Our morning at Two Bunch Palms started curtly at 9am when we heard the lock turn on our cabin door, the entrance of hotel staff thwarted only by the metal security bolt and our unexpected nudity. Words tumbled reflexively, and totally unnecessarily, from our mouth: “We’re NOT ready!” The door shut soundly. A few minutes later, the sound of another lock opening. Scratching. Straight through the sliding glass door at the foot of our bed we could see the looming shadow of a gardener raking the patio. Given our state of exposure, an orgy would have passed unacknowledged. Privacy? For all the talk of noise privacy and resort etiquette, would a few warning knocks on the door be too much to ask?
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The Parker Palm Springs
There’s nothing more decadent than a weekday spent poolside with a lemonade (spiked, of course). Our travels pushed past the beat of the city to the desert pulse of the Starwood Le Meridien Resort, the Parker Palm Springs. We were immediately knocked senseless by the absolute relaxation that sinks into your skin as you pass through the tall orange doors. This is not your highly-stylized Viceroy or your hair flying, cork-popping Ace – the Parker Palm Springs is a resort after your superego. The property is immaculately maintained, and designed so fluidly that almost any path eventually leads to your destination, whether it’s the pool, spa, lemonade stand, or life-size chess game. Whether your mood is raucous or temperate, it’s a beautiful thing to never feel … Read More about The Parker Palm Springs
Let’s Take Palm Springs
We remember our first trip to Palm Springs in the summer with 110 degree temperatures and misters reviving us from uncontrolled stupor. "How does this work?" we thought. "It's taking a full college degree's worth of concentration to stay awake." It was only years later, after many lemonades and afternoons poolside, that we realized alertness is just one option here, along with deep sleep and a state in between so hypnotically relaxed that your body feels weightless.
What’s Happening In Palm Springs?
Sipping a lemonade poolside at the Viceroy is as decadent as our rock’n’roll gets these days, but it’s the good smothering of heat that has us in fits and keeps us coming back. Pool etiquette is such that you’re not supposed to take the lounge chair next to someone if others are available (as in the movie theater, or train) but sometimes the good sun/shade is just one side of the pool. We’re not known as the shrinking wallflower (as a particular incident on last week’s plane flight confirms). So etiquette be damned, we’re sitting in the shady lounge chair with the lovely umbrella. Another lemonade, please…