Pack your bags! We are off for a Girls’ Getaway to Palm Springs, a city of luxurious, boutique hotels designed to pamper and emanate old world charm from those days of past Hollywood glamour and relaxation.
Gorgeous rooms? Check. Relaxing spa with a variety of services? Check. A sparkling pool? Check. Restaurant with rooftop lounge and intriguing cocktails? Check.
Everything you need for the perfect Palm Springs stay is at La Serena Villas. Originally built in 1933 as a 26-unit hotel, this resort in the Historic Tennis Club neighborhood was redeveloped as a luxury hotel in 2016 by architect May Sung. The 18 secluded villas each have a private patio with a clawfoot tub, fire pit, and built-in benches, with Avenue Interior Design behind every room’s furniture, finishes, and materials.
Whispers Spa offers facials, massages, and body treatments, while Azucar restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Enjoy dining in the restaurant or sipping cocktails at Sugar High, the rooftop lounge. The hotel, owned by Lars Viklund, has a Spanish colonial feel, and is next door to one of his other properties, the Del Marcos Hotel, and across from his latest acquisition, The Three Fifty Hotel.
By Diana Elizabeth Steffen
I discovered one of the most Instagrammable spots in Palm Springs.
Let our Boutiquely Palm Springs bloggers Gregory Douglass and Kathy Condon take you on a tour of the secret speakeasies you’ll wish you knew about sooner.
Palm Springs has never been shy about hiding its charm. From iconic poolside resorts to bold mid-century architecture, our little desert paradise sure knows how to make an impression. But there’s a hidden layer to explore after the sun dips behind the San Jacinto Mountains.
We’re talking about speakeasies — intimate, hidden bars tucked behind velvet curtains and unmarked doors. Think: vintage ambiance, innovative cocktails, and that sweet rush of being “in the know.”
Speakeasy: A secret bar or nightclub that operated illegally during the Prohibition era (1920-1933) in the United States, where people could enjoy alcoholic beverages despite the alcohol ban.
Knowing that speakeasies are scattered throughout Palm Springs, we set out to explore them. And for travelers craving an unforgettable vacation, there’s no better place than Palm Springs to sip in (secret) style. Here are five fabulous speakeasies we discovered that will make your stay even more memorable.
Counter Reformation
Gregory Douglass is ready to confess at Counter Reformation. Photo: Kathy Condon
Location: Parker Palm Springs
Address: 4200 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs
Hours: 5 to 10 p.m., Thursday-Monday
Vibe: Irreverent, indulgent, and intimate
Tucked away inside the lushly manicured grounds of the Parker Palm Springs, this speakeasy is not easy to find. Look for a door to the left as you come down the pathway. It will be marked with praying hands holding a bottle of wine.
Counter Reformation offers small-batch wines (no spirits), with curated old-world selections by the glass paired with mouthwatering tapas-style small plates like jamón ibérico and duck confit sliders.
From its tin ceiling to the long bar stretching the entire length of the room, Counter Reformation’s medieval decor is elevated to the next level with the addition of an actual confessional at the far end of the bar.
Seymour’s
Kathy Condon raises a glass outside at Seymour’s. Photo: Gregory Douglass
Location: Inside Mr. Lyons Steakhouse
Address: 233 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs
Hours: 6 p.m. to midnight, Tuesday-Sunday
Vibe: Mid-century Mad Men, shrouded in mystery
Walk through the elegant entrance of Mr. Lyons Steakhouse. The host will greet you. Say to them you would like to go to Seymour’s. With a smile, they will take you down the hallway and point to a velvet curtain.
Entering the space, you feel a sense of elegance for the decor, created from remnants of the original restaurant built in 1938. When the weather is beautiful, the outdoor patio is a welcoming expansion, complete with a fire pit that features flames that could light up a runway.
Mixologists offer a selection of seasonal, unique craft cocktails served in vintage glassware. The atmosphere offers cozy leather banquettes and mysterious, eclectic artwork in every direction. It might make you feel like you’re in an episode of Mad Men. Either way, it’s the kind of place where locals go to impress their out-of-town friends — and you’ll want to stay for more than one round.
