Parker Palm Springs

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The Parker Palm Springs has lived many lives—most notably, as the private residence to the Western movie star Gene Autry (writer of “Here Comes Santa Claus”), who bought the property in 1961 and used it as a spring training base for his MLB team, the California Angels. In 2003, the New York real estate developer Jack Parker took over the estate, hiring designer Jonathan Adler—who was relatively unknown at that time—to bring his eccentric vision to life. Adler was given carte blanche to develop the hotel’s signature (and much-imitated) whimsical style. Adler wanted to create a hotel that captures its essence: groovy modern architecture meets Hollywood glamour and ‘crank it up a notch.’ Parker also hired the landscape designer Judy Kameon (who has created residential gardens for the likes of Sofia Coppola) to design the 13 acres of gardens and lush grounds, which feature a series of pools, tennis courts, and petanque and croquet lawns. The 144 rooms have swinging mid-century style with red lacquer front doors, 70s-style wall art, Moroccan textiles, and low-slung furniture. Twelve one-bedroom villas are scattered around the grounds, each with private enclosed patios, complimentary poolside cabanas, minibars, and a living room. The ultimate splurge is the two-bedroom Gene Autry Residence, with 2,200 square feet of living space along with a full kitchen, dry sauna, and a secret screening room hidden behind a vintage 1939 ‘Home on the Prairie’ (starring Gene Autry) movie poster. All accommodations are pet friendly. Days start with breakfast at open-air restaurant Norma’s, which serves crowd-pleasing dishes like crunchy French toast (breakfast is served all day) and vegan crabcakes. At night, guests can grab a drink at the low-lit Counter Reformation, serving wines by the glass (not found anywhere else in Palm Springs) and small plates like Portuguese-inspired fish cakes and cheese from Murray’s New York. The hottest table in town is mister parker’s (with a new old Hollywood vibe dining concept that was unveiled last year). There’s one seating per night (unhurried approach to dining), a jackets-required dress code, live piano entertainment, and gastronomic ingredients like grade 9 Wagyu beef (the highest grade) and Muscovy duck (not often found on menus). Hotel guests receive a pre-dinner amuse bouche straight to their rooms at 5 p.m.