The Parker Palm Springs

The Parker Palm Springs is Jonathan Adler's design tour-de-force — 144 rooms on thirteen acres of the original Holiday Inn (1959) reimagined into one of the most photographed hotels in the American West. Velvet, brass, citrus-printed wallpaper, croquet on the lawn, peacocks roaming the grounds. Mister Parker's restaurant inside the main building. Norma's for breakfast (more iconic than it has any right to be). The whole property runs on the bohemian-theatrical-meets-Hollywood-regency register that Adler has spent two decades refining.

The Parker is the kind of property where the interior decisions are the experience. People come for the room, the lobby, the lawn, and the Mister Parker's bar. The pool and the spa are well-executed, but they're not the draw.

The setting

In Palm Springs, on East Palm Canyon Drive, on the south side of the city. The drive into downtown Palm Springs (Palm Canyon Drive's restaurant strip, the Palm Springs Art Museum) is ten minutes. The Aerial Tram up Mount San Jacinto is fifteen. Joshua Tree National Park's south entrance is forty-five minutes east.

Palm Springs Airport (PSP) is fifteen minutes away. From LA, the drive is two hours.

The building

The original 1959 hotel structure, redesigned in stages from 2004 onward by Jonathan Adler — the building underneath remains; the interior and grounds have been transformed. The aesthetic is a saturated bohemian-meets-Hollywood-regency mix: velvet upholstery, brass and patterned tile, citrus and peacock prints, vintage mid-century furniture. The thirteen-acre property holds the lawn (with the croquet program), three pools, the spa, and tennis courts.

Adler's design point of view runs through every public space. It's a coherent property in the way that comparable design hotels often aren't.

The rooms

A hundred and forty-four rooms in standard, deluxe, and suite categories. Rates from around $595 in shoulder up through the Gene Autry Residence (the larger property within the property, a two-bedroom estate with private grounds) in peak. Beds are kings, linens are heavy, bathrooms are updated to a high standard. The aesthetic — color-saturated, layered, considered — runs all the way through the rooms.

Food & drink

Mister Parker's is the on-site fine-dining room — contemporary American in a deeply atmospheric space. Norma's is the all-day breakfast room (the menu's "$1,000 Frrrozen Hot Chocolate" is a gimmick that became iconic; the regular menu is excellent). Lemonade Stand is the casual poolside option. All three are open to non-guests by reservation.

On the property

The full design-property amenity stack.

• Three swimming pools
• Spa with full menu (the Palm Springs Yacht Club)
• Two tennis courts
• Croquet lawn, pétanque, peacocks (yes, real peacocks roam the property)
• Three restaurants
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Design-set travelers who'd choose the Parker on the room photographs alone
• Couples on a Palm Springs weekend who want the design anchor
• Photographers and editorial travelers — the property is highly photographed for a reason
• Repeat Palm Springs visitors who've cycled through the smaller Adler-influenced boutiques

Who it's not for

• Travelers who want a quiet, design-restrained property
• Families with very young children — the pace and the design don't align with toddler reality
• Anyone uncomfortable with the saturation level of the aesthetic

Nearby

Downtown Palm Springs (Palm Canyon Drive, the Palm Springs Art Museum, VillageFest on Thursday evenings) is ten minutes by car. The Palm Springs Aerial Tram up Mount San Jacinto is fifteen — the ride climbs from the desert floor to alpine forest in ten minutes. The mid-century-modern home tours through the city's residential neighborhoods are a Palm Springs ritual. Drive forty-five minutes east for Joshua Tree National Park's south entrance. Drive longer for the Salton Sea and Salvation Mountain.