“A Youth Serum for Palm Springs,” proclaimed the New York Times in last Sunday’s June 17th edition. They went on to laud the newest hotel and restaurant arrivals in Palm Springs.
With the installation of trendy shops for art, clothing and antiques along with new hip restaurants, Palm Springs rolls out new enticements, especially in the Uptown Design District which has become a lively destination in the last few years. Then last summer, our Downtown welcomed the instantly successful restaurant Lulu to the corner of Palm Canyon and Amado, where the neighboring Zin, not to be outdone, reconfigured to create an inviting outdoor dining terrace, and the Kaiser Grill across the street joined in with its own makeover.
So this past Sunday when the Times pronounced South Palm Springs newly chic with the arrival of its new hotels and restaurants, it seems we’ve now gotten all our bases covered. The Ace Hotel moved into the former Howard Johnson a couple of years back, bringing a new vibrancy to the South End, and they do seem to keep perennially booked. The Ace offers lots of incentives for guests – a welcome policy for pets, taco parties by the pool, film festival parties and great concierge services. And next door, Koffi – long an institution in North Palm Springs, opened their second location, in a sparkling white building where they serve up the same great coffees and paninis. But that’s not all. The developers of the Ace Hotel cast their eyes on the drab green-painted Holiday Inn at the corner of Palm Canyon and Sunrise Way, a few blocks down. Now they’ve transformed it into a hip and vividly colored hotel that’s all the buzz and christened it The Saguaro. The Times called the Ace our “first hipster nightlife hub” and now the Ace’s creators have given us a second “hipster hub” with their opening of The Saguaro.
The Times goes on to list some little jewels of shops like Mr Cox, for vintage clothing, and also recommends our very newly opened restaurant, Jiao on N. Palm Canyon Drive in a corner of the Corridor Shops. The owners of Jiao had already opened their wildly popular Cheeky’s, and then Birba, just a few blocks up. In the new Jiao, they serve up their own twist on Asian fare, with the experience enhanced by their art installations and musical entertainment. It’s on my list!
Palm Springs once again has transformed herself into a chic weekend retreat, and for those of us who live here year round, it’s all good! See A Youth Serum for Palm Springs for details.