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Palm Springs is a pretty modest city that’s located relatively close to Los Angeles. It’s known for its favorable climate for most of the year, which makes it an ideal place for vacation goers.
If you’re one of these would-be visitors that aren’t quite sure about where to stay in Palm Springs, then our article might be able to give you a better idea.
Where to Stay in Palm Springs in 2023
It’s believed that the city came to be over 2,000 years ago. The Native Americans that used to inhabit the area made Palm Canyon their home throughout the winter months.
Apart from the less known, nearly ancient history, the city has plenty of natural beauty in the form of scenic mountain trails embellished by beautiful flora. However, there are also quite a lot of attractions in the city in the form of museums, galleries, bars, and mansions.
All in all, we’d say that it’s easy to find something that might interest you in the city and figure out where to stay in Palm Springs based on that.
The 5 Best Neighborhoods in Palm Springs
Palm Springs is actually a pretty small place, but it’s still divided into quite a few regions, so to make things easier, we went ahead and picked out the five best locations that you can visit.
- Downtown Palm Springs: Home to some of the most interesting museums in the city
- Uptown Palm Springs: A neighborhood known for its nightlife
- Historic Tennis Club: Plenty of shops and the famous Tahquitz Canyon
- Tahquitz River Estates: The closest thing to a center of the city that you’ll find
- Old Las Palmas: The Liberace house and Elvis’s hideaway
The Best Areas and Hotels in Palm Springs
Palm Springs has quite a few hotels that will fit anyone’s agenda. What’s more, you’re almost always guaranteed to find a room regardless of where you’re staying.
However, the more tourist-heavy locations that we go over will definitely have fewer available rooms, so it’s probably best to reserve a hotel ahead of time. As we go through the most notable areas around the city, we’ll also cover all of the best hotels that you can find.
It doesn’t matter if you like to spend your holidays in luxury or if you’d prefer not to break the bank on the rooms; we’ll suggest accommodations that are just right for your price range and preferences.
1. Downtown Palm Springs
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One of the most visited attractions in this part of town would probably have to be the Palm Springs Art Museum. Some of the most notable attractions are the works that were created by the likes of Edward Ruscha, Sam Francis, Mark di Suvero, and other notable artists.
While there are many different exhibits that you can check out, a lot of them have a theme: the desert. A lot of the works are based on the terrain that surrounds the city, as well as Native American culture.
The Architecture and Design Center is another location that you can visit that has plenty of interesting exhibits on contemporary design.
There are also plenty of tours that take you past the most interesting architectural feats from giants in the field. While it may not be as large as the other art centers that we’ve mentioned, this area is also the home to Nat Reed’s Art Gallery.
Despite the smaller size, this gallery has some particularly interesting exhibits, especially if you’re interested in artifacts and architecture from the mid-century modern era.
While there are also a lot of other attractions in this part of the city, the museums and art galleries are undoubtedly the biggest draws.
This is great news for history buffs and art aficionados. However, if you don’t have much of an interest in either history or art, then it would probably be a good idea to stay in another part of the city.
Things to Do
- The Palm Springs Art Museum is always a great spot for tourists, thanks to the plethora of beautiful paintings and sculptures, as well as the numerous other exhibits that it houses.
- Nat Reed’s Art Gallery only admits visitors that made a reservation ahead of time, but while this might be a slight inconvenience, the interesting attraction more than make up for it.
- The Architecture and Design Center is another interesting location that you can visit where you can see some interesting contemporary exhibits.
- Try to catch a show at the local theater, or maybe go to a bar that you like the look of and see if there are any live gigs scheduled for the night.
Where to Eat
- Blaze Pizza is the best place in the area where you can grab a slice of pizza.
- Il Corso has a nice feel to it and there’s a menu full of interesting dishes that you can try out.
- Riccio’s Steak & Seafood is a chic restaurant with a pretty diverse menu.
Downtown Palm Springs Budget Hotels
- Quality Inn Palm Springs Downtown comes with a cable TV and an AC unit in every room, as well as an outdoor swimming pool and an on-site fitness center.
- Palm Mountain Resort & Spa provides all of the guests with a coffee maker and a microwave in every room, on top of the outdoor swimming pool, and a full-service health and wellness center.
