Palm Springs Travel Guide

/ / / / / /

Pan Am (Kinda) Flies Again at Palm Springs Modernism Week

February 19, 2013 at 5:39 PM | by | Comments (0)

"Air travel isn't like it used to be."

If you've ever uttered or even thought those words, then get your butt to Palm Springs this month to see what air travel used to be all about thanks to a large exhibition of archival pieces from Pan Am. This exclusive event is titled "Welcome Aboard: The Pan Am Experience" and will be on display through February 25 as part of Palm Springs' Modernism Week.

Collected by actor Phillip Keene, who worked as a Pan Am steward from 1987-1991, the bounty of vintage ephemera covers everything from Pan Am menus and uniforms to advertisements and luggage. It's really a chance to view the bits of iconic design that made up the legendary airline, and it doesn't matter if you've flown Pan Am in the past or not.

more ›

/ / /

How To Score Last Minute Tickets To The Palm Springs International Film Festival

January 2, 2013 at 3:05 PM | by | Comments (0)

The 2013 Palm Springs International Film Festival kicks off tomorrow at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The 11 day fest and will include over 200 films from 60 countries.

On Saturday, Jan. 5, Richard Gere and Naomi Watts will among those honored at the annual black tie awards gala. Other highlights of the fest will include a screening of Les Misérables with director Tom Hooper, who will receive the Sonny Bono Visionary Award, and a discussion with Alan Cumming about his latest movie, Any Day Now.

more ›

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

27 Solid Reasons Why Palm Springs is the Bomb Diggity

December 27, 2012 at 2:15 PM | by | Comments (0)

1. This is the airport.

Yes, it's partly open-air. Yes, one concourse is named for Sonny Bono. [Photo taken at PSP]

2. Sometimes the clouds look like UFOs

If there are clouds at all. [Photo taken at The Ace Hotel & Swim Club]

more ›

/ / / / / / / / / / /

Onboard Virgin America Flight 55, the First Non-Stop from New York to Palm Springs

December 26, 2012 at 5:20 PM | by | Comments (0)

Mood lighting? Check. Flight attendants with apple-red lips? Check. Complimentary round of champagne for all onboard? Check! Wait—what?!

Virgin America Flight 55 from New York-JFK to Palm Springs, CA on Saturday, December, 22 may have begun just like any other flight on the five-year-old airline, but that boozy toast meant there was something special. It was, in fact, the first ever commercial non-stop flight from the NYC area to Palm Springs, a route Virgin America will fly every Saturday through the winter to get all us city folk suffering from dark, slushy days into the sun and 70+ degrees of desert oasis paradise.

The non-stop flights begin at $145 one-way, so it was no surprise that VX 55 on the Saturday before Christmas was full up, even with a few pets along for the ride. And anywhere that touts $3.95 bottomless champagne with brunch, a Modernism Week, and the world's largest statue of Marilyn Monroe is definitely somewhere we too want to be.

more ›

/ / / / / /

Travel Contest Alert: Pack Your Posse Off to Palm Springs on Virgin America's New Non-stop

December 19, 2012 at 10:01 AM | by | Comments (0)

This time of the year is simply the best time of the year. Why? Because of seasonal routes, that's why! Airlines take advantage of the dreary winter weather to open up some exotic, fun-in-the-sun destinations for a limited time. There's always the Caribbean or Mexico, but the last couple years we've been kinda in love with the idea of the heading into the US desert for that needed dose of Vitamin Sunshine.

And, for the second year, Virgin America will the answer the prayers of SFers and NYers by jetting directly into Palm Springs Airport (PSP). Well, actually they already started the flights from San Francisco back in October. The big news right now is that they'll be launching the first non-stop flight from the New York area to Palm Springs this Saturday.

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

Modern Art Made of 'TSA Booty' Isn't What You Think It Is

June 11, 2012 at 4:09 PM | by | Comments (0)

Wikipedia tells us that the Palm Springs Air Museum is "a non-profit educational institution" whose mission "is to exhibit, educate and eternalize the role of the World War II combat aircraft and the role the pilots and American citizens had in winning the war."

This press release says that the Palm Springs Air Museum is now hosting a "new mixed-media installation" featuring modern art "created from items confiscated from carry-on bags at airports."

Those two things don't really seem to go together, and yet here we are. The exhibit on claimed "TSA booty"—homepage here, Facebook here, Twitter here—will run from October 17, 2012 thru May 31, 2013. The artist is Steve Maloney, who confesses that he's "fascinated by what possessions reveal about people." The exhibit's purpose is to "inspire conversation on how we travel today."

more ›

/ / / /

Driving California's Steep and Scenic Pines to Palms Highway

December 21, 2011 at 5:34 PM | by | Comment (1)

Tis the season to head for sunnier, warmer climes. For many this means the Caribbean and Mexico while for others, they're keeping it closer to home in Palm Springs, CA. Since we know many who'll head to the desert on Virgin America's new route to Palm Springs, we're thinking it's time to let you in on a few of our own personal favorite PS secrets.

This story will be in the first-person because...I have a confession. Actually, two.

1: I watch too much of the BBC's Top Gear. Typically I just fast-forward through the interviews and in-studio car talk to get the meat of the program, where Jeremy, James and Richard are off driving exotic, winding roads and stopping to have mugs of tea at shady petrol stations.