The Evening Citizen
The Backstabber is a must-try at The Evening Citizen. Photo: Gregory Douglass
Location: Arenas District
Address: 220 E. Arenas Road, Palm Springs
Hours: 5 to 10 p.m., Sunday-Thursday; 5 p.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturday
Vibe: Mysterious, moody, and conspiracy-theory cool
The Evening Citizen’s intentionally cryptic website barely reveals a thing. It’s as intriguing as the bar menu itself, and honestly, that’s part of the charm.
The bar cultivates an air of conspiracy behind its unmarked rear entrance. Once you figure out which door to enter, inside you’ll find an intimate, sophisticated lounge where candlelight flickers against dark walls. The bar’s brooding atmosphere complements a giant portrait of German actor Udo Kier with an intimidating expression hanging over the bar.
The music is smooth, and the drinks are even smoother. We recommend the Backstabber, their dark spin on the classic Prohibition-era Bee’s Knees. It’s the perfect nightcap after a day by the pool or a night of bar hopping on Arenas.
If you’re lucky, you may even run into Udo Kier himself, now that he’s a Palm Springs local. Or is he?
Tailor Shop
Gregory Douglass enjoys the sophisticated vibes at Tailor Shop. Photo: Gregory Douglass
Location: North Palm Canyon Drive
Address: 140 W. Vía Lola, Unit A, Palm Springs
Hours: 6 p.m. to 12:30 am, nightly
Vibe: Classy, creative, and impeccably tailored
If you’ve ever wanted your cocktail served with a side of couture, Tailor Shop is your destination bar. This newer addition to the Palm Springs bar scene is designed like a bespoke tailor’s parlor, with plush seating, dark woods, and drinks as polished as a Savile Row blazer.
Tailor Shop — self-appointed as a “purveyor of fine spirits” — is quiet, intimate, and elegant. It’s all about savoring your drink and your conversation over a thoughtfully crafted playlist of chill vibes, which you can even access yourself via Spotify if you ask the bartenders nicely.
Be sure to sample from their small bites menu, which is curated for finding the perfect pairings. I’d go back just for the dumplings (which pair well with just about anything).
This speakeasy-style boutique bar is perfect for romantic date nights, cocktail connoisseurs, and anyone seeking the chill side of Palm Springs. Consider this your go-to bar when you want to impress (or be impressed).
Bootlegger Tiki
The mai tais at Bootlegger Tiki take you straight to the tropics. Photo: Gregory Douglass
Location: Historic Don the Beachcomber site
Address: 1101 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs
Hours: 3 to 11 p.m., Sunday-Thursday; 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday
Vibe: Retro, kitschy, and very intimate
For something a little more tropical (but no less secret), Bootlegger Tiki is the ultimate Palm Springs speakeasy with a Polynesian twist. Housed in the original Don the Beachcomber spot from 1953, this low-lit tiki lounge serves handcrafted drinks that are strong, sweet, and superb.
Inside is as intimate as it gets — just a few bar stools and booths — but there’s a patio out back for catching your breath between mai tais. In fact, their non-traditional mai tai is one of the best I’ve ever had.
Bootlegger Tiki’s decor is bamboo, thatch, and just the right amount of island kitsch. Their nightly Happy Hour is the first and last hour, and as you might have guessed, reservations are recommended here.
Why boutique hotels + secret bars = your best vacation
Now that you’re fully briefed on Palm Springs’ best-kept cocktail hideaways, there’s only one way to top off your night: retreating back to your charming boutique hotel, just a few sips away from the action.
Palm Springs boutique hotels represent everything that makes this city so magical: personalized service, one-of-a-kind style, and a sense of place you just don’t get from most big resorts. These independently-owned gems are the perfect home base for speakeasy-hopping, poolside lounging, and soaking up all the desert charm.
Written by Gregory Douglass and Kathy Condon
With the world opening up more, it is the perfect time to visit Palm Springs. With 70 plus small hotels to choose from within Palm Spring’s city limits, deciding which one may seem like an overwhelming task. However, here are five hotels that each have a unique touch that might help with your selection.
You Never have to Leave the Premises when you Stay at Arrive
Located on North Palm Canyon, the adults-only Arrive hotel is a playful oasis in the desert.
Here is the best thing about Arrive that you will not find anywhere else in town: their Poptails.
