A Review of the Boutique Palm Springs Resort that Opened in 2025
Casa Palma Hotel
1533 N Chaparral Rd
Palm Springs, CA 92262
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History Exposed
On its website, Casa Palma Hotel & Bungalows describes itself as a “Boutique Palm Springs Resort with a Racquet, Swim & Social Club.”
It also coyly explains that it was “originally crafted as a secluded playground for 1940’s Hollywood megastar, Errol Flynn, and is now being opened to the general public for the first time.”
This is a long way of saying that the 33-room non-smoking property used to be a members-only nudie resort. And before that, it was also a nudie resort. Yes, before it became the sparkling Casa Palma Hotel in April 2025, 1533 N Chaparral Rd hosted the clothing-optional Desert Sun Resort & Spa.
According to its 2023 Coldwell Banker listing, the current property is an amalgam of Horace Heidt’s Lone Palm Hotel, Doris Day’s hotel, and both Errol Flynn’s Normandy Hotel and his clothing-optional Casa del Sol.
While Casa Palma is a Russian Doll of old Palm Springs hotels in which naked guests traipsed, you wouldn’t know any of that now – no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Everything from the paint to the forks has been replaced, cleaned, and brightened with Mediterranean hues of alabaster, warm gold, and soft blue.
Palm Springs Neighborhood
Casa Palma is tucked away just north of the El Mirador and Movie Colony Districts.
Downtown is a long, but viable walk – unless it’s toasty or you’re tipsy. However, there’s more than enough to do right around the Casa Palma Hotel in Palm Springs. Food-wise, Rick’s Restaurant (American), Billy Reed’s Palm Springs (American), The Heyday (Burgers), Sandfish Sushi & Whiskey (Japanese), Shop(pe) (Ice Cream), and Cartel Roasting (Coffee), are all within a 5-minute walk.
Interestingly, the desert feels closer in Uptown Palm Springs. In Downtown Palm Springs, the chatter and density fend off the weight of so much sand sweeping itself towards the city endlessly. But in the uptown neighborhoods, the Colorado Desert shushes close by, jaywalking across the roads, attempting a coup.
Casa Palma Hotel’s entrance is located on the demure N. Chaparral Rd., and near the southern end of the equally calm Chuckwalla Rd., so it avoids the road noise of the arterial E. Vista Chino (Route 111) and Indian Canyon Dr.
“B” and I chose Casa Palma on a whim for an event at the mid-century Riviera Resort right across Route 111, and darted back and forth across the big road like the wind-whipped desert sand. However, in the end, all we wanted to do was linger on the Casa Palma Hotel grounds. The resort is a perfect little ecosystem in uptown Palm Springs.
Casa Palma Hotel Price, Etc.
We paid a mere $162/night all-in for two nights at Casa Palma Hotel on a bustling Palm Springs event weekend.
We booked a Bungalow King through Vio.com and made use of the hotel’s opening special offer, so the low price was likely a unicorn deal. Although Casa Palma Hotel is a 3-star property, it’s rich with exquisite touches that we’ll explore later.
The Bungalows and Studios are identically priced, and looked similar in the booking photos. I chose a Bungalow only because the building seemed more secluded – and indeed it was. The Studios sit closer to the lobby and the splish-splash of the “main” pool.
After some snooping, we realized the rooms have different amenities. The Studios each have a King bed and a mini-fridge. The Bungalow Kings don’t have a fridge. Meanwhile, the Bungalow Queens come with both a mini-fridge and wet bar, at the cost of a larger bed. And the Bungalow Grand King rooms provide all of the above, plus a kitchenette and private patio, along with a 50% higher price-tag.
Every room holds two guests max. There are no double beds or squawky hideaway cots here, so Casa Palma may be less cost-effective for group vacations.
Registered visitors can join guests on the property, but can’t use the facilities unless they buy a day pass, and they’re only welcome during the non-quiet hours of 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. We didn’t find out more details because we don’t have any friends.
Thankfully, Palm Springs hasn’t reached Vegas levels of nickel-and-diming, and there’s no resort fee, Wi-Fi is free, and parking was also complimentary and always available. The deposit fee is a mere $100.
Finally, the on-site restaurant’s prices seem reasonable relative to Palm Springs’ inflated overall costs. The aforementioned local uptown eateries were slightly more budget-friendly than in the thick of Downtown, and there’s a 7-11 a block away for emergency hot dogs.
But we mostly just roamed wild around the hotel with our homemade drinks and an enormous bag of popcorn.
The Hotel Grounds
Casa Palma Hotel Entrance
The hotel lobby entrance sits on sleepy Chaparral Ave, and palm trees and bougainvillea pricked with sanguine blossoms decorate the building’s bright flank.
This landscaping stamps a series of arched recesses like tabernacle frames of desert still-lives. The curvaceous design motif crescendos into the giant upside down U of an entryway arch. The columns are branded with Casa Palma’s name and crest-like logo of crossed-rackets beneath a seed-laden palm tree. A stained crossbeam connects the arch and complements a hefty, wooden door.
