Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Palm Springs: The Colony Palms Hotel + Cheeky's



I'm finally posting about the mini-vacation J and I took to Palm Springs last month.  It was only my second time in the desert town, and I have to admit I wasn't the biggest fan before this last trip.  My sister and I decided to make our maiden voyage to Palm Springs last August, and although I was aware that it gets really hot I wasn't prepared for the blistering desert heat.  Don't know what I'm talking about?  Preheat your oven to 500, wait 30 minutes, then open the door and stick your head in it.  There- you've just experienced Palm Springs in summer.  Awesome, right?  NOT!




Luckily, Palm Springs in December is mild, warm and beautiful.  The skies were crystal clear and made a stunning backdrop to the purple mountains peering grandly over the small town.  As J and I drove past the giant, white windmills I started to get excited about seeing the hotel we'd chose: The Colony Palms.  We'd never been before, and the photos on the website looked nice, but you know how it is- sometimes a tall, dark and handsome doctor online could be 5'5 with stringy grayish brown hair who occasionally volunteers to brush dogs' teeth at the local animal shelter and thus fancies himself a member of the medical community.  Not that I'm speaking from personal experience- I've had a lot of girlfriends who've had bad luck with online dating!  Anyway, I'm the kind of person who researches restaurants and hotels to the point of exhaustion and was hopeful that the Colony Palms would be all that it seemed to be online.


We arrived and parked in front of the Spanish-style hotel and discovered that it was one of those places that makes you take a step back, drink in all of the beauty and then start jumping up and down and clapping your hands in excitement like a little kid.  It was so gorgeously landscaped, with fruit trees lining the stone walkways and a long, immaculate pool taking center stage in the courtyard.  We were upgraded to a junior suite (woot!) which had a luscious king-sized bed, an incredible bar stocked with half-bottles of some very good spirits, a vast selection of both salty and sweet snacks, a claw foot tub and a shower large enough to hold at least seven people (for those of you who are into shower parties).  Needless to say, it was the handsome doctor and we were thrilled!



J and I spent most of the evening taking in the beauty of the hotel, sitting by the pool, sharing a bottle of rosé, soaking in the large, flower shaped jacuzzi and doing what you're supposed to do on vacation: RELAXING!  We lounged around in our bathrobes, watched a little bit of TV, took long showers and had great conversations with some of the wonderful hotel staff.  I feel relaxed just writing about it!  I've stayed at many hotels in my lifetime, and I'd have to say that The Colony Palms is probably one of my top three favorites of all time.  I literally fell head-over-heels for its charm and beauty, and I can't wait to go back.


For breakfast, we went to Cheeky's, a place my sister and I discovered on our first trip.  Just take a look at this menu- can you decide what you would order?!


A local favorite, Cheeky's serves up freshly prepared, creative and delicious breakfast and lunch in a casual atmosphere.  J ordered the Scrambled Eggs with Asparagus, toast and the infamous Bacon Flight: one slice each of jalapeno, sweet & spicy, smokehouse, cinnamon and hickory bacon.  We especially loved the jalapeno bacon.



I ordered the Breakfast Quesadilla with Bacon, Green Onions, Avocado and Tillamook Cheddar.  I got it with egg whites to save at least a few calories (hey, a girl's gotta try!).  It's exactly what I ordered on my first trip and it was so delicious, I had to get it again.


Cheeky's also makes good iced coffee (as in NOT hot coffee poured over ice!) and it comes in a cute glass:


We enjoyed breakfast at Cheeky's so much, we went back for lunch a few hours later before hitting the road.

Between the awesome food, gorgeous hotel, wonderful service at both places and breathtaking mountain views, J and I had one of the best getaways ever.  We haven't stopped talking about it since, so I think another trip to Palm Springs/Colony Palms/Cheeky's can't be too far around the corner!  The beauty of Palm Springs is that it's such an easy, 90-minute drive; there's no jet lag to deal with or time changes to worry about.  You may actually come back from the vacation feeling refreshed which, as odd as it may seem, is rare.  How many of you have taken an amazing European vacation only to need more time off afterward to recover from the vacation itself?  Trust me, I love a long, overseas vacation more than anything but for once it was nice to just chill out and come home reaping the benefits of the time off.


Do you have any Palm Springs favorites?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What>?! Was all that alcohol coplimentary as part of the room?

Anne said...

Eleana: I wish! It's their version of the "mini-bar" but there is nothing mini about it. The prices were actually VERY reasonable, so you won't break the bank busting open one or two bottles. SOOO much better than the Lilliputian bottles you get in most hotels, right?

Hotel In Suvarnabhumi Airport said...

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29 Palms Hotel said...

Hello,

The site is about Palm springs, it gives good iced coffee to visitors, the swimming pole is very big and comfortable. Most of the rooms have views of the loch or hills and all are scattered with antique pieces and prints. Thanks a lot.