Downtown Palm Springs Mid-Range Hotels
- Hotel Zoso has a flat-screen cable TV and free wifi in every room, an outdoor swimming pool with a lounging area, and an on-site fitness center.
- Fleur Noire Hotel provides you with an AC unit and a flat-screen cable TV in every room, a garden and terrace where you can enjoy a drink, and free wifi throughout the property.
Downtown Palm Springs Luxury Hotels
- Hilton Palm Springs comes with a fully-equipped fitness center, a full spa, and a wellness center with plenty of massage and body treatment options, as well as an on-site restaurant and bar where you can enjoy a meal and a drink.
- The Colony Palms Hotel and Bungalows comes with an outside swimming pool that guests can use, an on-site restaurant with a pretty impressive menu, a full spa and wellness center that you can visit, and room service that comes to you.
2. Uptown Palm Springs
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Strictly speaking, Palm Springs doesn’t actually have a region on the map that’s labeled as “Uptown.” Instead, the area we’re talking about is directly above Downtown Palm Springs, and it encompasses two areas: The Movie Colony and Ruth Hardy Park.
This area of the city is known for having pretty much everything. The Ruth Hardy Park area is full of sports fields. This makes it the ideal destination for anyone that wants to stay active.
However, this area is also known for its non-standard architecture, as well as the famous Frank Sinatra Estate that you can visit.
As for the Movie Colony region, the main draw here would have to be the numerous nightclubs, cafes, and bars that are littered all over the place. You can easily find a cocktail lounge or a tiki bar and spend the entire night without a dull moment.
The biggest issue with the Uptown Palm Springs area as a whole is the fact that most of the places that you can visit around here are pretty expensive.
A large number of tourists means that the bars charge more per drink than most other places in the city. Even the sports fields that we mentioned might cost you a bit more than you’d assume.
Things to Do
- Find yourself a nice bar that you like the feel of and spend a night enjoying the live music and the drinks with your friends.
- Rent out one of the many basketball or tennis courts in this area and work up a sweat while you play a few games.
- Go to a bike or cart rental and travel through Palm Springs in style while admiring the post-modern architecture that you’ll see all around you.
Where to Eat
- Trio Restaurant is a great place to get a bite to eat, as well as a cocktail to go along with your meal.
- Sandfish Sushi & Whiskey is where you go if you’re in the mood for some Asian food and a stiff drink.
- John’s Restaurant is a simple place where you can grab some breakfast in the morning.
Uptown Palm Springs Budget Hotels
- Best Western Plus Las Brisas Hotel comes with a free parking spot that you can use, an outside swimming pool with a lounge area, and free wifi throughout the property.
- Adara Palm Springs has a massive 42-inch flat-screen cable TV and an AC unit in every room, and a pretty sizeable swimming pool as well.
Uptown Palm Springs Mid-Range Hotels
- Hyatt Palm Springs provides you with access to an in-house restaurant, a complimentary breakfast each morning, and a heated swimming pool and hot tub.
- Avalon Hotel and Bungalows Palm Springs comes with a full wellness center that’s always open and that you can take advantage of, as well as an in-house restaurant that has a menu full of West Coast cuisine.
Uptown Palm Springs Luxury Hotels
- Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel has an on-site restaurant that’s always open whenever you want to grab a bite to eat, a full fitness center that you can use, and even two swimming pools if you ever want to take a dip.
- Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs Hotel provides you with a front desk that’s always open for whatever you need, a flat-screen TV and an AC unit in every room, and an on-site fitness center that you can use.
3. Historic Tennis Club
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As the name might lead you to believe, the Historic Tennis Club region is one of the oldest areas of Palm Springs.
As befits a place that started out as nothing more than just a few narrow streets and a handful of hotels, this area has some of the most affordable and accommodating inns that you can find anywhere in the entirety of the city.
There are a few malls around this area, as well as some interesting shops. You can easily go on a shopping spree and be able to find shops where you can completely redesign your wardrobe.
Most notably, though, the Historic Tennis Club area sort of serves as the gateway to the Tahquitz Canyon. The Canyon provides plenty of hiking trails if you’d like to see the city from high up and get some fresh air.
