Back from a whirlwind trip to Palm Springs with two of my oldest and dearest friends. We're actually second generation best friends. Our Mom's met when they were in their 20's and subsequently my friends and I have been joined at the hip since birth. However, in all of our years of friendship we've never taken a proper girls trip. Until now. Here's hoping it becomes an annual tradition. We settled on Palm Springs because it's a relatively short flight from where we all live (San Juan Islands, WA, Seattle, and Santa Cruz).
I had not been to Palm Springs in at least a decade. It's such a lovely place, I don't know what kept me from visiting in all that time. This particular trip was planned around a big Birthday for two of us. However, I'm still six weeks out from said Birthday, but why not start the celebrating months in advance.
We decided to go the Airbnb route, and I'm so glad we did. Picture an entire house with three bedrooms, sprawling lounge space both inside an out, a fire pit, grill, hammock, pool and hot tub. The only thing missing was a cabana boy. Seriously though, it was so nice to have our own bedrooms and not all pile into one hotel room. We're not in our twenties anymore. Not to mention that our entire house was the same price of many hotel rooms.
We were in Palm Springs for four days, and most of that time was taken up with lounging poolside with margarita and guac while having epic catch ups. We did however manage to tear ourselves away from the pool to hit up the town and do some exploring.
Below I've compiled a list of some of my favorite spots.
EATS
Kings Highway at The Ace Hotel: Bingo on Monday night's with Shirley Claire is not to be missed. Their tacos, caesar salad, and cocktails are pretty spectacular as well. We liked this place so much, be wen't back for lunch before our flight. It used to be a Denny's and it still rocks a bit of that vibe. The stained glass eye, faux elephant taxidermy, and crochet wall hangings give it a hipster twist.
Mister Lyons: Picture an old school steak house with superb décor and top notch service (not counting the hostess). Don't miss the speakeasy through the secret curtain. There was a guest bartender the night we dined showcasing some cocktails with mezcal. I haven't had mezcal since I was in Oaxaca last year, and I forgot how much I adore it. After pre drinks in the bar we were seated in a circular booth. Absolute perfection. The highlight was the wedge salad and French onion soup. The onion rings were meh and the dirty martini was not so dirty. The steak was swell. This was the quintessential dinner experience I had imagined while in Palm Springs.
Rooster And The Pig:
Ice Cream & Shoppe:
Koffi:
DO
The Parker Palm Springs: Jonathan Adler, enough said. We were going to get lunch a Norma's, but looking at the menu, $17 for a grapefruit, we just couldn't. Instead we covertly checked out the hotel grounds. I won't lie, next time I'd be all for staying at The Parker, but it would be a splurge. No joke though, there's an Instagramable locale around every corner.
Door Tour: Take a self guided door tour. Be sure not to miss #thatpinkdoor and the #partylions next door.
SHOPS
Trina Turk:
Dazzle:
NEXT TIME
Cheekys, Desert X Exhibit, El Jefe
