Palm Springs, California is a wonderful place for anyone to visit but it is especially significant for gay travelers. Palm Springs has an inclusive, welcoming vibe, excellent entertainment and dining options, beautiful views and a variety of quality gay resorts to choose from.
There’s no place like the Korakia Pensione.
The historic property says it “blends the silhouette of Tangier with a whisper of the Mediterranean,” and is the perfect escape. There are two restored historic villas — the Mediterranean Villas and Moroccan Villas — with spacious rooms featuring wood-beamed ceilings, stone showers, balconies, private patios, French doors, and antique and handmade furniture. The Moroccan villa was built in 1924 as a hideaway of Scottish painter Gordon Coutts, who wanted to recreate his earlier life in Tangier.
Guests at Korakia Pensione are treated to outdoor yoga and meditation sessions, hot breakfasts in the Moroccan courtyard, use of books in the library lounge and cruisers to get around town, Moroccan tea service in the afternoon, and vintage movies screened outside at night.
The Moroccan courtyard is filled with fountains, a stone waterfall, olive trees, date palms, citrus, and bougainvillea, and as the sun begins to set, staff light hundreds of candles and lanterns across the property, setting off a magical glow. Massage treatments can be booked in the indoor/outdoor spa lodge or in guest rooms, and the two heated saltwater pools, with views of the San Jacinto Mountains, are open all day and night.
Growing up in Los Angeles, Denise Adams grew up vacationing in Palm Springs. She loved those visits to the desert, and when she sold her greeting card business and the opportunity came up to purchase an older hotel for sale on North Palm Canyon Drive, she jumped on it.
The Palm Springs Hotel opened in November 2014, with Denise entering a partnership with friends and family to own and operate the hotel. She followed her instincts when it came to decorating and designing the property, adding a bit of an industrial slant to a hotel that is primarily mid-century.
“It’s clean and simple, but elegant,” she said.
The hotel’s 15 rooms are situated around the pool, have bold furnishings, and are named after some of Palm Springs’ most famous celebrity guests — Elvis, Frank Sinatra (“I like men in suits, with a tie or tux,” Denise said). Making guests happy is the top priority, and Denise said she is so excited when guests walk in and their expectations are exceeded.
“It’s a boutique experience,” Denise said. “To us, guests are royalty. We do whatever we can to make a guest happy, and they feel the love and give it back to us. Our guests mean everything to us.”
