6 Stylish New Hotels in Coachella Valley

The reinvention of downtown Palm Springs continues with the newly minted Kimpton Rowan, a boutique sleep that made headlines last November when it debuted the area’s first-ever rooftop pool. The 153 light-filled guest rooms are each an updated take on Palm Springs’ mid-century heyday—think geometric patterned headboards and rugs, angular furniture, and floor-to-ceiling window views of the San Jacinto Mountains. At 4 Saints restaurant, dig into Mediterranean-style small plates like rabbit ragu cavatelli with morels or French white asparagus with sea trout and grapefruit—but leave enough time to enjoy drinks at the poolside High Bar, best timed when the sun sets over Coachella Valley.

Despite its central location, La Serena Villas could not feel more secluded. Just 18 standalone bungalow villas come with their own kitchenettes and outdoor patio retrofitted with fire pits and romantic claw-foot tubs that overlook the San Jacinto mountains. Interiors are an explosion of colors and patterns—African baskets, Moroccan tiles, a.k.a. the kind of décor interior photographers drool over. You’re also within spitting distance of Palm Canyon Drive—the main drag of restaurants, shops, and sites—though you could just as easily spend your days on property, dining at the poolside restaurant or indulging in massages and body wraps at the spa.

RELATED: The Coolest Things to Do in Palm Springs

Martyn Lawrence Bullard, interior designer to the stars, was tapped for the top-to-toe redo of the first boutique hotel in Indian Wells—and boy did he deliver. His maximalist aesthetic comes through spectacularly in each of the 49 rooms and suites, which are decked out with Morocco-meets-the-midcentury accents like jewel-toned fabrics, gilt mirrors, berber rugs, and—our favorite addition—impressive wet bars stocked with vintage stemware. Downstairs, destination restaurant Pink Cabana serves up a global menu spotlighting California produce with a French, Moroccan, and Mediterranean twist courtesy of star chef Jason Niederkorn—though it’s the poolside snack and sandwich menu you might be ordering from most (from the comfort of your date tree-shaded, black-and-white-striped cabana, of course).

The first new-build hotel to hit Palm Springs in years also shelves the area’s expected mid-century design aesthetic for something much fresher. Along with 150 rooms (kitted out with Carrera marble, modern art, and barn doors leading to oversize bathrooms), there’s a 50s-era Airstream trailer (one of the property’s nine suites), retro lawn games like cornhole and mini golf in the backyard, a rotating art gallery in the lobby, and a seven-room spa. Yes, you’ll still find your cabana-lined pool (you’re in the desert, after all) and local artwork lining the walls, as well as a new chef-driven American restaurant and bar, AC3, serving up California-style dishes and craft cocktails and beers.

RELATED: Where to Stay (and What to Wear) in Palm Springs

New owners Jeff Brock and Richard Crisman (the same minds behind Sparrows Lodge) have breathed new life into Hubert Burns’ once beloved but since dilapidated Chase Hotel—a 28-room bolt-hole with gorgeous midcentury bones but tired interiors. In the redubbed Holiday House, rooms are now cheery and bright with blue-and-white rugs and bedspreads, walnut backsplashes, and rattan furniture, and the lobby is its own kind of marvel with travertine floors and artwork by the likes of David Hockney and Roy Lichtenstein. The color scheme continues in the outdoor patio, where navy striped sectionals sit beside a shuffleboard court, as well as the library, whose sofa upholstery is the same fabric that covers the walls.

Once upon a time, Hollywood’s biggest celebrities—Ava Gardner, Frank Sinatra, Howard Hughes, Zsa Zsa Gabor—checked into Spanish-style Ingleside Inn and dined at Melvyn’s Restaurant, a show business haunt overseen by owner Mel Haber. Over the years, much of the 1920s splendor surrounding this 30-room hideaway faded away, but this year introduced a new chapter into the life of the historic landmark. The restaurant was returned to its original form—a fresh coat of paint here, reupholstered furniture there, a completely restored bar—and guest rooms are no longer tired-looking but revitalized with custom-made headboards, Spanish-style rugs, and new period light fixtures. A fire pit now warms guests poolside, while a roaming bar cart does something similar room-side. Some things, however, did not change one bit: the lobby still has its own throwback candy bar (Werther’s, anyone?) and steak Diane is still the entrée to order at Melvyn’s.