Palm Springs is immortal.
It constantly reinvents itself as a destination, periodically fixing up its accommodations. No motel is left to die here: they just get turned into new boutique spaces with orange pillows, turquoise blankets, and re-plastered pools.
This is a town built on getting out of town: when you feel feverish in L.A., you escape to the Palm Springs heat for the weekend to sweat it out. And when your old bones can’t stand a nip of cold, you escape to Palm Springs for life. And when you get tired of the old biddies in Palm Springs, you escape to Rancho Mirage, CA.
Let’s get out of town together.
Casa Palma Hotel: After Bare Booties, A Rare Palm Springs Beauty
Get to Know Palm Springs, California
The Small City Vibe
This is a boutique desert resort town. Embrace the quaint, shun the chain. And relax.
The more times you visit, the more you’ll realize this is the perfect place to do nothing alongside people you like.
Spend an hour drifting around the pool. Rescue the bees from the soft water. Dry up on a deck chair. Squint at the sun. Listen to the palm trees chatter at the weather. Flip flop around the deck. Wander back into the pool and duck beneath. Don’t think about how many butts have been in it. Look at the way your hands lead you toward the depths or the surface. Get out and listen to the amphibious drip. You could just as easily have been born a frog. Take a shot and take a nap. Wake up and look.
Palm Springs’ beauty is in the confluence of sun, air, and mountain. What a view! Rocky and barren, San Jacinto Peak should be ugly. It peeks in every window. Trees hate it. And yet, it’s alluring. Its strange bulk comforts like a new lover’s sleeping warmth.
The Twilight-Life
Despite being a vacation destination, Palm Springs, CA dozes off around 9:00 pm.
Many of the hotels and vacation rentals have quiet hours after 10 pm. And good luck finding food at that hour. The gay bars and clubs on Arenas Road throb house music deep into the dark desert night, but even their dance floors clear out by midnight.
Instead, the town’s last and best hurrah is just after dusk, when the sun’s final embers smolder in windowpanes and wine glasses. The heat slinks away, the amber lights hum on, and the people step outside for dinner and drinks. And then they pretty much go to sleep.
The Agua Caliente Casino Right in the Middle of Town
But if you get bored, you can always go to the casino. It’s open 24/7 and the cigarette smoke is a real thrill.
Agua Caliente Casino is even more magnetic than the mountain. It’s right there, dangerously convenient. There are still some penny slots and plenty of 25-cent ones, and there’s also $2 blackjack where you can lose all of your money slower than usual. If you dare, bring $100, play it out, and call it a morning. You’ll leave 30 years older with a secondhand voice rasp and a hankering for an afternoon nap.
Palm Springs Dining
Most Palm Springs restaurants are overpriced and their food is mediocre. There, I said it.
We’ve learned to avoid the nicer joints and instead have found the down-to-earth eateries to be more reliable. Here are some standouts:
Peruvian Fuego
1751 N Sunrise Way Ste F1
Palm Springs, CA 92262
Food that’s actually worth the price. Drinkable sauces. Air light yucca fries. The resident patio pigeons are eatin’ good.
The Heyday
1550 N. Palm Canyon Dr.
Palm Springs, CA 92262
A martini and smash burger combo? That’s Palm Springs epitomized. Ideal saltiness and greasiness. A strong drink. Attentive waitresses. And hot, crunchy fries. All for pretty darn cheap.
Rick’s Restaurant
1596 N. Palm Canyon
Palm Springs, CA 92262
Cuban-inspired comfort meals. A soup-of-the-day kind of joint. Even stronger drinks and the dessert is worth your belly real estate. Take a muffin for the road and thank me later.
Hotels
You don’t book hotels in Palm Springs, you book pools.
And Casa Palma Hotel has some of the finest you can find, along with old-growth trees and a tennis court. Check out this rare beauty that just opened in 2025.