2: I don't drive that much at all anymore. Living in NYC negates the need for a car, and though I'll occasionally Zipcar to help a friend move apartments, my behind-the-wheel dalliances are mostly limited to long weekends of rental car release.

For these two very important reasons, sometimes an excellent, leisurely drive figures at the front of my vacation. I have had two mindblowing drives this year. First, on the TT racecourse on the Isle of Man (read all about that here), and, second, on the Pines to Palms Highway from Orange Country to Palm Springs, California.

more ›

/ / / / / / /

Architecture is Reason Enough to Hit Palm Springs

December 20, 2011 at 4:49 PM | by | Comments (0)

Tis the season to head for sunnier, warmer climes. For many this means the Caribbean and Mexico while for others, they're keeping it closer to home in Palm Springs, CA. Since we know many who'll head to the desert on Virgin America's new route to Palm Springs, we're thinking it's time to let you in on a few of our own personal favorite PS secrets.

When you're not guzzling all-you-can-drink champagne in Palm Springs, the thing to do is take in the sights. Just be totally sober before hopping behind the wheel, of course. There's no shortage of vistas in this desert valley surrounded by mountains and blue skies, and we confess that our favorite thing to do in Palm Springs is actually just leisurely cruise around.

Driving here (any time other than Coachella) is a breeze. The streets are wide and well maintenanced, traffic is extremely rare, and oftentimes the buildings that line that road are as photo-worthy as the natural scenery. There's just something about that midcentury modern look, and luckily it's something in which Palm Springs specializes.

more ›

/ / / / / /

Your First and Last Stop in Palm Springs Should Be Pinocchio's

Where: 134 E Tahquitz Canyon Way [map], Palm Springs, CA, United States, 92262
December 19, 2011 at 5:29 PM | by | Comment (1)

Tis the season to head for sunnier, warmer climes. For many this means the Caribbean and Mexico while for others, they're keeping it closer to home in Palm Springs, CA. Since we know many who'll head to the desert on Virgin America's new route to Palm Springs, we're thinking it's time to let you in on a few of our own personal favorite PS secrets.

There's nothing quite like driving into Palm Springs, or flying in for that matter. From every which way, the scenery is beyond stunning. This is truly a desert paradise, and a playground all the same. It's not too difficult to understand the way we feel about the city, if you watch the bodacious Ann-Margret do her thing from 0:55-1:45 in this scene from The Who's Tommy.

"Today it rains champagne," indeed, and nowhere more so than at Pinocchio's, a restaurant in "downtown" PS that specializes in monster brunches washed down with $3.95 bottomless champagne.

more ›

/ / / / /

How To Get Tickets To The Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala

November 29, 2011 at 12:53 PM | by | Comments (0)


How most of Palm Springs looks

This week the Palms Springs International Film Festival announced George Clooney will be the Chairman Award winner, for his work in The Descendents, during their 2012 festival which takes place between January 5-16, 2012.

Along with Clooney, Michelle Williams, whose role as Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn is generating some serious Oscar buzz, will also be honored with the Desert Palm Achievement Actress Award, while Glenn Close will receive the Career Achievement Award.

more ›

/ / / / /

Foreign Grocery Friday: Date Shakes a la Palm Springs

Where: 211 South Palm Canyon Drive [map], Palm Springs, CA, United States, 92262
May 13, 2011 at 1:22 PM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Did you know that 90% of America's dates are produced in the Coachella Valley? We didn't...until we visit Palm Springs, CA and indulged in one of the city's specialties: a Date Shake. It sounds weird at first, right? All great unique foods usually do (sound weird), but a date shake is both quenching in the 90+ heat of a late spring day in the desert and tasty enough to nearly fill you up. We highly recommend them, especially if you're as big a fan of bacon-wrapped dates as we are.

The Taste: The shakes, made of dates and vanilla ice cream, are mixed old-school style in metal tumblers. They don't come out frothy, but nicely creamy and chock full of the little date bits (which are lovely to bit onto for a teensy flavor burst). Because of the ice cream, the date isn't as intense as we had hoped it'd be; you get more date flavor from eating one of course, but the date shake is a great way for those who've maybe never tried date to get acquainted with its yumminess.

The one size is not too little and not too much; the shake isn't so rich that you'll get tired of drinking it halfway through, either. Basically, we loved it and would like another soon, please.

more ›

/ / / /

Join 25,000 Eager Foodies for June's Palm Springs Restaurant Week

May 24, 2010 at 11:30 AM | by | Comments (0)

Get ready to chow down in Palm Springs. More than 100 eateries will take part in Palm Springs Desert Resorts Restaurant Week from June 4 to 13.

Restaurants all over Coachella Valley, from Palm Springs to Indio, will offer special discounted prix fixe menus to diners. All you have to do is show up to the restaurant of your choice and bring an appetite. Though if you have your heart set on dining at certain spots, be sure to make a reservation, since last year 25,000 people ate out during the 10-day event.

more ›

Use of this Site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (effective 3/21/12) and Privacy Policy (effective 3/21/12). © Condé Nast. Your California Privacy Rights. All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.
Ad Choices