You’ll also find some spectacular sights in the canyon, which include the Tahquitz Falls and the different wildlife and flora that have made this massive area their home.
The Historic Tennis Club is a great vacation spot for outdoor enthusiasts that want to spend as much time in nature as possible as well as shopaholics. However, there are very few restaurants, bars, or any other types of notable attractions that you might be interested in visiting.
Things to Do
- Take a walk through Tahquitz Canyon and check out all of the natural beauty that you can find in this area.
- Check out the local shops and malls if you want to try and find yourself a brand new wardrobe or if you simply want to see what all of the shops have on display.
- Take one of the guided tours that take you to some of the most scenic spots in the area while also teaching you a bit about the history of the city.
Where to Eat
- Kaiser Grille Palm Springs is a little bistro with a large menu of dishes that you can try.
- Melvyn’s Restaurant & Lounge is a pretty fancy restaurant that’s pretty costly but has some delicious dishes.
- Antigua is where you go if you want to sit down and have a drink with your friends.
Historic Tennis Club Budget Hotels
- Desert Hills comes with a hot tub that guests can use, a flat-screen TV and an AC unit in every room, and coffee and tea-making facilities in every room.
- The Three Fifty Hotel has free parking that every guest can use, an AC unit and free wifi in every room, and an outside swimming pool and a hot tub.
Historic Tennis Club Mid-Range Hotels
- Palm Mountain Resort & Spa comes with a pretty small room, but it still has a large flat-screen TV, an outside swimming pool that you can use, and a full on-site fitness center.
- Del Marcos Hotel provides you with a free breakfast each morning, a business center that they can take full advantage of, and concierge and massage services that come to your room.
Historic Tennis Club Luxury Hotels
- Ingleside Inn has an on-site restaurant where you can grab a bite to eat whenever you’re hungry, and all of the rooms come with a flat-screen TV and free wifi, as well as an outside swimming pool and a hot tub.
- Andalusian Court provides all of the guests with concierge services, free wifi throughout the property, a flat-screen cable TV and a coffee maker in every room, and even a free parking spot for everyone.
4. Tahquitz River Estates
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Tahquitz River Estates is mostly an “in-between area.” What we mean by this is that its main draw in terms of tourism is its proximity to other more interesting areas of the city.
While this might not sound all that important, it’s a real lifesaver if you’re a tourist and aren’t really sure which attractions in the city you want to see. The River Estates are close to most of the major tourist centers of the city, as well as most of the parks, nature exhibits, and golf courses.
This means that you’ll be able to go and take a walk in the Moorten Botanical Garden and have easy access to a nearby bar to have a drink — all that while still staying relatively close to your hotel.
Speaking of which, this area has quite a lot of great hotels as well. If you’re in the mood to stray a bit further from your room, you’ll also easily be able to find plenty of tour busses that organize daily excursions to the north of the city.
More specifically, to the Joshua Tree National Park and all of the hiking trails and natural beauty that it possesses. If you’re in this area, you might also be interested in paying a visit to the Palm Springs Air Museum, where you’ll be able to see plenty of interesting exhibits on aviation.
As you might have guessed, the only drawback of this area is that it doesn’t have any particular attractions of its own. It’s really only a great place to sleep and recharge before heading out for another day out on the town.
Read Next: Best Time to Visit Joshua Tree National Park
Things to Do
- Joshua Tree National Park is a pretty famous park in this area, and it takes in dozens of tourists per day that want to see the sights that it has to offer.
- The Palm Springs Air Museum is definitely a major draw to anyone that comes to the city and wants to see some old-school fighter planes.
- Visit the Moorten Botanical Garden, which was established all the way back in the 1930s and that’s the home of a lot of interesting cacti and flora of all shapes and sizes.
- Get on one of the many busses that go on daily excursions to the Joshua Tree National Park and take a guided tour of the place while enjoying the beauty of the park.
Where to Eat
- El Mirasol Cocina Mexicana is a great place to get some authentic Mexican cuisine.
- Bar Cecil has a great old-school bar sort of feel to it, and it’s a great place to grab a drink.
- Seymour’s is a great cocktail lounge where you can sit down and chat with your friends.