Made for adults only, Poptails are boozy, frozen ice pops aka childhood nostalgia for the very grown-up you. Available in rotating flavors like Aperol Spritz, Paloma, and Sex by the Pool, these housemade treats are a must. They’re available poolside for hotel guests but the locals know they can pop by and pick them up to go. It might be the best $8 you can spend on a hot day.
If you need to satisfy your caffeine or sugar craving, Arrive also has the Ice Cream Shop(pe) right on site, which is perfect if you want something a little less adult-like to cool your palate. And you can pick up speciality drinks for poolside enjoyment or to go from the Cartel coffee shop.
The Cole Hotel and Biscuit and Counter Develop a Partnership
This Palm Springs boutique hotel, designed by American Architect Hugh Kaptur in 1959, is restored and opened during the pandemic. The kitchen was expanded for the owners wanted to make their space one where visitors didn’t have to leave the premises for superb food.
Suddenly, things closed down because of Covid-19. It no longer made sense to have a full menu and chef on the premises. Biscuits and Counters had recently come to town and had no venue consistently to produce their melt-in-your-mouth biscuits, which were quickly becoming in great demand.
A partnership was developed. Biscuits and Counter made their savory biscuits in the kitchen and started to serve them in creative ways to The Cole’s guests. Now you walk out of your room and enjoy brunch by the pool.
If you want, you can meet local Palm Springs residents, for they have heard about the brunches and are coming to The Cole for a Sunday morning meetup with friends.
Take a Deep Breath and Enjoy the Gardens at the Dive Hotel
Are you dreaming of going to Europe and visiting the French Riviera? We cannot help you with that right now, but we have a suggestion: reserve a room at Dive Palm Springs, an 11-room, adults-only boutique resort located in the heart of Palm Springs.
There are several stand-out aspects to Dive but one of them is LuLu — an 8-foot-tall woman in a blue swimsuit and bathing cap made of neon and aluminum— who coyly greets you when you arrive.
And the other thing is Dive’s magnificent two-room, two-bed Paris Suite. It’s centerpiece is a 1919 belle époque brass and copper elevator cage that has been fully restored and converted into a Queen bed and lounge. There’s also the vintage“Not-So-Minibar” — a full-sized bar in a stunning vintage Tambour cabinet featuring 8 full bottles of premium liquors, elegant glassware and premium wines and Dom Perignon. There’s also an original copper-clad exterior window from the Flatiron building in NYC (c. 1903), reborn as an oversized antique wall mirror, the Christian Lacroix butterfly wallpaper, and antique Parisian chandeliers. Très magnifique!
The Monkey Tree Offers Relaxation and Scandinavian Spa
The 60-year old The Monkey Tree hotel has been restored to its mid-century modernism grandeur. Step back and feel what it was like when Palm Springs was the haven for movie stars escaping from the glare of the cameras.
This is the only place with an authentic Scandinavian Spa. It has three components:
- First, you go into a dry sauna. (Presently, it is not open due to Covid-19 regulations – However, as soon restrictions are eliminated, it will be available again.)
- Then you jump into a pool cooled to 55 degrees and is for single occupancy.
- Finally, you go into an extra-deep jacuzzi. You sit on a bench, which allows you to have water over your shoulders. It is heated at 102 degrees and has room for two.
There are no day passes, so you can only have this “refreshing” unique experience if you are a hotel guest.
The Santiago Hotel has the Largest Resort Pool in Palm Springs
The Santiago hotel has a well-deserved reputation as one of the premier small hotels in Palm Springs that caters to gay men. This swimsuit-optional, 24-room boutique hotel is set amid luxurious and meticulously cared-for gardens.
Time for a dip? You can get plenty of exercise, for the Santiago has the largest pool at any Palm Springs resort. Enjoy a poolside lunch and drinks with misters providing the perfect cooling system on hot summer days. Picture swinging in a two-man hammock among the lush garden planted with exotic plants and cacti. When you look up, you see the majestic mountain views with the occasional cloud dancing on the horizon.
Bonus wow: The Santiago is the only resort in Palm Springs that includes complementary breakfast, lunch, and refreshments (served all day in the cantina).
Enjoy the tastefully decorated rooms, luxury bath products, and flat-screen TVs. You deserve a stress-free, pampered getaway.
“Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.” – Russell Baker
July, the hottest month of the year. That means Palm Springs is hot, hot, hot. But it’s a dry heat, in a cool, cool place, with sparkling pools, a million stars in the sky, and those mountain views. If that’s not enough to grab you, we have delicious local restaurants, and nightlife coming out of our pores. And as always, we’re Just Fabulous (shameless plug, terrific local store).
Quick Note About August: Splash House is completely booked for passes and hotel packages, but you can still get After Hours, Tables and Cabanas. Here’s the evening line-up for the PS Air Museum concerts, pretty sure there’s a link to tickets. As for hotels, you can stay steps away from the fray in one of our famously fabulous boutique hotels while supporting local businesses. It’s seriously the best of two worlds. Our hotels are gorgeous.
Okay, let’s heat it up.:
Events:
Fourth of July Events:
11:00am Water Palooza, Victoria Park. Music, water games, free hot dogs and snow cones.
3:00 pm Independence Fest and Movie, Sunrise Park,
3:00 pm Family Pool Party: 3 p.m. – 9 p.m. Palm Springs Swim Center features water games, music and great food.
4:00pm Fourth of July Concert and Laser Show at Ruth Hardy Park (Free)
7:30pm The O’Donnell House at the Willows (so fancy! And for a good cause)
Theater (real live people on stage theater!):
LGBTQ affirmative, this theater company produces delightfully side-splitting romps. Now located where Zelda’s used to be (next door to Bouschet and Spaghetteria), Desert Rose is a sweet hybrid of stage acts, theater, with a ‘lounge-like” atmosphere. Cocktails are served before and during the shows.
- Wednesday-Sunday through July 4: Miss Firecracker Contest
- Friday/Saturday July 9 & 10: A Night On Broadway
- Saturday: July 17: An Evening of Comedy with Jason Stuart, With Shann Carr and Selene Luna
- Wednesday-Sunday July 22-August 8: The Great American Trailer Park Musical
Dinner Theater:
PS Underground:
- July 9: Enigma: A multiple course meal and hosted bar. An over-the-top inexplicable, immersive dinner experience.
- July 11: Bacon: The bacon bloody marys and bubbly will be free-flowing at this fantastic ode to the best ingredient known to man.
- July 17: 54 Underground: A recreation of the Studio 54 vibe with a contemporary twist.
- July 18: Gospel: A multiple course Sunday brunch with toe-tapping, hand clapping gospel music from the band onstage.
- July 22: Hip To Be Square: Guilty pleasure songs (Neil Sedaka, Johnny Mathis, Captain and Tennille) with great storytelling by Francesca Amari and a 3 course meal by Chef Horgen.
- July 23 & 24: Lost Cherry: A dark, smoky, sultry cabaret.
- July 25: Ovation: A jazzed up Sunday brunch.
- July 25: Bodacious Bingo: This ain’t your gramma’s bingo night at the local VFW. Mack Diamond and his mama, Jetta Burell host this hilarious bingo adventure.
- July 30: A Night At The Chi Chi: An evening in celebration of the stars who graced the CHI CHI room stage.
Shows:
- July 2: Crimson Crow: featuring songs from the 60’s up to today, with special emphasis on the 80’s and 90’s.
- July 3: Patrice and the Women of Soul: Songs of Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Tina Turner, and Patti LaBelle for starters.
On-Going:
To keep this short-ish, here are links to my previous blogs from May and June because a lot of it is ongoing. Also, check out all our blog posts. There’s some really great information to be had in there.
VillageFest Courtesy of Sun Line Transit.sunline.org
VillageFest is reopening July 1st 2021. 7pm -10pm every Thursday on Palm Canyon Drive between Amado Road and Tahquitz Canyon. It’s a great stroll stroll down our main street while you check out the crafts, and the food, like The HeyDay, their smash burgers, cubanos, and (sometimes lobster) rolls. In fact, try all the street food. It’s really good. Shops and restaurants remain open, and music buskers are on every corner. And all the bars are open for copious drinking. Not encouraging bad behavior, I’m just letting you know your options.
Fridays: DOA Sessions: live jazz featuring rotating jazz musicians from 8p-11p at Dead or Alive. The bar gets a little lost in the shadow of El Mirasol Cocina, but it’s a gem. No martinis here, wines and craft beers only. When you step inside, it’s so unexpected. Very cozy, and kinda sexy. On your first visit, go after dark for the full effect. If the moon outside of the bar is on, they’re open. Not the real moon, that would be weird.
