Take your honeymoon planning as seriously as you did your wedding plans. The Greater Palm Springs area offers romantic retreats, bungalows, suites, and hideaways, from historic redesigned boutique hotels to elegant golf-and-tennis resorts. Check out this sampling of accommodations that guarantee “suite” nights to remember.
Palm Springs
Ace Hotel & Swim Club: Patio Room with Fireplace
The Ace offers retro-stylized rooms and suites for hipster couples who appreciate a minimalist aesthetic and vintage simplicity. Enjoy a crackling fire on your private patio lounge or chill out on the king bed and spin some old vinyl on the record player. A fully stocked mini bar, vintage furnishings, and bath amenities from Rudy’s Barbershop complete the mellow vibe at this former Howard Johnson hotel.
Colony Palms Hotel: Casitas
Dating back to 1936, the Spanish Colonial-style hotel lures newlyweds with romantic casitas. Each has a private patio with sun umbrellas, outdoor lounge bed, and bathtub for two with Jacuzzi jets. Upgrade to a junior suite to take advantage of a fireplace and claw-foot tub. Or, go all out grand in the Winner’s Circle suite with chandeliers, vaulted ceilings, wood floors, wet bar, private terrace, claw-foot bathtub, and four-poster bed.
The Horizon Hotel: The Residence
Among the low-key detached rooms at midcentury looker The Horizon Hotel, this one-bedroom home guarantees a chilled-out party for two. Huge walls of glass create a seamless indoor-outdoor experience. Enjoy views of the grounds and a private walled-in pool and patio. The living room showpiece is a semi-circular river rock fireplace. Sleep ‘til noon in the king platform bed then wake to panoramic mountain views. Shower indoors or out. Tip: For a less expensive option, the King Deluxe and King Premium rooms also feature an outdoor shower.
Korakia Pensione: Orchard House
The rooms and suites at the exotic Korakia Pensione suggest the romance of a rustic Mediterranean villa. But none in this compound of artist villas-turned-boutique hotel say honeymoon quite like the Orchard House. Draw a bath in the deep, hammered soaking tub, get comfy by one of two massive fireplaces, or prepare a feast in the full kitchen and dining room. The wraparound courtyard reveals another fireplace, plus a citrus grove and a stone Jacuzzi with a waterfall.
Michael Segal Weddings
Parker Palm Springs: Gene Autry Residence
The former two-bedroom, two-bathroom home of the singing cowboy is a large crash pad that swings you back to the 1960s. Gene’s place makes one groovy honeymoon hangout. Its private enclosed patio connects to your living room, dining room, terrace and kitchen. Scale down to one bedroom in a free-standing private villa with a marble bath, hanging chair, wet bar, and a patio nearly as large as the living room.
Riviera Palm Springs: Presidential Suite
This two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom layout with an impressive double-height dining area allows you to move from entertaining friends during wedding festivities to making merry on your own. Enjoy a private lanai with a hot tub and fire pit for starry nights, and the indoor gas fireplace and designer-style living room offers its own sultry merits. This revitalized Palm Springs hotel once hosted Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. and now draws a crowd for its daytime action and nightlife scene.
Courtesy Frederick Loewe Estate
Frederick Loewe Estate
The Russell House and other home rentals
Architect Albert Frey’s stunning midcentury gem sits high on a hilltop, inspiring awe in many wide-eyed honeymooners with its valley views, infinity pool, and modernist angles circa 1959. It’s one of many high-end hideouts available through luxury home-service company Beau Monde Villas.
San Giuliano Hotel: Fountain Hacienda
If you prefer a secluded post-wedding vacation, check into this spacious one-bedroom Cal-king suite that includes a sprawling private yard with a bubbling bronze fountain, shaded veranda, pair of sun loungers, and a Jacuzzi.
Candice Benjamin/Celebrations of Joy
Viceroy Palm Springs: Premium Courtyard Studios
Twice the size of this boutique hotel’s Regency Rooms — with the same clean, white interiors, and pops of Old Hollywood Regency decor in black and lemon yellow — Premium Courtyard Studios balance ample space with an approachable price point. Each features bathrobes and a mini bar, but some also include a sun patio or balcony, vaulted ceiling or fireplace. Catch the local scene at Citron restaurant and bar. Steeped in history as a 1930s inn, the grounds retain a relaxed retro feel that plays well against its modern design, care of Kelly Wearstler.
Other Desert Cities
El Morocco Inn & Spa: Sultan’s Playpens
Couples adore three fantasy-inspired bedchambers, such as “Sultan’s Playpen,” at this Desert Hot Springs gem. Enjoy a natural spring water swimming pool. Throw on a bathrobe to sneak a midnight dip in the 24-hour natural hot springs spa. Wake to another sunny day that starts with French press coffee and a healthy, help-yourself breakfast.
Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa: Penthouse Suites
Golfers are never far from the greens when they take in sweeping fairway views from the penthouse suite. The suites feature a neutral palette with modern flair and smart accents, from French doors opening into the bedroom and a large stone bathroom with deluxe soaking tub to seriously big TVs and a solar shade panel in the living room. Block the sun or open it up to a furnished balcony offering panoramic view of the resort and golf courses. On the outside, tennis, golf, spa experiences, and cabanas surrounding seven pools await.
La Quinta Resort & Club: Starlight and Hideaway Casitas
These enticing fireplace casitas are priced less than the resort’s suites and spa villas, yet offer plenty of romance for couples drawn to La Quinta Resort & Club for its golf and spa packages. Located on the second floor, Starlight Casitas boast exceptional views of the resort. Step out to breathtaking mountain vistas from the large private balcony, complete with deck furniture for stargazing or sunbathing. Down on the ground floor, Hideaway Casitas lead out to an enclosed private yard with a large sunken hot tub. Several restaurants, including incredible fine dining at Morgan’s, make it easy to settle in and stay a while.
Miramonte Resort & Spa: Villa Suites
The private, candle-lit entrance and terrace of the Villa Suites set the decadent tone for these generously sized accommodations. Honeymooners ready to relax appreciate the large flat-screen television, Bose stereo system, dining area, and marble bathroom with oversized spa tub and walk-in shower. Be sure to reserve a rose petal turndown, champagne breakfast in bed and a couple’s massage in the award-winning spa. Out your door, the Tuscan-inspired Indian Wells resort enchants with an intimate maze of bubbling fountains, piazzas, gardens, and Italian architecture, all overlooking three championship golf courses.