Palm Springs, California
updated april 24 2024
The pool at Santiago Resort
I first went to Palm Springs in 1995, when I was working briefly in L.A. — and which is, coincidentally, when Santiago Resort first opened it’s doors. For a long time it was an annual pilgrimage for me in the winter. That is, until my husband (then boyfriend) insisted in 2010 that we start traveling to new places around the world that we had not visited — if not for him, this website might not exist.
We still head here whenever we can (twice in 2021, for the first time in a vacation house rental in November 2022, again in November 2023, and most recently in March 2024) — and usually with friends. Something about the dry desert air (ahh…that dry heat!) and the ever-present sun, always sends me home feeling relaxed and revived. The best months to visit are October-December and March-May; sunny and warm, but not scorchingly hot. And you avoid the potential clouds that can work their way over the mountains from L.A in January and February (though you can end up with beautiful weather then as well). Unless you’re a serious sun-worshipper (which I admittedly am), you should probably avoid July and August when the temperatures can sometimes hover around 110° in the shade (though most nice resorts have misters to help cool you down by the pool, and naturally everything is air-conditioned).
I choose to spend most of my days lazing poolside or just floating on the water, but if you feel ambitious, (at least until happy hour), there’s plenty to do here if you get bored: hiking in Indian Canyon, shopping for mid-century homewares in the Uptown Design District, taking the tram from town up to the top of Mt. San Jacinto (which I never plan on doing — heights!), or taking a short drive out to Joshua Tree National Park for the day. And there’s plenty of great, swanky cocktail joints and fine design-centric restaurants here as well. Hotel choices are plentiful, now more than ever. Gay or straight, deluxe or budget, big or small, whatever you prefer, you can find it.
For the 30+ years that I’ve been going to Palm Springs, it never disappoints me.
The Gimlet Traveler Rundown:
All ratings are based on our experience and are on a 5-star rating system (see Site Info for more details). For mapped locations and links to the places listed here (and more) visit Google Map at bottom of page.
Gimlets: *****
Some of our favorite places to have an upscale cocktail before dinner: Del Rey at Villa Royale Hotel is a very stylish, dimly lit hideaway that also serves good food. There’s a small patio area, but I prefer the “secret” feel of the bar indoors. Seymour’s is a cool bar and lounge in the back of the also-cool Mr. Lyons Steakhouse. We’ve come to love the bar (usually with a pianist) at the newly revived and stylish rat-pack-era Melvyn’s; it’s great for a snazzy cocktail (and a fancy, expensive dinner - see below). There are a number of bars at the glam Parker Palm Springs Hotel: the tiny, mirrored Mini-Bar in the lobby, Counter Reformation wine bar out back off of the outdoor courtyard, and one of our favorites, the small but swanky bar at mister parker’s (see below in restaurants). During our most recent trip we visited a new spot: The Tailor Shop, another swanky cocktail bar with a small patio (they have no sign outside, so you need to look out for it). We also enjoy Truss & Twine, the bar run by the upscale-modern Workshop Restaurant next door. The Kimpton Hotel Palm Springs has a cute lobby bar (the “Window Bar”), as well as the buzzy rooftop High Bar adjacent to their guests-only pool. You can get a great cocktail at any of these establishments. In 2021 we visited the new Bar Cecil (named after the famous designer Cecil Beaton), which is always booked in advance; we had drinks and apps at the bar but the dinners are supposedly great and worth the advance booking. As far as casual LGBT+ bars go, there are plenty. The old standbys are Toucans Tiki Lounge, down towards the north end of town and Hunters Video/Dance Bar on very gay Arenas Road downtown. The Arenas Road block has a number of gay bars: Chill Bar, Street Bar, Blackbook, Stacy’s, Eagle 501 Bar, and for fun showtune nights (now three nights a week), Quadz.Restaurants: *****
