This eclectic great room at Kempa Villa in Palm Desert is part of the resort-style experience on a smaller scale.
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY KEMPA VILLA
One of the ways the pandemic has permanently altered travel is with the upsurge in the vacation rental market. The global vacation rental market size is expected to reach $113.9 billion by 2027, according to a report by Grand View Research.
In Greater Palm Springs, the region is seeing this boom in long-term and short-term rentals and offers more than 8,000 vacation rentals from a variety of local companies to help meet that demand including Acme House, Natural Retreats, Vacation Palm Springs by Vacasa, and more.
So what kind of experience are you looking for? Whether it’s a staycation or a visit to the desert, here are suggestions ranging from architectural lovers to comfort creatures.
Saltwater pool with mountain views at Kempa Villa.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY GREATER PALM SPRINGS CVB
Villa Sierra in Palm Springs is known for its pink door.
Luxury Living
For a vacation rental that will make jaws drop, Kempa Villa is not to be missed. This 9,000-square-foot, resort-style estate houses up to 14 guests and features an expansive villa, bungalow rooms and a casita. Kempa Villa even has the option to include waitstaff with the rental, so no guest has to lift a finger. From infinity pools to the tranquil “peace” pond, the estate fully embodies the zen of desert living. Another luxury option, Villa Sierra, which is known for its iconic and Instagrammable “pink door,” is a midcentury desert ranch with expansive public rooms of grand proportions and floor-to-ceiling windows that blur the boundary of inside and outside. The grandiose property features colorful décor paired with a 75-foot swimming pool, spa, outdoor shower, and art deco cabana for up to 10 people.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW CABRAL COURTESY ACME HOUSE CO.
The Sputnik House in Palm Springs is a fun and colorful adventure.
Design Centric
As a major design and art hub, Greater Palm Springs is known for its incredible mid-century modern interior design and architecture. The region hosts Modernism Week every year, which returns this October and highlights all of the area’s incredible design-centric properties. The Den, which is an Acme House rental property, was one of the featured houses during a former Modernism Week Home Tour.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTHEW ALLARD COURTESY OF ACME HOUSE CO.
The Den in Palm Springs has been a featured house for tours during Modernism Week.
This carefully restored mid-century four-bedroom pool home (circa 1959) features great architectural details, classic clean lines and stunning mountain views. For a property that’s out of this world, the Sputnik House is a Space Age vacation rental inspired by America’s mid-mod fascination with interplanetary travel. Sputnik is a fun and immersive concept house where iconic mid-century architecture and classic Palm Springs style meet pop culture of the 1950s and ‘60s. The property features themed sleeping quarters, atomic-age furnishings, travel posters from NASA and more.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY GREATER PALM SPRINGS CVB
The Twin Palms Estate features a piano-shaped pool and all kinds of reminders that Frank Sinatra lived here.
Celebrity Properties
Greater Palm Springs has long served as a hideaway for Hollywood’s biggest celebrities, as it provided a respite from city life and the paparazzi. Today, many of these former celebrity homes are available to the public to rent and live out their own Tinseltown fantasies.
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY MERV GRIFFIN ESTATE
The Merv Griffin estate in La Quinta.
One of the most iconic vacation rentals in all of Greater Palm Springs is the Frank Sinatra Twin Palms Estate, which features four bedrooms, a piano-shaped pool, and Sinatra’s original recording studio. Designed by E. Stewart Williams in 1947 for Sinatra and his first wife, the Twin Palms Estate boasts both mid-century style luxury and historical significance with modern amenities.
Additionally, visitors can also stay at legendary television host and business mogul Merv Griffin’s estate, which is a 13-bedroom property with a private lake, fruit orchards, cabanas, stables and more. Griffin, who owned the Beverly Hilton and several other posh hotels and resorts, modelled his estate partly after fashion designer Yves St. Laurent’s villa in Marrakech, bringing in various Morrocan design elements.
