November 8, 2009 in Travel

Vintage vacation

Once a playground for the rich and famous, Palm Springs has become a retro hot spot of good deals
Carol Pucci The Seattle Times
 
The Spokesman-Review photo

Below: A bronze statue of singer and former Palm Springs mayor Sonny Bono sits on Mercado Plaza in the historic downtown. A bronze star bearing his name is one of 200 embedded in the sidewalks along Palm Canyon Drive.
(Full-size photo)(All photos)

If you go

Palm Springs

Getting there: Palm Springs is 110 miles southeast of Los Angeles in Southern California’s Coachella Valley.

Getting around: Much of what there is to see and do in Palm Springs and the surrounding desert cities can be covered on foot, by bike or bus. There’s bus info at SunLine Transit (760-343-3451, www.sunline.org). Big Wheel Tours rents bikes starting at $30 per day (760-802-2236, www.bwbtours.com).

Lodging: For discounted hotel rates, see www.palmsprings.com and the “hot deals” page at www.palm-springs.org, the tourism bureau’s Web site. Three suggestions:

•The Ace Hotel and Swim Club, 701 E. Palm Canyon Drive, 180 rooms. October-December rates for simple doubles start at $99 weekdays, $149 weekends, plus a $20-per-night resort fee. January-March rates start at $150 weekdays, $199 weekends. (760-325-9900, www.acehotel.com/palmsprings)

•The Coral Sands Inn, 210 W. Stevens. Seven themed rooms (think Roy Rogers and Liberace), some with kitchens. Kidney-shaped pool. Winter rates: $139-$175. (866-820-8302, www.coralsandspalmsprings.com)

•Palm Springs Travel Lodge, 333 E. Palm Canyon Drive, 160 rooms. A few blocks from the Ace, this is a great value, especially for families. Newly renovated rooms. Two pools. Breakfast included. Rates vary according to the date, but a search on the Web site showed rooms available for as low as $48 November midweek and $75-$90 for December and January dates. (760-327-1211, www.palmcanyonhotel.com)

More information: See www.palm-springs.org or call the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism at (800) 927-7256. Suggestions for viewing architecture, day trips, dining, etc., at www.bestofps.com.

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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – Ruby Montana steers her VW convertible past the former homes of Liberace, Dinah Shore and Sammy Davis Jr., and I start to panic.

The idea of doing California’s Palm Springs on a budget seems a bit like traveling to the French Riviera in search of a Motel 6.

“There’s money here,” she told me earlier as we lunched at Tyler’s, a walk-up burger palace in a converted bus depot. And it’s not all coming from Southern California.

Montana, 62, sold her cowgirl-inspired Pinto Pony boutique in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood nine years ago. She now owns the seven-room Coral Sands Inn in the elegant Las Palmas neighborhood.

The desert city’s appeal can be summed up in three words, she says: “Sun. No bugs.”

Add retro architecture, miles of hiking trails, hot-springs resorts and vintage shopping and it’s easy to see why a new group of 20- and 30-somethings, young families and gay couples have adopted Palm Springs,

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