We had been contemplating what to do for our anniversary, until we saw a special for the Ace Hotel & Swim Club offered by Jetsetter on Gilt. Both longtime Californians, she had been to Palm Springs once, and me, never. I wanted to tell the story of the weekend in photos, but I realized upon sitting down to compose this that I didn’t really take enough. (There are more pictures and a bit more about our stay at our wine blog: Swirl Smell Slurp.) Alas, a few words first.

Firstly, I had no idea PS was so close, one hour and forty-five minutes. We arrived well before check-in time at the Ace, so we decided to head to the Parker for an arrival drink and breakfast. The grounds at the Parker are fantastic, the decor retro-eclectic and chic and we need to go back and stay there soon. We sat on the patio and had mimosa’s and Bloody Mary’s and a pretty good breakfast. The highlight was hearing Giorgio Moroder’s version of Mah Na Mah Na. Kitschy, catchy and fun, the song became our PS theme and to me is the musical equivalent to the city.

After breakfast, we went to check-in at the Ace. Having read a few reviews on Yelp, I was a bit concerned about the service at the Ace. Despite (or perhaps because of) the bad reviews, the staff was friendly, laid-back, attentive and nice throughout our stay. The Ace was exactly what I had heard; loud, fun, hipster-ful, late-night, popular etc. This isn’t the place to go if you are looking to be in bed by 9:00. The pool opens at 6AM and doesn’t clode until 3AM. There are outdoor fireplaces, hammocks and loungers galore at the pool, it’s a place to be social and I appreciate it. Not everyone goes to a hotel to be asleep.

On Saturday we headed out to do some sight-seeing. As an architect, I was aware of the mid-century moderns of Palm Springs, but I had absolutely no idea that they are literally everywhere. The Alexander’s built 2200 houses and it was incredibly fun to drive around looking at them. I recommend stopping at the Visitor’s Center and buying a map. There are also guided tours, but I prefer to look at things at my own leisure; I don’t like being told I’m done looking.

Our welcoming drinks at the Parker.

The Ace Hotel and a beautiful view.

Room 219, our room. The Ace is a redesigned Howard Johnson’s.

The pool at the Ace.

Plugging the iPod into the MP3 jack to listen to Mah Na Mah Na. Again.

2 of the 7 Steel Houses designed by Donald Wexler and built by the Alexander’s.

The Kaufmann house (and their mailbox) designed by Neutra. 1 of 2 remaining Neutra’s in Palm Springs. One was demolished in 2002. Let’s not do that anymore.

Elvis’ Honeymoon Hideaway designed by William Krisel

Even some bizarre “Swiss Miss” houses.

Several shots of City Hall designed by Albert Frey (et al.)

Palm Springs Art Museum designed by E. Stewart Williams that has a very nice sculpture garden.

Spa Hotel and Bathhouse (now the Spa Resort Casino) designed by Cody, Wexler, Harrison and Koenig. Some things just break your heart. The images I saw of this place from it’s heyday were tremendous, now it’s just an ugly, gross old casino.

This is a very small slice of what we did and what we saw. For more about the Ace Hotel visit NotCot who happened to be just a few doors down from us while we were there. She has some great pictures of the hotel and especially of her room.