There’s a great variety here. Some local favorites are: Mr. Lyons Steakhouse (swanky steak and those parker house rolls!); Workshop (very modern and very chic — but get a booth, or sit outside, so you don’t need to sit at the long communal table); Melvyn’s - a renovated and revivified rat-pack-era spot which has which is great for snazzy drinks accompanied by a pianist, followed by a fancy dinner in their dark, stylish and spacious dining room; Birba (great pizzas in a nice outdoor courtyard); mister parker’s (dim, dark and modern, Jonathan Adler style: reopened post-pandemic but now with a dressier dress code including jackets for men) and Norma’s (casual menu with a pretty outdoor terrace), both at the Parker Palm Springs; Copley’s on Palm Canyon (an old standard with a spacious courtyard and reliably good food and service); Jake’s, a casual spot with a comfortable patio, great food, and insane desserts; Cheeky’s (open for breakfast and lunch only); Le Vallauris (fancy traditional French cuisine — request the lovely outdoor courtyard). If you’re looking for an old-school New York Deli and a lean pastrami on rye, there’s Sherman’s.Sights: *****
There is a ton of mid-century architecture to see in the region and you can do self-drive tours for a couple of hours. On the same note, the Palm Springs Museum of Architecture and Design is an interesting and informative hour or so in the center of town. If you want to hike, you can do so very locally on various trails in the Indian Canyons on the edge of downtown, or in Tahquitz Canyon. If you’ve never been, take a day trip to the beautiful and expansive Joshua Tree National Park, which is about a one hour drive from downtown Palm Springs and well worth it. And if you’re not afraid of heights take the Palm Springs Tramway up 8,000 feet in a rotating tram to the top of Mt. San Jacinto.GT Tip: Each year there is a Modernism Week (with house tours and bus tours of iconic sights, the Modernism show and sale, etc.). If you can get a hotel reservation, and you’re interested in such things, this would be a fun time to go.
Shopping: *****
Downtown has plenty of shops (mostly tourist oriented or chains in the town center), but the cool kids go shopping in the Uptown Shopping District on the north end of town. There you can find some great mid-century antiques and art, or just great home design shopping. Some favorites: The Shops at Thirteen Forty-Five (a stylish consortium of 14 or so vendors of everything from mid-century antiques, to art, jewelry and clothing); we’ve lost Pelago (the owners retired), and next door Christopher Kennedy (to focus on his design business), but we gained new “mid-century mercantile” Phylum in their stead. There’s Grace Home Furnishings, and Trina Turk/Mr. Turk for mod Palm Springs fashions for men and women (plus some home stuff and fun gifts as well). We also like the shop Super Simple for a selection of home design goods, which recently expanded its space, and the Mojave Flea Trading Post, a stylish artisan flea market on North Indian Canyon. On our 2022 trip, we discovered the Perez Road Art & Design District, in a bunch of old warehouses on the border of Palm Springs and Cathedral City (only a few minutes drive from downtown PSP). There you’ll find a bunch of home design and mid-century antique shops, such as Hedge Palm Springs. Worth a visit. On the first Sunday of the month (October-May), be sure to visit the Palm Springs Vintage Market. It’s an outdoor market full a wide variety of well-curated items.
Review of Santiago Resort Rating: *****
I've been coming to this beautiful gay resort since it first opened in the mid-90's. Anytime I've tried another property, I end up returning to Santiago the next time I’m back (that said, Santiago is often booked up way in advance, and as a result, in 2021, we discovered a nice alternative - see review below). Beautiful, large heated pool with all-day sun, plenty of comfy chaise lounges, and private, lushly landscaped grounds. Lovely and continually updated rooms (bathrooms have recently been gut-renovated, enlarging the previously small showers) with king beds, fridges, microwaves, large flat-screen tvs, and safes in every room. Breakfast and lunch are included in the rate, and the management is friendly, helpful and attitude-free. A great place for a completely relaxing desert break. Note: this is a gay mens’ resort and while the property is very quiet and upscale, and the guests fairly modest, clothing is optional. Since the date of this review we have visited again and stayed at The Holiday House (review below). Note also that the owners of Santiago have recently also opened two new upscale gay mens’ resorts - Descanso, and Twin Palms, both included on map below.
