Where to Stay in Palm Springs: Boutique Mid-Century Inns vs Downtown Hotels & Coachella Valley Resorts

Palm Springs has one of the highest concentrations of independent boutique courtyard hotels in the world, where instead of high-rise lift towers, you step out of your ground-floor sliding glass door directly onto a sun-lounger beside a heated saltwater pool framed by palm trees and Mount San Jacinto. Here is how to choose the right base.

1. Inside Palm Springs: Walkable Boutique Neighbourhoods

1. Downtown & The 'Historic Tennis Club' Neighbourhood (Best Overall for Walkability & Charm): tucked into a quiet pocket 1 to 3 blocks west of South Palm Canyon Drive at the foot of the mountain, walking distance from over 50 restaurants.
   • Full-Service Downtown Hotels: Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs (featuring the city's only rooftop pool and bar beside Forever Marilyn), Thompson Palm Springs, 1936 Spanish hideaway La Serena Villas, Avalon Hotel & Bungalows, and historic Ingleside Estate.
   • Intimate Boutique Inns (Many 21+ Adults-Only with Free Bikes): Holiday House (blue-and-white design with breakfast included), Korakia Pensione (a romantic Moroccan-Mediterranean retreat), Orbit In (1957 modernist gem), Del Marcos Hotel (1947 William Cody landmark), and Casa Cody (Palm Springs' oldest operating hotel, founded in the 1920s).
2. 'Uptown Design District' & 'Movie Colony' (Best for Hip Pool Scenes): Jonathan Adler-designed Parker Palm Springs, Arrive Palm Springs (in Uptown, with an adults-only pool), Colony Palms Hotel, or Triada Palm Springs.
3. Warm Sands & South Palm Springs (Relaxed Swim Clubs): 5 minutes south of downtown, home to Ace Hotel & Swim Club, colourful The Saguaro Palm Springs, Villa Royale, and value-friendly Caliente Tropics.

2. Family Mega-Resorts with Lazy Rivers (20 Mins East in Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage & La Quinta)

Because many Palm Springs boutique inns are 15-to-40-room adults-only retreats, families with children gravitate to the mega-resorts 20 to 25 minutes east down Highway 111 in the Coachella Valley: Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa (Rancho Mirage, with its 2-acre Splashtopia lazy river and waterslides), JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa (Palm Desert, launching boats from inside the lobby onto lagoons with pink flamingos), Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort (with its HyTides waterpark), or 1926 La Quinta Resort & Club.