Girl, put your records on, the Retro Room and Karaoke are back! Open daily except Tuesdays. Host KJ Norm weekdays, and KJ Dion on Sundays.
Lipstick is back at The Copa photo courtesy of Brian Wanzek
Lipstick returns July 15! Thursdays at Copa Nightclub catch Bella Da Ball and a cast of fabulous queens featuring the best local singers. I hear Copa is bringing back other favorites, so keep an eye out for them.
Oscar’s: Saturdays: Mimosa Men Brunch Sundays: Bitchiest Brunch Sundays: T-Dance update! First Sunday of every month will be hosted by Chi Chi LaRue.
Sundays: V Wine Lounge presents Dragtastic Bubbly Brunch.
Sundays: Melyvn’s Pro Jam is back! Located in The Ingleside Inn
Toucan’s Tiki Lounge – bringing us the drag glam for two decades! For shows, see below, for tickets, go here.
- Mondays: All Latin Drag Review “Latin Fever Monday” hosted by Jesus Coria.
- Thursdays: RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season Six followed by PLAYHOUSE which has a special guest host every week.
- Fridays: PLAYHOUSE hosted by Gorgeous Chameleon Jazmyn “The People’s Queen” Simone, with “an all-star cast of the fiercest, most sickening Queens on the planet.”
- Saturdays: PLAYHOUSE with host Kickxy Vixen. “It’s an orgy of Drop. Dead. Gorgeous. Dragsanity!”
- Sundays: Tommi Rose & The Playgirls. Tommi is legendary and the Queen and resident Drag Mother. The desert’s longest-running drag review.
Tips
- The Summer Eats Pass is free. Each time you use the pass to check into a website or a participating eatery, you’ll be eligible for a weekly drawing to win a $50 gift card to a Greater Palm Springs restaurant. You’re welcome.
- PRIDE IN NOVEMBER: Book your rooms NOW. Palm Springs throws a helluva party, and Pride is a blow out. I don’t want you to miss it.
- Wear sunscreen, hydrate, walk or rideshare if you’ve been drinking. You know, stuff that can ruin a vacation. Plus, our doctors and nurses are tired, y’all.
As always, please shop and stay at locally-owned businesses. And if you go to any of our hotels or enjoy our recommendations, please be sure to tag us with your photos on IG, or @palmspringspreferredsmallhotel (yeah, it’s a lot to type, but we appreciate it!) #PSPSH
The Orbit In embraces its mid-century modern roots, wowing guests with its retro furnishings, lively pool area, and — of course — those irresistible Orbitinis, served every night during happy hour.
During their second stay at the Orbit In, husband and wife Kevin Miller and Jinny Park had the place all to themselves, and as they sat outside, looking up at the sky, they started talking about their dream of selling everything in order to buy and run the hotel.
“Right then, a huge shooting star went across, and we made a wish,” Kevin said. “Three years later, we bought it. We are guests who ended up buying the hotel, and we try to run it from a guest perspective.”
The Orbit In is a mid-century modern hotel built in 1957, purchased by Kevin and Jinny in October 2007. Guests spend their days gathering around the Boomerang Bar, beating the heat in the pool and under the misters, enjoying Orbitinis during happy hour, and taking advantage of cruisers they can take around the neighborhood.
“It kind of feels like a hotel, but it also feels like you’re coming to someone’s house,” Kevin said. “It splits the difference there. We see a lot of repeat guests, and that’s just terrific.”
Although he is always improving the hotel, Kevin listens to his guests who like the retro vibe and want things to stay exactly the way they are.
“They always say, ‘Don’t change anything,'” he said. “They love it the way it is. They really like the staff. Everyone is personable and knows them by name, and they feel at home here.”
“Too much of a good thing is wonderful.” — Liberace
When you Google “best gay cities,” my results did not include one single listicle mentioning Palm Springs. What? People, our entire city council is LGBTQIA, and from Wikipedia’s entry for Gay Village: “An estimated 33 to 50 percent of Palm Springs, California, are gay male or other parts of the LGBTQ community; this statistic makes them the largest percentage community in the US.”
