a young, sophisticated crowd of sun-worshippers, with a huge free-form pool, group cabanas, a Bikini Bar (where female servers wear bikinis), chic indoor-outdoor dining and a spa that looks like it’s straight out of the Casbah. The Riviera is a mile from the downtown action, but a new cherry-red trolley solved that problem with hourly shuttle service to town.

Owned by a retired businessman-turned-hotelier, this Spanish colonial-style boutique hotel is a jewel of a find for visitors who want a small, elegant and quiet stay. The rooms are all different, but they have a decidedly Santa Fe look, which reflects the way Palm Springs looked in the 1920s-‘30s. Walls are hand-stenciled, there’s handcrafted furniture and some rooms have a fireplace and/or an in-room Jacuzzi. The property is enclosed, with a gorgeous main gate created out of green glass and metal to look like, you guessed it, a pepper tree. The Pepper Tree is within easy walking distance of the Uptown antique shops, galleries, boutiques and cafes. Copley’s Restaurant is across the street. The downtown scene also is walking distance. Rooms start at budget prices midweek.

Flamboyant 1960s Regency-style décor and upscale sophistication have put The Viceroy on the A-list. Snuggled in a residential neighborhood two blocks from downtown, the Viceroy’s white-washed cottages date from 1933, when stars such as Orson Welles and Joan Crawford hid out there; however, the majority of the rooms are traditional hotel guest rooms, tricked out with glossy white, black and yellow surfaces, mirrored coffee tables and willowy greyhound statues. The restaurant and bar are expensive, and frequented by the local elite. Two adult pools, one family pool, cozy gardens and a small, but pampering spa, make this a good call for professionals eager to chill.  

This Portland-based hotel group blew into town in 2009, and with its off-beat, bohemian style, turned a 1965 Howard Johnson into the unique Ace Hotel & Swim Club. The Ace bucks the norm with retro-minimalism—draped fabric in the rooms create an indoor-outdoor luxury camping vibe—and vintage National Geographic magazines grace the nightstands. The Ace offers first-class Palm Springs fun, from Sunday DJ parties at the pool and “booze sno cones” (yup, they’re laced with alcoholic beverages) to a full-service spa, with outdoor massage yurts. The King’s Highway restaurant and The Amigo Room bar attract the locals with creative, inexpensive made-from-scratch food and artisan cocktails. Dogs are welcome and Wi-Fi is free. Downtown Palm Springs is about 2 miles down the road.

This may be Palm Springs’ best-kept secret. Just one block from the center of downtown, it’s still got the bones of its prior life as a Holiday Inn, but it’s been totally reincarnated into a charmer, with white lattice-work, flower-filled gardens and contemporary, though not striking, furnishings. The rooms are large, with mini-fridges. The pool is big and sunny, ideal for relaxation. There is no meal service, but you don’t need it, you’re so close to all the downtown restaurants.