Palm Springs has been a trip that was a long time comin'. Evan and I have friends that were supposed to get married in 2020 but obviously, that got moved. Therefore, I have been dreaming about Palm Springs and this wedding for a few years now. 
I knew every detail of the wedding was going to be impeccable so there was not a lot of planning that needed to take place on my part. The wedding was at the Parker in Palm Springs. A beautiful hotel located between cathedral city and palm springs downtown. The hotel was designed by Jonathon Adler and has the most eclectic furniture- lots of Knoll classics, mid-century modern pieces & bright colors. A dreamy hotel to say the least. The hotel grounds are awesome as well- two pools, a cute lemonade stand where guests can grab lunch and drinks, tennis courts, bocce ball, croquet, and more. In addition to the lemonade stand, the Parker has multiple spots for meals: Mister Parker, Counter Reformation (wine bar) and Normas. Mister Parker is the more formal dining restaurant of the two. Normas is half inside and half outside and serves both lunch & breakfast. Inside the hotel, there is a cute smaller bar as well that they call the "mini-bar", get it?

The first night in Palm Springs, Evan and I decided to stay at a different hotel, we stumbled upon Holiday House! What a win. This hotel was wonderful. Huge hotel rooms, a super sunny pool, walking distance to downtown, and amazing service. The food at the hotel was incredible. Breakfast was included in the stay. It is served buffet style. Lunch and dinner are a la carte and everything is served fresh! 

Resturant Reccomendations:
Melvyns: classic old-school steak house that has been around forever located in the Ingleside Hotel. Very classic old Hollywood spot. Not known for their food or service. Evan and I waited 15 minutes for someone to acknowledge us and the food was very overpriced and meh. However, the atmosphere was where it was at! Not to mention the piano bar with live music. In hindsight, I would do cocktails instead of dinner in the bar area. 
Mr. Lyons: Also a steakhouse like Melvyn's. However, the food and service were impeccable. All the food, first of all, sounded delicious and second what we ordered was delicious. They had a unique vegetarian dish on the menu as an entree. It was a whole zucchini squash topped with burrata and all kinds of delicious items. We had it to share before our meal. For mains (after a main), I had wagyu and Evan ordered steak as well. Both cooked perfectly. Post dinner or pre-dinner I recommend heading to the speakeasy behind the restaurant, it opens at 6 pm! We did not have a chance to go because we had the welcome cocktails portion of the wedding, but it is on my list for the next visit!
​Workshop Kitchen: farm-to-table style restaurant. This place has a super modern feel that is different than most other restaurants [that I saw] in palm springs. 
Truss & Twine: The sister restaurant to Workshop Kitchen. This is truly a cocktail bar but they do have a handful of food items that guests can order. The drink most ordered seemed to be the Game Changer- a gin-based savory cocktail. When Evan and I visited, they had a few delicious Mexican food items to order. We tried the tostada and aguachile ceviche dish, both were amazing. 
Mister Parker: see above, located in the Parker hotel. This spot is open to the public. It was closed when Evan and I visited. I can only comment on the design which obviously I give a 10/10. If you arent staying at the Parker, I would get a reservation at Mister Parker or Normas just to check out the hotel design. 
Normas: see above. Very large breakfast and lunch menu. Take the waiter's recommendations. I ate here twice and on the first day, I had a lobster and mango salad which was okay, and then on the second day I ordered the salmon, which was much better. Most guests seemed to be ordering off the "can't make this at home" section- french toast, pancakes you name it! They also had a section on the menu completely dedicated to benedicts.
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Hotel Reccomendations:
Holiday House- see recommendation above. 
The Parker - see description above. 
Kimpton Hotel The Rowan- great rooftop bar 
Ritz Carlton- gorgeous views, the ritz is located up on a mountain (more like hill) 
Avalon Hotel
Sparrows Lodge
Colony Palms Hotel
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Hikes:
Palm Canyon- stunning hikes of all difficulties. This requires a visitor fee to get in. Highly recommend visiting this park. 
Tramway- small nature trails up top, max walk is about 2 miles. To hike to the peak, be prepared with poles because there is shockingly snow up top. 
Museum Drive Hike- there is a hike that starts just behind the museum. Bring water and be prepared to see a lot of large lizards. 

On my future palm springs list of places and things to do:
Eat:
Lulu: really fun open concept restaurant. large menu catering to all diets.
French Miso Cafe: husband and wife resturant crafted after their heritage, the husband is from france and his wife is from japan. this spot serves both brunch, lunch and dinner.
Jakes: extensive cocktail list and traditional american menu right in the heart of downtown.
Farm: French style restuarant with a beautiful floral covered patio. 
Copleys: Evan and I kept walking by this spot, looks super great on the outside. Huge patio with american cuisine with tropical "flair" 
Birba
Il Corso
Cheekys: brunch spot highly reccomended by my friend whom planned her wedding in PS.
Colony Club aka Purple Palm: similary came highly reccommended by the bride. located in the colony palms hotel. 

Things to Do:
Palm Springs Art Musuem
Shopping at El Paseo
Big Bud Desert Shop: this store looked so cool! I hope to pop in next time
Joshua Tree- about an hour away with some great hikes!
Araby Trail hike
Home Tours of the midcentury modern designs- whether self guided or a scheduled tour i would love to see the architecture