Most recent date of stay: November 2023, and as lovely as ever!
Room tip: 2nd floor room overlooking pool area (when you walk outside you have a view of the pool, and the mountains). Or, if you want more privacy and space, the Casita, with a private patio, outdoor shower, and a fireplace.
Review of Holiday House Rating: *****
A lovely property which is in the center of town but which feels far away. The 21+ (no children) crowd helps, as does the lovely property and the attention to detail. A large heated pool, a cute restaurant/bar (you can order lunch and drinks by the pool during the day), good service, thorough housekeeping, and lots of style all contribute to the thumbs up. Rooms are categorized as "good", "better" and "best"; we chose a "best" room, which was very spacious, had a separate tub & shower, a dining nook (with fridge) and a spacious well-furnished balcony overlooking the pool area. Three of our four small notes had to do with the room: the lighting (which was pretty dark even at max - probably only an issue in winter), the lack of any drawers or shelves which was especially a problem as we were staying for 7 nights (this did not seem to be an issue in other rooms) and the lack of a safe. We made it work with extra hangers for the wardrobe. We do think that your room assignment will have a lot to do with your enjoyment here so do the research. An "honor system" ice cream cart next to the pool, a shuffleboard court, free bikes for guest use, and a cute gift-shop/pantry (also honor system) round out the experience. The crowd was mixed during our time: straight, gay, singles, couples. Note that they do not allow floaties or noodles in the pool, and the rooms, pointedly, do not have TV's (which we missed after 7 days, but understand that it does not fit in with the "relaxation" philosophy). Oh and that fourth note: their playlist needs to be a little less 80s-90s am radio pop-rock and a little more chill/jazzy/loungey or current. But that's just an opinion.
Date of stay: November 2021
Room tip: Would suggest at least a "better" room - and request the second floor.
Review of Life House Hotel, Palm Springs Rating: ****
We stayed at the very new Life House Hotel for two reasons :(1) because our usual favorites were sold out as some friends decided to take this trip on short notice and (2) it was a new property that I had read about in a couple of magazines. You can tell by the building's structure (and the vintage sign which remains up) that this trendy new property was converted from a 1960's motel called The Royal Sun. That said, everything inside has been thoroughly updated. There's a cutely designed restaurant/cocktail bar called Minerva's, an expansive pool area with an outdoor bar (that serves lunch), sunbeds, firepit, bocce etc. Parking is free, you're walking distance from Mr. Lyons (an excellent steakhouse) and a few other places, though downtown/uptown shopping is still a short drive away. The few issues we encountered had to do with the property being new and the service still finding its way. Once they've ironed out the follow-thru on requests and their operations system (which involves iPads and self-serve check-in and out) it will be even better. Bathrooms are small, sink area a little dark, pool could be heated a bit more, and they could use a spa/hot tub (they only have a pool) but a nice conversion overall. We were also glad not to be on the ground level and you should ask for a room facing pool /mountains and not the parking lot.
Date of Stay: March 2024
Other Hotel Choices:
• Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs — a rooftop pool and bar in center of town
• The Parker Palm Springs — Jonathan Adler fabulousness, gorgeous grounds, a full service spa, great food/drink options.
• Descanso — a new upscale men’s resort from the owners of Santiago.
• Twin Palms — and the newest upscale men’s resort also from the owners of Santiago.
• Drift — new mid-level stylish modern motel property with a bar and restaurant in the center of town.
• Hacienda at Warm Sands — another luxe, small, gay guesthouse
• The Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage — cliffside Ritz Carlton with the usual Ritz amenities and a great view of the valley.
Below is a map of hotels, restaurants, bars, shopping and sights found during our research. We didn’t have time to visit all of them during our trip, but all were of interest. Click on the icon at top left of the map to view the legend. Or you can click on the full-screen icon at top right to expand, which will also bring up the legend.
