Seven things not to miss on your sunny escape to Palm Springs

With some of the world’s hottest music festivals, from Coachella to Stagecoach, plus Desert X (read our 2025 review) for art installations across the valley with a backdrop of the San Jacinto Mountains, pro tennis matches, A-list movie premiers and historic midcentury modern home tours, spring is prime time for Angelenos to head out to Palm Springs for a weekend getaway. Whatever events you’re planning on catching at this modernist mecca and long-time haunt of Hollywood’s great and good, here’s where to stay, dine and shop in style.

What to see and do in Palm Springs, USA

Where to stay

Royal Sun Palm Springs

Inspired by desert modernism and old Hollywood charm, Royal Sun Palm Springs is a 66-room property that romances guests with its geometric-patterned flooring and plush velvet furniture in jewel tones. The social spaces include a poolside lounge perfect for sipping a prickly pear Palm Spritz with Luxardo Maraschino liqueur and prosecco. Meanwhile, dining at the High Moon bar and restaurant resembles a Wes Anderson film set experience with bright floral wallcoverings, red and white checked flooring, and turquoise blue bar stools. Here, the menu offers California cuisine with Latin influences, incorporating desert ingredients like nopales and bougainvillea. Order the famed Coachella Valley date parfait or the chef-crafted boards, which span artisan cheese and meats, seafood, and sweets from the ‘afterglow’ menu.

Royal Sun Palm Springs is located at 1700 S Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92264, United States; royalsunps.com

Terra Palm Springs

Offering a fresh approach to wellness and self-care, this 13-room boutique resort is an oasis for a total rejuvenation. With a central pool and bar area, the property is dotted with facilities such as cold plunge therapy, a tranquil rain room with soothing thunderstorm sounds, a Himalayan salt sauna, morning yoga sessions, group meditation, sound baths and Ayurvedic spa treatments. The guest rooms are outfitted with natural, organic materials such as concrete, wood, terracotta, and stone while featuring Parachute bedding, private patios, plunge pools, and fire pits. The spa suites hold soaking tubs and red light therapy. Look out for the HigherDose infrared PEMF mats and eco-conscious bath products from Le Labo.

Terra Palm Springs is located at 888 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262, United States; terrapalmsprings.com

Where to eat and drink

Alice B

Inspired by the extraordinary life of Alice B Toklas and her life partner Gertrude Stein, LA-based award-winning celebrity chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken are behind this American-Mediterranean restaurant. Highlights include cheddar biscuits, duck leg confit, and Dixon lamb and leek shepherd’s pie. To anchor the main dining room, designed by R2d Design with warm tones, artist Jo Hay painted the portraits of Alice and Gertrude. A rotating art gallery created by local female and LGBTQ+ artists is integrated into the space, along with a piano bar-lounge where you can order an excellent smash burger.

Alice B. is located at 1122 E Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs, CA 92262, United States; aliceb.com

Lost Property at The Skylark Hotel

This all-day bar and restaurant, helmed by LA chef Brandon Kida and bar owner Rhino Williams, has taken up residency at the Skylark Hotel, which was built in 1955 by renowned Palm Springs Architect Howard Lapham. Anchored by a sleek butcher-block bar top with amber-hued velvet high back stools and a Scandi-chic patio with concrete breeze blocks, expect coffee cocktails and the Breakfast Smash, scrumptiously filled with fennel sausage, sunny egg, and cheddar cheese on a Martin’s potato bun. The evening menu shifts to Maine lobster rolls, Maitake mushroom bao, and artisanal tin seafood with onion dip and potato chips, as well as vesper martinis.

Lost Property is located at The Skylark Hotel, 1466 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262, United States; theskylark.com

Bar Cecil

At this venue inspired by bon vivant Cecil Beaton, pull up a powder-blue leather wingback tufted barstool (where walk-ins are welcome) and order a martini with Beluga vodka, paired with a deviled egg topped with Regiis Ova Caviar by Chef Thomas Keller. Original illustrations of Grace Coddington and Diana Vreeland by New York-based Chilean artist Manuel Santelices adorn the walls, with new watercolours in the dining room, bar, and at the front desk. Even after four years, reservations for a table to dine on colossal shrimp cocktails and wagyu tomahawk steaks are still several weeks out. Luckily, the team is opening Beaton’s – a chic salon with a patio, cocktails and bites while you wait.

Bar Cecil is located at 1555 S Palm Canyon Dr UNIT F, Palm Springs, CA 92264, United States; barcecil.com

Where to shop

H3K Home+Design

For interior designs that pop with all the colours of the rainbow, this downtown furniture showroom, also in Palm Desert, has been celebrated for its high-profile projects, including the public showcase of homes during Palm Springs Modernism Week. Among the vast space, you will find a wide range of midcentury modern-inspired gems, from classic Eames and Hans Wegner ‘Papa Bear’ chairs and tulip tables to customisable furniture by MCM, and accessories and gifts – even for your dog.

H3K Home+Design is located at 501 S Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92264, United States; h3khomeanddesign.com

The Webster

Palm Springs is a treasure trove for vintage shopping, but for the latest vacation-inspired fashions, this cool North American chain holds every top designer from Balenciaga to Thom Browne, and jewellery by Anita Ko. The 1970s revival property was designed by French-born Stéphane Parmentier, who took inspiration from Brazil’s geometric architecture, and the entrance holds two seating areas paying tribute to Brazilian designer Oscar Niemeyer, and a pink cloud ceiling, a nod to the brand’s trademark hue.

The Webster is located at 850 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262, United States; thewebster.com