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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs
1A place where four of the current living presidents of the USA have played golf, where Elvis honeymooned and Sinatra crooned, doesn’t exactly scream “millennial hot spot”, but this isn’t your grandmother’s Palm Springs. Well, actually, it is… but the updated, rediscovered version. Hollywood’s desert playground was built almost from scratch in the early 20th century and basked in high-wattage star power throughout the 1960s, followed by a beauty sleep lasting several decades. When the Coachella festival crowd came to town, it found a largely intact mid-century city that just happened to be bang-on the retro trend. visitpalmsprings.com
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
2The Look – Ladies, if you’ve always wanted an excuse to wear a caftan that’s equal parts glamorous and comfy in public (who hasn’t?), now’s your chance! Gents, channel your inner Dean Martin and you’re good to go. Palm Springs may be having a hip moment, but even the LA hipsters trekking to the desert each weekend embrace the town’s slightly kitsch glory days. After all, you’re never too cool to wish you were part of the Rat Pack. If your wardrobe can’t provide enough colourful vintage duds, source the perfect outfit from one of the excellent local second-hand boutiques. [Photo: C-Monster/Flickr]
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
3The Route – Short of driving yourself to Palm Springs in a pastel pink Cadillac Coupe De Ville, it’s hard to dream up a more stylish way of getting there than in a chauffeur-driven Tesla. Okay, you’re sharing the ride with up to three others, but – in the spirit of green pragmatism California does so well – if ridesharing is a sustainable way to travel, then sharing a ride in a Tesla is practically saving the planet, one weekend escape at a time. Appearances aside, the Tesloop service offering shuttles between L.A. and Palm Springs is the fastest, most convenient and comfortable way to get to your destination.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
4The Moment – In the mid-20th century, all the stars of the design universe aligned to create a near-perfect enclave of modernist architecture. A building boom driven by Hollywood money and unfettered by spatial restrictions brought many of the great architects of the time to town. The likes of Richard Neutra, John Lautner, Donald Wexler and Albert Frey were commissioned to build sleek mansions for the rich and famous – often given free reign to turn their minimalist designs into reality. The resulting style, dubbed Desert Modernism, is best explored through an architecture tour.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
5The Place – Palm Springs in its entirety serves as a museum of Hollywood’s golden age. Indulge in celebrity nostalgia at Rat Pack hangout Riviera Resort, seek out the homes of stars old and new in the Movie Colony neighbourhood, salute the King at Elvis’ honeymoon hideaway, and dine under the stars in the courtyard of Cary Grant’s estate at Copley’s. For a slightly more highbrow glimpse of how the other half lives, visit the Annenberg Estate at Sunnylands, which has hosted presidents and royalty (and, as always, Frank Sinatra, too).
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
6The Party – Palm Springs is one of a few places in the US where you can still experience a supper club of the type that would have been popular around the middle of the past century – a place to see and be seen, a venue with an in-crowd vibe that feels equal parts elegant and debaucherous, and that provides food, drink and entertainment for an all-round fabulous night out. The intimate Purple Room offers live shows several nights a week, but the highlight comes on Sunday night, when owner Michael Holmes slips into something a little more glamorous to star in the Judy [Garland] Show.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
7The View – At the height of summer, the best reason to take the Tramway is an up to 20-degree (C) drop in temperature between the valley and the peak. The rest of the year, a ride in the world’s largest rotating cable car (traversing five different vegetation zones), the wilderness hikes at the summit, and of course the jaw-dropping views of the valley below, are equally convincing. Try timing your visit to ascend in daylight and descend after dark, so you get to see the desert sunset from the plateau and the glittering lights of Palm Springs welcoming you upon your return.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
8The Event – One month before the annual Coachella madness descends on the Empire Polo Club, the Rhythm, Wine and Brews Experience offers a slightly less expansive, but way more laid-back event in the same venue. Enjoy craft beers, a fine range of wines and the requisite food truck libations, accompanied by a small but select lineup of musical acts, headlined by Snoop Dogg in 2017. Treat it as your festival season warm-up, or just enjoy the more intimate atmosphere on its own merits. [Photo: Chris Miller]
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
