Our Visit to The Parker Palm Springs

Our Visit to The Parker Palm Springs

We couldn’t resist squeezing one night in Palm Springs into our already super short Southern California vacation. Seeing The Parker (or Le Parker Meridien Palm Springs if you want to be fancy) has been on my wish list, because I had heard so much about how amazingly gorgeous it is, so I was really excited when I realized I could book a night with points. Yay for free! Yay for amazing! (They even called in advance to confirm that they would have a crib ready for us, which I really appreciated.)

The Parker was designed by Jonathan Adler, who is famous for his quirky mid-century-inspired pottery and pillows and just about everything else fabulous (and expensive) you could want for your home. The hotel itself originally opened in 1959 as a Holiday Inn (can you even believe it?), later becoming a couple of totally over-the-top resorts for the rich and famous. And it kind of still is that — but luckily they now accept SPG points! (This article about the Parker and Palm Springs in general is fascinating if you’re at all interested.)

A snapped a few (too many) photos with my phone while we were at the hotel, so let’s go on a little tour, ok?

The lobby is made up of a bunch of different seating areas, which is pretty brilliant for a hotel. And of course each separate area is fabulously styled. This shot above is pretty much what you see when you walk through the enormous orange doors to enter. Oh, and there’s a suit of armor on the left, not pictured. Because, why not?

I wish these pictures were better to do the place justice.

These doors! Velvet and brass and turquoise and good.

At the back of the lobby there’s a lounge area that’s pretty much what every ’70s den wishes it had been. It’s kind of like grandma’s house, but just like way, way better. Like if your grandma were the best decorator ever. There are four of five different seating areas in here, each with a unique feel that’s also really cohesive with the overall effect of the room and the hotel as a whole. It’s so loungey and squishy and phenomenal and makes me want a) wood paneling and b) a firepit in the middle of the room (Andy said no when I asked. Apparently we “already have a fireplace.” Boring.).

I mean, LOOK AT THIS!!!!!

I love this wall sculpture that separates this area from the front desk, and the bright turquoise planters that are throughout the property.

To get to our room, we had to walk outside to a different building. They give you a map and it’s confusing and you will get lost because you can’t see anything and that’s totally ok because it’s all gorgeous (except when you’re carrying a baby in her car seat and it’s 103 degrees and the baby feels like she weighs about 78 pounds). But anyway, you walk through these AMAZING paths surrounded by a crazy jungle, and you really, really don’t feel like you’re in the desert, and it’s really, really good.

Oh and there’s a croquet court. Of course there is.

I really honestly thought that our room would be boring. Before we checked in I told Andy that I bet it’ll be a step up from a normal hotel, but probably nothing that special, especially since we technically weren’t even paying for our room. I figured they probably spent all their money and time designing the public spaces and the fancy rooms and left the basic rooms to be, well, basic… Spoiler: I was wrong.

Unfortunately I didn’t get many tolerable photos of the room, but take my word for it: it was not boring. Even our basic room was really nice, with tons of space, great details, and grasscloth on the ceiling that made me want to put grasscloth on every ceiling ever.

And then there’s the bathroom. Two words: pink marble! Eek! The floor and counter were all in this totally over-the-top pink marble with these totally over-the-top faucets. Holy crap. It’s so good.

To me the whole place is straddling the line of almost being TOO MUCH, but yet with just enough restraint that it’s JUST PERFECT for what it is meant to be. I think in my pictures, out of context, it kind of feels like too much, but when you’re there, in that town of all towns, it’s exactly perfect. It’s not the crisp, clean midcentury that Andy and I lean towards, and I’m not about to go out and redo our bathroom in pink marble (um, probably), but The Parker is totally glam and totally fabulous and I totally am in love. Also I need to figure out how to put a fire pit in the middle of our living room..

What do you think?