Previously, the entire 33-room property was coated in hosiery-beige stucco. Casa Palma has upgraded to a brilliant white plaster that’s highlighted by the fuschine accents and stained wood.
Inside, the lobby is nothing grand, but it’s clean and well-decorated. The lumber vein continues via exposed beams and wood floors, while a modular couch curves like Venus’ seashell. Nacreous blue tiles clamber halfway up a central column, as if we were standing in the shallow end of sun-lit pool water. A voluptuous front desk gestures towards the breakfast nook, which cul-de-sacs into the currently understocked store.
The Studios Area
The lobby exits to the main pool area deck and to the right are the “Studio” rooms stacked motel-style.
To the left, the Chiquita restaurant juts out, with its three walls of enormous glass doors that open to transform the entire eatery into patio dining. The breeze has a floating reservation.
Moving forward, beyond a gleaming barbecue that’s available for guest use, we reached the “main” pool. It’s halved by a volleyball net and overseen by two vintage lion heads fountaining water. Deck chairs abound, along with sports balls in a basket.
Beyond the pool, a path meanders through grass towards a surprisingly large racket sport court. The hotel property ends at a fairy-door-esque free-standing gate, marked by a notice along the lines of, “Private Property. No photography. You may see nude people.”
Thus, it seems that the tradition of soaking up the desert sun in every nook and cranny continues nearby.
Courtyard Area
Heading back down the lawn from the courts, sturdy olive trees shade the patios of the Courtyard building, and usher guests toward the hot tub and second pool.
This side of the grounds also hosts the gym and an under-maintenance-lawn ruled by gravid citrus trees.
The Bungalows are a low-slung square of rooms with a little passageway into their open heart. In this courtyard, a rose-embroidered fountain chuckles at its good luck: every morning, maintenances refills its juices suckled up by the desert heat.
Overall, Casa Palma Resort is lush and secluded. Classic palms shoot skyward and chatter in the sky, perhaps the original nudists, but the real stars here are the old growth trees that block prying eyes. When the breeze comes through, the parade of olive trees clatters its silver-green leaves, the citrus trees wobble their plump fruit, and big hedges shake out their luscious shade.
Maintenance quietly works all day around the grounds, fighting a constant battle against leaves, bugs, the wind, and wet guests. Perfectly coiled turquoise-striped towels seem to magically regenerate. Both pools’ menisci were scraped clean each morning.
Casa Palma Hotel Palm Springs feels like a private, botanical retreat, which is a rare feat in the middle of the desert.
Casa Palma Bungalow King Room
We snagged Bungalow #301, which is a king room tucked in a peaceful corner near a gate that exits out to E. Chuckwalla Rd.
Instead of a keycard, we accessed our room with a waterproof bracelet. We initially balked at this, but quickly came to appreciate the jewelry’s convenience as we dripped from pool to hot tub to pool to room. Perhaps the bracelet is a holdover from the resort’s pre-clothes era, when pockets were scarce.
The door opens into a warm brown and calm blue bedroom area, where a king bed nests on a wood platform. Matching marble side tables bookend it and a cumulous-cloud-ish chair reclines near the entry. One wall features a large-screen TV in a wood-framed recess, with a floating console beneath.
Black accents highlight a quartz-bright bathroom. Our bathroom contained a closet with a safe, a walk-in shower, a push-to-open vanity, and a giant mirror with mysterious buttons that turned on a light and the wind, apparently.
The room was minimally decorated with an old tennis racket, hued by time to the same warm sandy colors of the drapes and the floor, along with one giant print of a lion lounging beside the very pool we had passed en route to the room.
Ironically, the element that really connected the room was the stowed-away iron. Tiny and hot-headed, it looked like a shiny old ivory rotary phone. This was not an afterthought iron – this was proof that the Casa Palma designers had considered everything, down to the closet mundanities.
The Booty is in the Details
Indeed, there were many small details we enjoyed about our King Bungalow room at Casa Palma Hotel:
- The ductless mini-split AC with provided remote worked silently and efficiently to fend off the desert’s hot breath.
- The bathroom had dual sash windows we could actually open. Leaf shadows outside shimmered soothingly in the frosted glass.
- The toilet flushed confidently and the rain shower drained instantly.
- The king bed cradled without sinking, and the linens smelled like rain-dappled flowers sighing.
- The (Malin+Goetz) blue bottles of botanical shampoo, lotion, etc., were luxurious, such that we kept sniffing ourselves.
Some Quibbles
The overall perfection emboldens me to highlight some small annoyances.
- All the rooms should have a mini-fridge. It’s not clear why only the Bungalow King is fridge-bereft.
- The curtains, while hued a lovely light taupe, are a bit too risqué with the dawn sun.
- Cable TV access stopped working on the first morning with a message to contact the front desk.
- Deep in the throes of the second night, I’m certain I heard a neighboring guest snoring through walls that I realized might be quite thin.
Food & Amenities
Continental Breakfast
Continental breakfast is served from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. each day, and we wandered into the lobby around 8 a.m., eyes aglow at the prospect of a gluten cornucopia.