9The Lunch – …actually, make that brunch, especially if you’re in town for the weekend. Cheeky’s serves up fresh, hearty dishes on a weekly changing menu filled with locally sourced, organic and homemade delicacies. Carnivores drool over the bacon “flight”, health freaks love the freshly squeezed juices, and everyone else goes straight for all-day booze. You’ll recognise it by that unmistakeable yardstick by which the quality of brunch is measured all over California: a really long queue.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
10The Dinner – There’s no shortage of restaurants offering great food, an inviting ambiance and, more often than not, both. Trio, however, is where the locals (or whatever passes for local in this town) go – for all the right reasons. Come for the well-priced 3-course prix fixe menu, stay for happy hour and come back for the great food, delicious cocktails and buzzing atmosphere. The bright orange decor may not be to everyone’s liking, but feels very appropriate for a venue that is geared towards a friendly welcome and a fun night out.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
11The Shop – If you find yourself drawn towards the mid-century modern style, inspired by the architecture and thinking of bringing just a small slice of that carefree, stylish lifestyle home, the Uptown Design District has you covered. It’s impossible to narrow down recommendations to just one shop when there’s an entire district of boutiques selling unique items in keeping with Desert Modernism. Just try to remember that a lamp, vase or sidle table that looks stunning in a light-flooded Richard Neutra mansion may not have quite the same effect in your own home. [Photo: Randy Heinitz/Flickr]
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
12The Market – With Tesla as one of the featured vendors, this is clearly not a run-of-the-mill village festival, but its name is more than just a nod to small-town sentiments. The Village Fest may offer an opportunity to blow a fortune on art, jewellery and antiques (or, you know, a Tesla), but it also features handmade soaps, artisanal olive oil and freshly baked bread. The neighbourhood feel is amplified by local performers and live music.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
13The Walk – Find both the palms and the springs that gave the town its name on an easy hike in the nearby canyons. Although Palm Springs itself was founded relatively recently, the area was home to the indigenous Agua Caliente Cahuilla for centuries. The lush Indian Canyons with their natural freshwater springs were their refuge from the arid plains. Today, visitors escape there to discover the unexpected abundance of plants, to explore the meandering streams and to feel the calm of an oasis in this built-up part of the desert. [Photo: m01229/Flickr]
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
14The Drive – Desert hippies, nature enthusiasts, hikers and music fans alike flock to Joshua Tree, where natural beauty meets pop culture. Situated where two deserts meet, and named after the oddly shaped palm tree that grows here, the National Park was the site of Gram Parsons’ highly unusual cremation, as well as the backdrop for the cover of an Eagles album and the last U2 album most people will admit to liking. On the way back, take a detour to Wonder Valley for a glimpse of real desert life (minus the modernism).
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
15The Hangout – If coffee and pastries sounds like a mundane mid-afternoon snack in a town as glamorous as Palm Springs, grab the (Stumptown) coffee and (really tasty) pastries from a venue with a wild side. Ernest Coffee is a stylish cafe sharing its premises with Bootlegger, the bar upholding the Tiki tradition of storied Don the Beachcomber bar, which opened in the same place in 1953. Come happy hour, the coffee shop slowly transitions to wine bar before the action moves next door for the night.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
16The Sound – Coachella may have put the valley on the hipster map, but the music doesn’t stop when the festival circus leaves town. On the contrary… With live acts and top DJs performing at pool parties year round, music fans who prefer an intimate, relaxed experience to the sensory overload of a three-day extravaganza are spoiled for choice. Our faves: the Ace Swim Club has the most eclectic programme, the Riviera is a consistently class act, whilst the technicolour Saguaro hosts the occasional party and is home to Splash House.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
17The Digs – This remodelled 1960s hotel carries its biggest attraction in the name: The Ace Hotel & Swim Club features a fabulous pool, crammed with inflatable toys, but also a gym, spa and excellent bar and restaurant. Like all hotels in the Ace family, this low-key resort manages to feel impeccably trendy without ever trying too hard. Checking in is like joining the coolest club in town, but actually spending time on the property is like hanging out with the popular kids in school – the ones who are so self-assured, they don’t need to act aloof. [Photo: Carlos Pacheco/Flickr]
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Palm Springs.
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