Avalon Hotel & Bungalows

A 1958 Movie Colony hotel in Palm Springs — 70 rooms across the main hotel and detached bungalows, with three pools and Kelly Wearstler-designed interiors. The Avalon is the design-set's pick for the Movie Colony neighborhood, distinct from the Korakia Pensione's Moorish compound and the larger resort hotels south of downtown.

The Movie Colony is the residential neighborhood north of downtown Palm Springs where Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, and Frank Sinatra had their winter homes. The hotel's bones are 1950s; the renovation took the mid-century vocabulary and applied Wearstler's specific design language.

The setting

The hotel sits at 415 South Belardo Road in Palm Springs's Movie Colony / Tennis Club neighborhood, three blocks from downtown Palm Springs and walking distance to the Plaza Theatre, Workshop Kitchen + Bar, and the Saturday Plaza farmers' market in season. The San Jacinto Mountains rise immediately west. Aerial Tramway up Mount San Jacinto is 10 minutes north.

The drive in from LA is two hours via I-10; from San Diego, two and a half. PSP airport is 10 minutes north.

The building

A 1958 Movie Colony hotel — single-story exterior-corridor wings around three pool courtyards and a central lawn. Materials are concrete, glass, and timber on the original bones; Wearstler's renovation layered the velvet, brass, and saturated colors that became her signature. The aesthetic is committed mid-century-revisited, more designed than restored.

Part of the Avalon Hotels group (a small group of 3 properties including this one and Beverly Hills). Operationally runs as a single property.

The rooms

Seventy rooms across the main hotel and detached bungalows. From around $425. Layouts include kings, queens, and bungalows with private patios and (in some) private pool access. Bathrooms are tiled and modern; furniture is the Wearstler-design program. The bungalows are larger and quieter; main-hotel rooms face the courtyards and pools.

Food & drink

Chi Chi is the on-property restaurant — California-Italian-leaning, dinner most nights, plus breakfast and lunch. Open to non-guests. The poolside bar runs cocktails through the day. The bungalow dining and pool service is part of the bungalow-rate program.

On the property

A real boutique-resort amenity stack:

• Three outdoor pools
• Spa
• Chi Chi restaurant and poolside bar
• Concierge for Aerial Tramway, Joshua Tree, and design-tour reservations
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Couples doing a Palm Springs design-and-pool weekend
• Repeat Palm Springs visitors who want full mid-century commitment
• Architecture and design folks reading "Kelly Wearstler" as a feature
• Anniversary trips with the bungalow-program experience

Who it's not for

• Families with young kids (the hotel is adult-oriented, not adults-only)
• Travelers wanting a small intimate stay — at 70 rooms this runs as a hotel
• Light-amenity guests on the lower end of the Palm Springs market

Nearby

Downtown Palm Springs — the Plaza Theatre, Workshop Kitchen + Bar, the Saturday Plaza market — is three blocks. Indian Canyons (the Andreas Canyon trailhead) is 10 minutes south. The Aerial Tramway up Mount San Jacinto is 10 minutes north. Moorten Botanical Garden — the Cactarium, a Palm Springs original — is 10 minutes south. The Palm Springs Air Museum is 10 minutes east. Joshua Tree National Park's south entrance is an hour east. Salton Sea and Salvation Mountain are 90 minutes east.