Palm Springs, a cute little city in the middle of a desert, has been on the top of my bucket list for the past two years. Even though it’s very close to Los Angeles, the fact that I don’t drive made it almost impossible for me to go there. Luckily this time it all fell into place.

We had a long weekend, a very nice car and a beautiful, new, hotel were awaiting us.

The drive from Los Angeles to Palm Springs took around three hours. If you’re not a long distance, road trip, type of person, I suggest making sure you have a long playlist of your favorite music and a cup of delicious coffee to keep you going.

When you first enter the city, you’re greeted with thousands of windmills! They look so charming with the blue skies and scenic mountains in the background. I bet they’re even better during sunset! If your timing is right, you will be amazed by what you see.

The best way to get a better view of the windmills and take some amazing photos is by taking Indian Canyon Road in North Palm Springs.

We actually ended up taking the photos on our way back to LA for a five-minute break. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to enjoy it the way that I wanted to because suddenly, a bee appeared out of nowhere and stung me on the belly! Ughh.

When I was planning this trip I checked out many hotels in Palm Springs and Palm Desert. In the end, La Serena Villas was the one which literally took my heart. The hotel is only two months old but is already rated #1 on Yelp and Booking.com. They’re usually fully booked every weekend!

      

On their website, you can look at all the rooms and choose whichever you like. We ended up booking Room #19,  which was the largest and costed $999/per night.

Funny story though… When we originally booked the room, the price was only $300/per night.  Three days later, we received an email stating our reservation got canceled! Long story short, there was a mistake on the website and the prices were all messed up. In the end, we got ahold of the hotel manager who was very empathetic and sincere, so she gave us a beautiful room with a fireplace and a hot tub in the back yard, swings in the front and a complimentary bottle of delicious Chardonnay! Honestly, this was perfect and just what I needed.

There are no words to describe how wonderful this place is. The hotel’s policy is no kids allowed, no random guests, no loud music and no phone calls by the pool. It makes your stay even that more relaxing.

The hotel area has a pool, spa, restaurant and a rooftop lounge. For breakfast, every room gets a basket of fresh fruit, juice and the best croissants I’ve ever tried! I don’t normally eat bread but the smell of the pastry was so yummy and tempting that I couldn’t resist.

For the next two days, we just chilled by the pool, went to the spa for a hot stone massage, ate and drank. What else could you ask for?

Although, I would like to add that it’s not that easy to find a good place to eat.  You have thousands of options, but searching through all of them took two hours just to find the best restaurants.

So to make it easier for you, here is a list of my top places that I found:

Gyoro-Gyoro Izakaya Japonaise

Sushi lovers, rejoice! This place could be your heaven. The food is great as well as the service. There is also a lot of space available so you don’t feel uncomfortable.  

I’m a fan of cold sake. My favorite is Gingo. It ‘s light, not too dry,  fruity and very smooth. Sashimi Carpaccio is always #1 on the list. Also, I never skip light seaweed salads, cucumber sunomono or something spicy like shishito peppers. The best part of the meal was the Black Miso Cod. Hats off to the chef! We give you lots of respect. Great job!

Peppers Thai and Pho VU

For Thai and Vietnamese food lovers. Both places are located in the heart of the city, so the fact that they were busy didn’t surprise us.  Vegetable Pho and Tom Yum with tofu are the perfect light meal for dinner.  

Farm

Cute breakfast and brunch restaurant. What can I say… Breakfast is all I need to start my day happily! Maybe a glass of mimosa too…

The Farm is a great place to imagine yourself in 1920’s France. The atmosphere, design, and music had a European charm. I’ve never been to Paris (or any other city in France) but what delicacy would you definitely want to eat there?

Crepes…. That would be crepes!

And that’s exactly what we got for dessert! When you go on vacation, you’re  allowed to cheat a little bit, right? 🙂

I spent the majority of my mini vacation at the hotel.  But if you don’t want to be like me, I suggest cruising around Palm Springs and Palm Desert and checking out the amazing houses and modern architecture. There’s also a lot of cool hiking trails and parks to visit.

In the end, I had an amazing time. The next time I come back, I promise myself to explore every part of this cute city and I highly recommend that you do the same!