Instead we found a vase of tiny apples and oranges, a pot of coffee, and one singular chocolate muffin trapped under a glass cloche.
We nabbed the muffin, packed our pockets with the bulbous little fruits, and filled up two cups of coffee. All of the items turned out to be fresh, moist, and delicious. We wandered back to the lobby twice in hopes of more muffins mushrooming under glass, to no avail. Thus, while the continental breakfast is tasty, it seems to be of limited supply.
The nearby lobby store was also understocked. It held a handful of drinks and snacks, and a few toiletries. 7–11 was instead our savior for forgotten necessities.
Chiquita Restaurant at Casa Palma Hotel
We were quite literally the first customers ever served in the on-site restaurant. Or rather, the first ever clothed guests.
The restaurant was so new, the chef didn’t even have a menu. He simply recited what he could make and we chose the cobb salad.
The food arrived promptly on pretty plates. We sat at a round, white table mosaiced with glacial-blue glass and ate our salad with shiny gold forks as the desert breeze laced through the olive trees. We were the only guests around. The salad was hearty and packed with avocado, and its $15 price-tag seemed fair.
The restaurant also features a full bar beautifully outfitted with colorful bottles. It’s unclear if Casa Palma Hotel will still allow BYOB once the bar fully opens, but having both options would be ideal, as one can only have so many home-made dirty martinis.
The Fitness Center
The gym is well-appointed with a treadmill, a Peloton bike that shouts at everyone in the room, and a medley of weights and bands.
We entered and found two guests already inside (where were they the night before when we were vainly calling Marco, Polo!?), which was two too many for the galley-narrow space.
With the staff’s permission, we lugged equipment outside for an open-air workout under the citrus trees and cool cat pool table. We alternated bicep curls with pokes at pool balls tinted the same warm sepia as nostalgia.
Nearby, another guest sunbathed on a chaise lounge by the pool. We laid on our mats on the ground and studied a snippet of indigo sky. Maintenance roamed around, tenderly tending to water and concrete.
Thus, while three’s a crowd in the Casa Palma Hotel gym, you just might find that the workout right outside is even better.
Bonus Fun
Bring a water bottle, because there’s a water cooler and ice machine directly across from the restaurant. “B” thought it was too far from the room, but I enjoyed the walk, especially at twilight as the pool water shuddered at the desert moon’s cool kisses.
The game nook is a unique amenity at Casa Palma. It’s stocked with board games, pickleball rackets, golf balls, tennis balls, a badminton set, bikes, and who knows what else. All items are taken and returned on the honor system. What faith they have that drunk guests will return all 100 Scrabble letters!
Combined with the nearby tennis court and the pool volleyball net, it’s clear Casa Palma is meant to be a recreational space.
But if you just want to sit, you are welcome to do just that at Casa Palma. Creamy chairs and tables galore ornament the grounds. Buttery loungers line the pool decks and plush patio chairs surround a firepit like thick petals.
Casa Palma’s amenities are conducive to every kind of vacation – solitary, romantic, or social.
Casa Palma Hotel Pools and Racket Court
The real stars of Casa Palma are its bodies of water, where guests can soak in the salve to desert heat.
The rectangular main pool is over 30 feet long and dips down to about 5 feet, so it’s ideal for wading. There’s a proper volleyball net stretched across its center and with its ball basket, this feels like the party pool.
In contrast, the courtyard pool is shady, secluded, and slightly smaller and shallower. A Funboy inflatable lazily drifts inside it, waiting for a flock of adults to climb aboard with their precariously clutched drinks. This is the pool for sky-gazing, sun-bathing, and languid conversations.
Based on mere proximity, Studio guests will probably gravitate to the main pool, and Bungalow guests will hang out at the Courtyard pool. However, during our time there, we basically had both pools to ourselves, and there’s a real giddiness in having two pools to choose between.
In the middle, the spotless hot tub churns out warm fragrant foam on a timer. It’s like a massage bubble bath tucked under a gazebo. At least 8 people could fit in it, and under-toe, it feels clean – no algal-slick-sheen coats the concrete.
The Tennis Court
We didn’t get to try the tennis court, but want to return to Casa Palma precisely for this reason. The court is painted the deep, bright blue of a pool in the afternoon. It has one tennis net and two moveable pickleball court nets, along with all of the requisite court lines. All rackets and balls can be found in the game nook.
I could imagine playing pickleball before brunch, followed by a pool cool-off with lunch after, and then back to the courts for another round and our final metamorphosis into 75-year-old women.
The Last Word
At Casa Palma Hotel, the basics are fantastic: soft towels, nice beds, good smells, clean pools, friendly staff.
Then there are the extras – the games, bikes, lawns, courts. It’s not fancy or luxurious, but it’s something else – something better.
Then there’s the ambience: the amber glow through the Studio windows, the murmuring trees, the feeling that this not a hotel, but home. Yes, that’s it. Homesickness won’t catch up to you here.
It’s a Palm Springs resort with real character. It’ll almost make you want to take your clothes off and dance around naked, you’ll feel so relaxed. Alas, or probably luckily, now you’ll have to do that in your Bungalow or Studio room.