Couples Escape to Fun!

Palm Springs for Couples

By Barbara Beckley

Sparkling pools! Trendy patio dining! Activities as big as all outdoors! Blue skies and starry nights! Palm Springs is made for couples. So grab your bestie, leave your cares at home, and revel in the good life that only Palm Springs can deliver.

In a mere two hours from LA, you’ll find yourselves in another world – sipping cocktails by a fabulous pool — with nothing to do but decide where you’ll wine and dine and what activities, if any, to enjoy.

The Perfect Palm Springs Places for Couples

Not too small. Not too big. Just right – with expansive pool areas, patios and grounds. Palm Springs ultra-chic inns – arguably the largest collection of any resort city – and hip hotels, make it easy to find the perfect accommodation.

If you’re mid-century modern minded relax in the architecture of the masters: William F. Cody designed L’Horizon Resort & Spa on three acres of sweeping lawns dotted with luxe, private bungalows; a wide-open pool area and breezy indoor-outdoor cabana spa with private outdoor showers. And the 28-room Holiday House, designed by Herbert W. Burns in 1951, features a large pool, airy decks and free bicycles for guests.

Or share the Spanish Revival movie star vibe at the Triada Palm Springs (where Liz Taylor and Lana Turner stayed), with two pools, a rooftop deck and 2^nd-story suites with private terraces; the Villa Royale, sporting three pools and patios across three-and-a-half garden acres; and the historic Ingleside Inn, a two-acre, hedged estate with a big pool and lush lawns.

For a classic – yet expansive – hotel experience, chill at the high-rise Kimpton Rowan Hoteland its 7^th floor open-air rooftop pool; the tiki-inspired Caliente Tropics’ enormous pool – Palm Springs’ largest at 100,000 gallons of refreshing water – and sprawling lawns with palapa-topped cabanas under swaying palms, and the Saguaro Palm Springs, featuring an Olympic-sized pool, pool bar breakfast, lunch and happy hours, breezy cabanas with dedicated servers, wide-open patio dining and a private balcony or patio on every room. So many great Palm Springs spaces for couples to choose.

First Night Stand for Couples

Make like a local and leave the pool just long enough for cocktails and a light bite at one of Palm Springs friendly eateries. Share a pre-dinner Scorpion Bowl tiki drink on the upstairs patio of the Tonga Hut Restaurant and Tiki Bar overlooking South Palm Canyon Drive. Then continue along the avenue for fresh-air sidewalk dining. Perhaps at Lulu California Bistro or Trio Restaurant both serving solid American fare. Or the Blue Coyote Grill for Mexican.

Take Two for Couples

Wake up refreshed. Ready for a day of fun and exploration. Or sleep in and luxuriate poolside.

If you’re exploration minded – learn about Palm Springs’ star-studded mid-century architecture from the local expert-owners of Palm Springs Mod Squad.

Even better – pedal together through Palm Springs’ scenic neighborhoods on a tandem bicycle-built-for-two from Bike Palm Springs Rentals and Tours. Take an inspiring morning hike on one of the nearby trails into the scenic Indian Canyons and experience North America’s only true palm oases. Or ooh and aah at the sweeping valley views from one of the paths that conveniently zig-zag from downtown up the San Jacinto Mountain foothills.

Are you golfers? Tee off at Palm Springs’ award-winning Escena Golf Club, an 18-hole Nicklaus Design course. Don’t miss the “19^th hole” at the glamorous Escena Lounge & Grill for a delicious bloody mary and outdoor dining with incomparable views.

Another thought. Share the thrill of riding nearly three miles straight up the mountainside in the world’s largest rotating tram car on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. You’ll have each other to prove how spectacular the views are from atop Mount San Jacinto.

Stop at the Bouschet wine shop for a bottle of bubbly on the way back to your hotel. Then hit the pool. Pop the cork. And toast to the fun you’re having together. And the good times you’ll have when you return!

As the sun sets, celebrate your togetherness at one of Palm Springs’ fine dining award winners. For French, Le Vallerius serves the best, on a Euro-like patio under a canopy of illuminated trees. At Copley’s on Palm Canyon, nationally acclaimed owner-chef Andrew Copley creates American fare with a twist in movie star Cary Grant’s former estate. And Azucar, in La Serena Villas, immerses you in Mexican Boho chic, with cocktails and appetizers at Sugar

High, its airy rooftop deck, followed by modern contemporary cuisine in the outside patio dining room.

Couples Double Time       

Have breakfast at outdoor Cheeky’s. Everyone does — for the creative breakfast dishes and “World Famous (gourmet five-slice) Bacon Flight,” which you might want to share. Then work off the calories with a stroll downtown to discover the incredible array of boutiques and galleries.

Like the movie stars, artists have long been attracted to Palm Springs. So if you’re an artistic twosome – peruse the galleries. Stewart Galleries is like an art museum with works by eminent American impressionist, modernist and plein air painters, plus European and South American notables. Fusion Art, and The Art of Nat Reed are among other top-notch contemporary galleries.

Just Fabulous will have you smiling ear-to-ear over its trendy cards, gifts, books and accessories. Don’t miss Destination PSP. It’s loaded with stylish, unique Palm Springs-themed housewares and gift items you can’t get anywhere else.

Before you know, it’s cocktail/dinner time again! Have drinks on the outdoor patio at the Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar & Store – you’re in the neighborhood already. Or wine tasting at the V Wine Lounge. Or under the trees at the Eight4Nine Restaurant & Lounge. Or over the best fish ever – in the rag-tag-fun ambiance of Fisherman’s Market & Grill or adjacent Shanghai Red’s Bar & Grill.