When I got the opportunity to embark on a press trip to explore the “Two sides of the Desert,” I happily obliged. A 5 day getaway literally right when I decided to quit my full time job could not have come at a better time. I had my bags packed and outfits planned DAYSSS ahead of time. (so thirsty! lol)
Now I had been to Palm Springs many times before for many different occasions but I have to say, I have never seen, eaten, and experienced as much in all those trips as I did in this one. I feel like I can write a pretty decent travel guide to Palm Springs now…and I guess that’s what I’m kinda doing right…. now. (duh!)
Day 1
So day 1 we arrived in the desert to Hyatt Palm Springs. LA was SUPER gloomy that week adding more fuel to my butt to get out for a few days. Per usual, the weather in Palm Springs did not disappoint, it was beautifully sunny and HOT but not too hot. I’ve been there in August before and that is honestly a little unbearable, you don’t even want to go out until the sun sets. I think May is a great time to visit because the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Warm enough for the pool but not too hot that you don’t want to stay outside a while….now back to Day 1.
We were greeted by the lovely staff when we arrived and concierge graciously helped with our bags. I even got to bring Nina along (my little pooch). All Hyatts are dog friendly so this was an EXTRA bonus because boarding little Nina would have been a bit pricey (Why is boarding so pricey anyway? geez people!). Once we got settled we took a little tour of the place. I have been to this Hyatt before but it was nice to reintroduce myself and Danny had never been so I showed him around a little.
I snuck in a little pool time before we had to meet the rest of the gang at Hoodoo, one of the two hotel restaurants and bars. The bartender made me their specialty Moscow Mule which is my favorite drink ever but this one had some sort of orange liquor in it and it was SOOOOO good guys. When they said orange I was like “meh” but one sip and now I feel like I need to call them to ask exactly what crack was in that drink! I actually feel like I need one right about now, this second please sir can I have more? After meeting some of the staff at Hyatt and having light bites and drinks, we headed over to Seymour’s. How can I explain Seymours?(insert thinking emoji) aside from the cool mixology drinks, the dim lit atmosphere of the building that is over 10 years old, the stain glass windows, beaded handmade furniture, and original caricatures on the walls from the late and great days, I would have to say the coolest thing about Seymour’s is that it was literally open only 1.5 hours before we arrived. We basically were their very first customers ever so if you’ve been in Palm Springs before May I guarantee you’ve never been there and I highly recommend you go immediately.
Seymour’s is location in the entrance of the steakhouse, Mr. Lyons which is also a place I had never been before and honestly I wasn’t as excited for a steakhouse as Danny was when we go there but I after I ate I became a SERIOUS believer. I didn’t know Palm Springs had food this good and the passion of the employees and owner really shone through the food. I mean slap your mamma good! I had the surf and turf with the brussels sprouts, corn, and mash potato sides. The sides are literally just as good as the entrees and their seafood is amazing too if you are not a red meat eater. As if dinner wasn’t enough, we got the creme brûlée and beignets for dessert which literally topped of the night with a bang. OMG that food was so good I’m getting mad writing about it right now because I want some in my mouth… now.
After a day of traveling it was the perfect way to end the night.
Day 2
On the second day we had a jam packed schedule. We started off with room service– the cool thing about Hyatt Palm Springs room service is that you can leave your order on a menu they leave in your room that you hang outside your door. As long as it’s out there before 1 am, you just put on the menu what you want and what time you want them to come and voila, breakfast is served! I’m such a procrastinator in the morning, I wake up and sit on my phone for like an hour before I get up or decide to join civilization so this was perfect for me as it eliminated the burden burden of remembering to call room service in enough time in the morning, I hate rushing. Even though I do it…often.
The first thing we did after breakfast was go on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway: a 10-minute ride at the 2,643 ft. Valley Station and rise to the Mountain Station at 8,516 ft. There are over 50 miles of hiking trails and is usually 30-40 degrees cooler at the top. This was yet another thing I had no idea existed in Palm Springs. Now, I have been on a tram before up Whitsler Mountain in Vancouver which was about the same elevation and really scary because it was just two of us with our legs swinging above the mountains. I assure you the Palm Springs one is less scary and actually there are only two of it’s kind in the country. Not only does the tram raise you up the mountain but it actually spins slowly (kinda) the whole way up giving you a true 360 view. It’s crazy how it was so hot on the ground but elevated in the mountains it was way cooler. I definitely needed a jacket, which I brought, because I come prepared people!
After the tram ride we had more ridiculously good looking food (queue Zoolander) and good tasting! We had lunch at EIGHT4NINE back in downtown Palm Springs and at this point my food baby was REAL. I had worked out before the trip to be pool ready but that totally went out the window, it was too good to resist. I had the sourdough crusted sea bass which was excellento and I also dabbled in the appetizers which included chips and fresh made guac, asparagus, calamari, and much moreeeee.
I definitely needed to walk it off after that and good thing the hotel was only about a 10 minute walk. I love how walkable downtown Palm Springs is and how the Hyatt is right tin the center of it all. You literally have no reason to drive once you valet you car. You can walk most places and anything a little further out is a cheap Uber away.
After walking off the food baby and hanging out with Nina for a little bit, we went to a little happy hour at Las Casuelas Terraza, which was also walking distance from the hotel. If you want that hearty Mexican food, this is the place to go but I can recommend them more for their very LARGE margaritas in many different flavors. It was Cinco de Mayo after all so this was the perfect place to celebrate (Although I don’t know what everyone’s celebrating cause we do not do this holiday back where I’m from *shrugs*). I was still stuffed from lunch so I just had some ceviche and chips and guac. (and also maybe a bite or two of the quesadillas)
By the time we left the restaurant the Village Fest had begun which is a free outdoor street festival in the heart of downtown Palm Springs on Palm Canyon Drive, and right in front of Hyatt Palm Springs. You can browse more than 200 booths offering beautiful art, handcrafted items, and unique food. During Village Fest, Palm Springs Art Museum and the Architecture and Design Center are open for free until 8pm. And this happens every Thursday. I didn’t end up buying anything because the food coma ensued but I assure you they have really cool vendors there and live music! (And dogs with sunglasses—you’ll see in my video to follow)
Day 3
I had to cut Day 3 a little short because I had to drive back to LA for Melissa’s wedding. (3 hours in the rain! But that’s another story!) We had another room service morning, packed all our stuff up, checked out and met up with everyone for lunch at Rio Azul Mexican Bar & Grill. Now if you want a little bit more authentic Mexican food, THIS is the place to go. I am obsessed with crunchy taco shells and theirs were homemade to perfection. They also make the guac right at the table but we missed the making of it cause we were a little late! Ugh I’m so hungry now writing about all of this food. Also why do margaritas go so well with Mexican food, I just had to have one considering there were pitchers of it all over the table. It was the prefect addition to the feast.
Lunch was cut short as we rushed to our second destination, Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort and Spa which is “the other side of the desert.” Palm Springs was the hustle and bustle and event heavy trip while Indian Wells was more of a relaxing retreat thus giving us a two-sided experience. More on Indian Wells in my next post!
