maria_so

Hi all,

Ok, apologies but I've been so confused. I've not been to either of the above place so I got really confused with what I read in Fodors and in the threads.

We are mid 30's, no kids. Love galleries and restaurants and outdoors. Will be getting at either Palm Springs or Palm Desert (depends on your recommendations) on Friday evening, Nov 9 and staying only 1 night. The plan is to have nice walk up and down somewhere fun with galleries and bars and great restaurants. Have a nice dinner and ? (input recommendation here too). Then in the morning, grab a nice breakfast and head out to Joshua Tree and do a mini hike (say around 4 miles). Then come back to town and grab a nice late lunch with some great wine (or beer) and walk around to check out some galleries then head back to Anaheim.

So, which would you recommend? Palm Springs or Palm Desert? I've heard that Palm Springs is easier to walk around in? In any case, can you also recommend which hotel? Our price range will be $100-$150/$160. It would be great if hot breakfast was included but we don't eat much and can handle grabbing a muffin on the way out to JT. I think it's more important that it's a nice place (I love those spanish villa ones I've seen but pricey or the ultra modern ones) and that we can just walk out the door of the lodgings and be in the midst or in very short and safe walking distance to it.

Again apologies for the confusion. Your recommendations have always been very valuable to me and would love to once again hear from you regarding this very same post.

Also recommend a nice restaurant (something in the range of $80/person with wine is good. A bit more ok but food and wine selection to be excellent.

Many many thanks!

trippinkpj

Good day to pick! It's my birthday, LOL. Anyway, I'd choose Palm Springs and the Best Western Las Brisas. I haven't had a nice dinner there in a while so I'll let others give suggestions.

ellen_griswold

Agree with trippin.
As i said on the other thread, the Best Western LaBrisas is an easy 2-4 minute walk to the main shopping street.
A hot breakfast with made to order omlets is also included in the rate.

maria_so

Advanced Happy Birthday! Thanks Trippinkpj and ellen! I just checked and they're running at $179 - still an option but are there any other suggestions that would make it slightly cheaper? We'll be in anaheim for a whole week - he'll be in a conference so we will get the money back but it'll be an expense anyway so trying to keep the costs down.

maria_so

Also, in Palm Springs, what road is the "main drag" where all the restaurants/pubs, and galleries are? Is it Palm Canyon Drive (E, S, W, N)? or is it Indian Canyon Drive. I'm looking through hotels and want to know which roads not to look at...

kellyhayes

The Best Western, in my opinion, is really going to be one of the few nice places that can be in your price range. The more luxury hotels start to climb in price that time of year.

Barbara5353

Palm Springs is much more fun and atmospheric than Palm Desert. There are many charming, small inns in the old Tennis Club area, just a block or two from Palm Canyon Drive. Two of my favorites are the Chase Hotel and Old Ranch Inn. Try these websites:
www.chasehotelpalmsprings.com
www.oldranchinn.com
For dinner, we love the Kaiser Grille. It has both inside and outside dining.
Can you change and arrange to arrive on a Thursday? There's a great street fair downtown on Thursday evenings.

jbass

Embassy Suites-Palm Desert says rate for 11/9 = $152.15. I'm in the minority here who likes Palm Desert. El Paseo Drive; albeit $$expensive is fun to walk-lots of shops; restaurants; galleries, etc. Randy's for breakfast is a must-great food and Randy is a hoot. Saturday and Sunday there is a fun street market at College of the Desert in Palm Desert-very handy. The location of the Embassy makes it very accessible to Palm Springs; Indian Wells; La Quinta, etc. Have fun.

Birdie

4 miles in Joshua Tree will not be a mini hike. A lot of the hikes there have a very steep elevation so even a 2 mile hike can take you 3 hours. Make sure you bring a lot of water.

maria_so

Thanks Barbara5353. I wish I could change it to Thursday but the flights are set to arrive LAX on Friday. Thanks for the links. I will check them out.

JBass, Thanks for that. I'm still considering Palm Desert but the majority seems to say Palm Springs would be a better one for first timers and it is sounding like it.

Birdie, good to know! I hope there are some nice 2 mile hikes then.... I went to the NPS website and they say for having a single day, they recommend just doing a car tour. Not sure we can stay in the car. We like to hike!

maria_so

Also, the few that I have called, besides applauding me for my very advanced planning has said there's a minimum of a 2 night stay for a weekend for that time of year. Suzie, I called peppertreee and the kind man made an exception for me! Still looking to see what's around though. The room I reserved in my price range seems to be smaller than others I've seen.

Birdie

Maria_so - I'll try to remember which one we did. It was switchbacks up to the top of one of those fantastic rock piles. It was a day trip for us out of Palm Springs. We loved the hike but did not expect the difficulty. Others on the trail were clearly not prepared. We were in our 40's and only moderately experienced hikers.

happytrailstoyou

They Hyatt has a great location and would be ideal for one night.

We stayed at the BW a few years ago and gagged on the dirtiest carpet we have seen anywhere (including India).

mlgb

The Coachella Valley Preserve has easy day hikes and no entry fee.

Barker Dam is an easy 1 mile loop at Joshua Tree and more or less level. Ryan Mountain is the scarier hike with some switchbacks, but still a moderate hike.

As I mentioned before, the Peppertree is quite a bit north out of the main drag of Palm Springs and even if Suzie didn't want to admit it, is a bit sketchier if you're walking around late at night.

Thirty somethings are probably going to prefer Palm Springs, but I like PD.

You're in a holiday weekend, I'm guessing (Veterans Day). Normally November isn't that busy.

maria_so

Thanks Birdie, that would be great. We're moderate hikers but love a challenge. We did Angel's Landing in Zion, an elevation of about 1500ft in about 3 1/2 hours with stops.

mlgb, thanks for those tips. I'll keep looking for better deals. Can you recommend a hotel closer to where it would be better/safer?

mlgb

See if any of the following in PS will let to go for one night:

Desert Hills Hotel
Chase

If not, the Best Western Las Brisas has a good location. You want "S. Palm Canyon" not "N. Palm Canyon."

redsoxgal

Hello, for a nice dinner I like Spencer's, right up against the mountain - it has a lovely patio. There's also the restaurant at the Parker Palm Springs - very trendy and fun and the food is good. The Viceroy is nice for a drink but I was unimpressed with the food. Have a nice trip.