Tahquitz River Estates Budget Hotels
- Delos Reyes Palm Springs comes with a cable TV and free wifi in every room, as well as a coffee machine that you can use if you need a pick-me-up in the morning.
- Adara Palm Springs provides all of the guests with a room that has free WiFi and a 42-inch flat-screen cable TV, as well as an outdoor pool.
Tahquitz River Estates Mid-Range Hotels
- Hotel California offers all of the guests a complimentary continental breakfast every morning, a full kitchen equipped with a dishwasher and a microwave, and even laundry services and a business center.
- Desert Riviera Hotel comes with a flat-screen Tv and a DVD player in every room, as well as a microwave and a coffee maker in the kitchen area and free wifi throughout the property.
Tahquitz River Estates Luxury Hotels
- Santiago Resort provides all of the guests with a sizeable swimming pool that they can use, a room that comes with an AC unit and a flat-screen cable TV, and room service that’s always available.
- L’Horizon Resort & Spa has an on-site restaurant where you can grab some breakfast in the morning, a full spa and wellness center that you can take advantage of, and an outside swimming pool.
5. Old Las Palmas
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Old Las Palmas is probably the most diverse location in Palm Springs. What we mean by this is that there’s something for just about anyone. You’ll see plenty of cinemas, theaters, galleries, and even tiki bars.
If you go a bit to the north, you’ll find the famous North Palm Canyon Drive. This is a long strip of shopping malls, boutiques, and stores of all different shapes and sizes.
While the Historic Tennis District might have had a few shops as well, this area completely blows it out of the water. It’s such a popular destination that there are several tour busses that make their rounds for shopping-hungry tourists daily.
The Old Las Palmas region is also known for a few famous buildings as well. They’re not important to the history of the city and the people, and they don’t have any spectacularly distinct architecture either, but they do have a story.
One of these buildings is the Liberace House with its dazzlingly opulent interior, while another would be the Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway, which was used by Elvis and Priscilla Presley.
Old Las Palmas is right next to the uptown area of the city, which unfortunately also means that it shares its issues of everything costing a bit too much.
Things to Do
- Vampire’s Lair Escape Room is definitely a fun distraction where you can spend hours on end trying to figure out the puzzle that’ll let you out of the room.
- Go to the famous Liberace House and check out the luxurious decorations inside the home of the most flamboyant pianist in American history.
- North Palm Canyon Drive is the famous shopping district of the city, and it has all sorts of shops that you can peruse.
- Check out the Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway that’s in this area and see where The King and Priscilla Presley spent their honeymoon back in the day.
Where to Eat
- Truss & Twine is where you go if you want to have a nice drink at night.
- Bootlegger Tiki is the best place around to get a nice cold drink with an umbrella in it.
- Trio Restaurant is a nice cozy restaurant with a great selection of dishes.
Old Las Palmas Budget Hotels
- The Twist Palm Springs has a hot tub that you can use, a swimming pool, and a room that comes with a cable TV.
Old Las Palmas Mid-Range Hotels
- The Weekend Palm Springs provides you with a tea and coffee maker in every room, as well as a room that comes with a TV with cable channels and a patio.
- Skylark Hotel comes with free parking on the property, as well as free wifi throughout, as well as a heated outdoor swimming pool, and a hot tub that guests can use.
Old Las Palmas Luxury Hotels
- The Colony Palms Hotel and Bungalows has a full spa and wellness center with plenty of services that you can take advantage of, a swimming pool and hot tub that you can use, and an in-house restaurant.
- Triada Palm Springs comes with a swimming pool, a full fitness center, a complimentary breakfast each morning, as well as a room that comes with tea and coffee-making facilities, and a flat-screen cable TV.
So, Where Should You Stay in Palm Springs?
Palm Springs is a great city to visit, and there are plenty of attractions that you can visit. If you’ve read our article and still aren’t quite sure where you’d like to stay during your trip, there are a few things that you should keep in mind.
The Historic Tennis Club is the best place to stay if you want to see the full natural beauty of Palm Springs through the hiking trails that are nearby.
Upper Palm Springs is where you go if you want to try out the nightlife in the city and visit some fun bars. Tahquitz River Estates is essentially the center of the city and the best place to stay if you want to visit as many attractions as you possibly can. Happy travels!