In 2016, Palm Springs received a final score of 100 points in the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index Scorecard. Our city exceeded the highest possible final score of 100 with a raw score of 109, and we’ve kept that score through their last report of 2020.
Speaking of the ’20s, 100 years ago, Palm Springs began its journey as a playground for celebrities and the LGBTQ+ community thanks to Dr. Florilla White and her sister Cornelia. The two “independent and eccentric women” (code: lesbian) purchased the Palm Springs Hotel and spiffed it up a bit. Rudolph Valentino spent his second honeymoon there (it was escandalo!), and Greta Garbo demanded the premiere of Camille be held at the new Plaza Theater while she stayed at the hotel. Side note: if it weren’t for the founding mothers of Palm Springs (the White Sisters, Nellie Coffman, Lois Kellog —she was a wild one! — and Pearl McCallum McManus), it might still be a dusty little town. And the Cahuilla likely wouldn’t be where they are today without the 1950s all-women tribal council. Historically, in Palm Springs, men beat the drum of awareness while the women quietly made history. Sisters, amirite?
Liberace.
Palm Springs is so gay Liberace, Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter, Barry Manilow and gay icons Cher and Carol Channing had/have homes here. Not to mention the other “maybe they were, maybe there weren’t” plethora of stars. Although there is speculation, it doesn’t really matter, because Palm Springs has always offered personal privacy. No one is getting “outed” if they don’t want to be out.
Courtesy of CV Independent
In the 1980s, two anti-gay and AIDS-related bills were soundly trounced and, according to a 2017 article in Palm Springs Life, in 1991 club owner Gloria Green opened the first gay bar on Arenas Road, A Streetbar Named Desire (now known as Streetbar). I qualify that with the Palm Springs Life article because most accounts attribute the bar to Dick Haskamp and Hank Morgan, who apparently purchased it in the same year. So something is a little sketchy about the origins — however, Arenas would soon build up to become an all-gay city block with clubs and stores catering to gay men.
Pride was first celebrated in Palm Springs with a showcase called Sizzle. It wasn’t well received or advertised, and Sizzle fizzled out until 1992. By 1997, The Desert Sun estimated 30,000 people watched the (now) Pride parade.
Our gayness isn’t limited to Arenas. Oscar’s is alive almost every night with gay-leaning entertainment and Sundays is all about celebrating your gayness at the T-Dance. You can hear the party from blocks away.
We have so many drag queens they could hold court for an entire generation of royals, and they’re damn fine. Late night entertainment at The Copa and Toucans include long-running drag shows that pack the rooms, and drag brunches abound in our exceptionally inviting cozy town.
The San Francisco establishment of transgender performers AsiaSF chose Palm Springs as its second home. They opened just before the pandemic, and I’m told will reopen again in November — maybe December — of this year. I went to the opening in early 2020 (before you know what): these ladies are hot AF.
Some of the finest dining in Palm Springs is brought to you by gay restaurateurs. Roly China Fusion, Tropicale, Eight4Nine, Trio, PS Underground (an exciting take on dinner theater), The Purple Room (supper club), and 533 Viet Fusion to name just a few not on Arenas.
Desert Rose Playhouse is the one and only LGBTQ theater company and venue in the Coachella Valley. Now in Palm Springs proper at the old Zelda’s Nightclub space, they produce, support and elevate LGBTQ stories, actors, playwrights, and musicians. I have never been disappointed by their productions. So far this year I have seen The Great American Trailer Park Musical and Rocky Horror, and have tickets to see Hedwig and the Angry Inch. It’s a great space with a great vibe and the shows are delicious.
We have an LGBTQ+ community center, PFLAG (for supporters), and a retirement community for gays called Stonewall Gardens. We have two gay radio stations, the Gay Desert Guide, and the Palm Springs Cultural Center, with a mixture of artsy blockbusters and showcasing gay-themed films.
If you check out our website (already sorted for you!), you’ll find we have 11 resort hotels catering to gay men, some clothing optional. The Warm Sands area is generously dotted with gay boutique hotels.
One of my favorite things that hasn’t yet returned in the pandemic is our star drag queen Bella da Ball (aka Brian Wanzek) reading stories to kids at the Palm Springs Library. Bella even has her own star on our Walk of Stars.
