Palm Springs and Palm Desert

[Shin Pad]

I was wondering if anyone was familiar with Palm Springs and Palm Desert. We are looking for a hotel near restaurants, bars, shopping, night life etc. Are there areas we should avoid? What areas would you recommend? Thanks.

[photon]

Check out VRBO, you might be able to rent a condo or townhouse or even a house with a pool for the same price as a hotel. Last time we went down when I was looking I saw some nice places for not bad prices.

Travel with kids so unfortunately can't comment on the rest of it

[sleepingmoose]

You can't really go too far wrong down there, although if you want night life, you may want to try to find somewhere near downtown Palm Springs proper. There's restaurants everywhere in the 'metro' area, everywhere's close by car, and there's never really much traffic.

I'm pretty familiar with it (we go yearly), so feel free to lob specifics if you want.

[calgarywinning]

Check out Palm Springs Viceroy. A true gem of a boutique hollywood vintage with enough going on there and so much close by that you won't be disappointed. Also, their spa is outstanding in terms of the service.

[Rathji]

When I go to Palm Springs, I stay with family, so I don't know anything about hotels or anything.

We always go to Margarita's though. Great Mexican food, plus has seafood and sushi (which are not my thing, so I can't vouch for).

Do yourself a favor though, and head just out of town, north on Indian Canyon Dr to see the windmills at sunset, you will get some amazing pictures.

[GGG]

Go to the Desert Hills Premium Outlet Mall for shopping if you like that. I think it is about a half hour our side of palm springs.

[Phanuthier]

If you are going in the near future, I'd check out the area smoke forcast. Idyllwood has been on fire for a while and when I was in the area a few weeks ago, there was still a mushroom cloud over the area which led to some interesting weather patterns.

PS : Joshua Tree is kind of cool... its a national park. 1 hr drive?

[gargamel]

The dinosaurs from Pee Wee's Big Adventure are only 20 minutes away from Palm Springs in Cabazon.

[Shin Pad]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

If you are going in the near future, I'd check out the area smoke forcast. Idyllwood has been on fire for a while and when I was in the area a few weeks ago, there was still a mushroom cloud over the area which led to some interesting weather patterns.

PS : Joshua Tree is kind of cool... its a national park. 1 hr drive?

We are going at Christmas, so hopefully it is ok then.

I've seen the Joshua tree "forest" in Arizona (just north of Wickenberg AZ)- and your are right - it is pretty cool.

[sleepingmoose]

I really enjoy Las Caseulas Terraza for Mexican food. They always have a live band outside on the patio, and the food is pretty good.

There's lots of shopping everywhere, but Cabazon/Desert Hills Outlets are about a 20 minute drive to get the heavy hitters. It's also nice to go up the Aerial tramway, or hike up one of the Indian Canyon Trails.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Was just there last week and have never experienced such a sleepy ghost town.
Enjoy the relaxation, sun, golf, pools & restaurants.
Cross bars & nightlife right off your list.

Rent a car if not driving, Thrifty rental has really good rates.

The JW Marriott in Desert Springs is very nice if you want a nice hotel.

As mentioned, renting a furnished rental from someone is a great option too.
They are everywhere & this gives you the benefit of a kitchen etc.

Also, the Cabazon outlets are awesome for shopping, and LA is only about 2 hours away if you really start to get board.

[Shin Pad]

So after much research, we found a nice place that seems to be near everything and is pet friendly (we will have our dog with us). It's just down the street from the Las Caseulas Terraza - so we will try that out as I love mexican food. Anyway, thanks for all the helpful suggestions - we will check them out.

[sleepingmoose]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Was just there last week and have never experienced such a sleepy ghost town.
Enjoy the relaxation, sun, golf, pools & restaurants.
Cross bars & nightlife right off your list.

It is mostly retired people
Also, it's still a quieter time of year down there. It gets busier starting in October. It's never really crazy, but that's when primetime starts.

Always a good time though.

[Shin Pad]

Originally Posted by sleepingmoose

It is mostly retired people
Also, it's still a quieter time of year down there. It gets busier starting in October. It's never really crazy, but that's when primetime starts.

Always a good time though.

Well, I'm almost retired - I'm 60, so quiet is good. When I mentioned night life, what I meant was that hopefully we can find a nice bar or lounge that is open until at least 11 pm -

[calgarywinning]

The truth comes out.

Go to Melvyns a-stat. They know how to make a martini. Great music. A time warp, but it's great. Also, goto Viceroy for a lunch, they are just so amazing there.

[Canehdianman]

Headed down to Palm Springs this Saturday.

Love how CP always has a thread for anything I'm doing

Thanks all, (and feel free to leave any recent advice here). Headed down for a week with the wife and the 5 month old.

[Tyler]

Ah yes, the flight down to Palm Springs on Westjet. Geriatrics and babies. Nose blowing, walkers and crying.

Without a doubt, the longest 2.5 hours of my life.

[aaronck]

I'm also heading to Palm desert on Saturday for 4 days there, then heading to LA to try Disney/ Universal studios with the kids (first time for all of us)
We're going to do the outlet mall, probably Joshua tree, and maybe buy a Groupon or 2 for a couple of different restaurants.

[Canehdianman]

Sweet!

So far my list of things to check out is as follows:

Desert Hills Outlets
Joshua Tree National Park
San Jacinto tram ride
VillageFest
Palm Springs Air Museum


and planning on eating at:
- Margarita's
- Viceroy
- Las Caseulas Terraza

[DuffMan]

I've heard it's windy.