Palm Springs and the Art of Doing Nothing

Palm Springs exists because of a two-hour drive. Hollywood studios once held actors to contracts requiring them to stay within a short radius of Los Angeles, and this patch of desert was the furthest they could legally go — so they built houses here, and the architects followed. What survives is one of the densest collections of mid-century modern building anywhere, plus a local culture with an unusually clear sense of purpose: get in the pool, get out of the pool, repeat until the light goes. These are the places that understand the assignment.

Parker Palm Springs

Jonathan Adler's thirteen-acre estate, with 144 rooms in bold pattern and colour, three pools, croquet and pétanque lawns, and dinner at Mister Parker's. It is maximalist in a town that mostly prefers clean lines, and it is all the better for it — orange doors, macramé, a hedge maze. The grounds are large enough that you can spend three days without leaving, which is very much the intention.

Parker Palm SpringsPalm Springs, United StatesSee the hotel →

Korakia Pensione

Two historic villas, one Mediterranean and one Moroccan, where citrus blossom crosses the courtyard and saltwater pools face the San Jacinto Mountains. There are no televisions. Breakfast is served in the courtyard, films are projected on an exterior wall at night, and the whole place runs at the speed of a house party that has been going, gently, since 1924. The single most atmospheric address in Palm Springs.

Korakia PensionePalm Springs, United StatesSee the hotel →

Ace Hotel & Swim Club

A 1960s motor inn remade by Commune Design: 180 desert-road rooms with tent-like flaps opening onto the patio, and a large, irregular pool at the centre of everything. Livelier than the rest of this list — there is a DJ, and the pool is a scene rather than a sanctuary. Right for a group, wrong for a silent weekend.

Ace Hotel & Swim ClubPalm Springs, United StatesSee the hotel →

Casa Cody

A 1920s hideaway that reads as a private garden: thirty Spanish Revival studios, cottages and houses arranged around two pools and heavy downtown planting. Founded by Harriet Cody, a cousin of Buffalo Bill, it is the oldest operating hotel in Palm Springs. Adobe walls, bougainvillea, and a scale that means you will recognise everyone by the second morning.

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Les Cactus

A 1930s house with a pink facade, playful rooms in white and wood, and a pool deck painted to match, edged with loungers and umbrellas. Twenty-seven rooms, cheerful rather than reverent, and the best value on this list — the right choice if you would rather spend the money on dinner and a rental convertible.

Les CactusPalm Springs, United StatesSee the hotel →

Timing matters more here than anywhere: July and August routinely pass 43°C, and while the pools make that survivable, walking does not. October to May is the season, and February to April is the peak. Rent a car, drive the Palm Canyon Drive loop to see the Kaufmann House and the Frey House from the outside, and book dinner before you arrive — the good tables go weeks ahead.