There’s DAP, Desert AIDS Project, a terrific medical establishment that not only caters to gays living with AIDS but also administers to MediCal patients. I was on MediCal for a bit and they provide stellar care (I was sad when my insurance switched). They also run the resale stores Revivals which have terrific bargains on gently-used items, and some brand-new stuff too. Profits benefit DAP.
And of course there is the big event, Palm Springs Pride.
Some “must” events sent to me by Bella Da Ball:
November 1, 6 to 7 p.m.: George Zander Candlelight Vigil and March, 101 N. Museum Dr.
Beginning at the new downtown park (Museum Way and Museum Drive), this rally and march is in honor of George Zander. Six years ago to the day, George and Chris Zander were attacked in downtown Palm Springs, resulting in George’s death on December 10, 2015. This remembrance of George’s life keeps his memory alive, so that no other individual falls victim to a crime of hate.
November 7, 5 to 10 p.m.: Effen Vodka main stage, near the Hyatt Hotel on North Palm Canyon Drive. Party. Huge stage. Special video screens.
But wait, there’s even more eye candy than the parade! On November 5 and 6, enjoy the West Coast premiere of Global Rainbow by American artist Yvette Mattern. Specially designed lasers project a large-scale abstraction of a natural rainbow (the same colors in Gilbert Baker’s rainbow flag) celebrating the diverse LGBTQ+ communities and symbolizing hope and peace. Beamed high above Palm Canyon Drive at Amado Road, as far as the eye can see, until finally diminishing to a colorful glow over South Palm Canyon.
Hitting the stage on November 5:
5:30 p.m. — Charles Herrera
6 p.m. — Steven Michael’s Dance Machine, dancers, flaggers, drag
6:15 p.m. — Jason Stuart
6:30 p.m. — Shannon
7:15 p.m. — Sassy Ross
7:30 p.m. — Jeanie Tracy
8 p.m. — Jody Watley
8:45 p.m. — The Perry Twins
The unadulterated joy and magic the Palm Springs LGBTQ+ community brings to our little town is unparalleled. That’s right, I said it: unparalleled.
Not gay? No one cares, we are a mecca for all who want to be included…unless you’re homophobic, then according to the website Abodo, you should vacation in Buffalo, New York.
See you at Pride!
Staying at Arrive Palm Springs was everything blogger Mary Farah hoped it would be — her room was spacious, the pool was just steps away, and she was able to kick back and relax in the desert heat.
Next up in our series of articles on the most Instagram-worthy small hotels in Palm Springs is Villa Royale. This beautiful property reopened in 2018 after an extensive renovation by its new owners, turning the property into a very popular destination that is full of photo ops.
Villa Royale was originally built in 1947 and was one of the first small hotels in south Palm Springs. It was frequented by Hollywood celebrities as a getaway that met the “two-hour rule” implemented by Hollywood studios at that time, which required that actors under studio contracts could not be farther than two hours from set.
The redesigned Villa Royale retains the charm of its past roots, while adding unique contemporary design details, such as custom murals and artwork throughout the property. A large mural welcomes guests to the property, entitled “Welcome to Your Paradise,” by Sagent Staygold.
A series of geometric murals by Los Angeles-based artist Sara Radovanovitch are located around the property, as well as her travel-inspired “El Viaje” painting in the poolside lanai, and portraits of Hollywood stars in some of the guest rooms. Additional paintings by Juan Casas and Lou Kregal were painted on site at the hotel, featuring desert landscapes, classic cars and movie and music icons.
Villa Royale is a pet-friendly property, so you can enjoy this beautiful hotel with your four-legged friends!
There are three pools on the property, all with gorgeous mountain views that make them the perfect spot for enjoying the scenery with a cocktail in hand. And speaking of cocktails: the team at Del Rey, the hotel’s onsite restaurant and bar, are known for their excellent drinks, as well as a delicious Mediterranean-inspired tapas menu.
Other Instagram-able details we love include the intricately patterned tiles around the property, the bikes available for guest use during your stay, and the vintage 1960 Oldsmobile 88 parked out front by the hotel’s entrance.
Stay tuned as we continue to explore other great Instagram-friendly small hotels in Palm Springs in this series of blog posts coming out each month!
Images via Instagram and courtesy of Villa Royale.
