tatterdema

I stayed there on my last trip, and was pleasantly surprised at how clean and decent the rooms were. Location was a little noisy, but overall it is a bargain. Way cleaner and better kept than All Worlds or Inn Exile.

RobertTheTraveler

The Vagabond has been my PS motel of choice for the past couple years.

I used to stay at Canyon Club, but had a couple bad experiences there, circa 2013-2014. It was always pretty affordable ($89-109), and I was even given an upgrade on a couple visits. Yet, I thought CC was pretty poorly maintained, with a perpetually non-working sauna, a rather sketchy crowd often lurking in the parking lot and attempting to sneak in, dirty/stained towels/sheets, a poorly maintained outdoor "park", and dilapidated/rickety pool-patio furniture.

I could overlook a lot of those items, especially on busy weekends with a fun crowd, but I often found that the place was lightly booked.

I just stayed at the Vagabond PS last week and it was a great stay. The online "internet rate" (~$63) is typically on par with the now-pricey Motel6 properties, especially since you have to pay for internet at Motel6 ($59.99+$2wifi). Vagabond rooms are large, very clean, with fridge/microwave, strong wifi, complimentary USAToday in the lobby, and excellent 100+ channel digital cable.

The breakfast is rather bleak, though they do have a waffle maker. The pool is so-so. It's an older property, still has icky bedspreads and solid thick actual metal roomkeys, which do conveniently slip into your own keyring.

It does seem that the "daypass" business is down bigtime at many of the PS gay hotels. Maybe another victim of social media/hookup apps? Most of the properties are now $25 per day. And rarely worth it.

tatterdema

Have you tried Caliente Tropics instead of Vagabond? I have stayed at both, and Caliente Tropics is by far my favorite at the same price point. One of the best pools in the area.

RobertTheTraveler

Caliente Tropics is a decent property, though I haven't stayed there in awhile. I have found their prices to be $20-50 higher than Vagabond (especially with Vagabonds rockbottom internet rate). Rooms are huge, though I almost always had wifi issues there. CT went through a mini-upgrade a couple years ago and started to take some overflow hetero craziness from The Ace.

There are a handful of decent budget motels in that stretch of town. I had heard that attorney Mark Geragos' revamp of the Travelodge/Curve had opened in March ("V Palm Springs!"). Was shocked to see that only one building of the 3 (4?) is actually open and the remaining ones are still a shell. That Travelodge used to be my go-to cheepie alternative. Once it became the badly mismanaged "Curve", it sank and sank and sank -- bad enough to get the "i can't believe this place is in business" treatment on Hotel Impossible. I think they project rates to be in the $200+ range.

http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/...otel/76807040/
http://www.kesq.com/news/new-boutiqu...rings/38826906

The ex-Ramada Inn (ex-HolidayInnResort) now branded as Saguaro is just down the street and seems pretty successful. They have made an effort to keep marketing to the LGBT crowd, though I don't see as many events posted as when they launched a few years ago.

PS is just exploding with trendy boutique hotels. There seems to be an insatiable appetite among LA trendsetters to pop on out to the desert for the weekend and drop $300 a night.

itsaboutthejourney

Only fools pay $300/night (+$35/day resort fees).

Not exactly GLBT, but some great new smaller, slightly hipster, properties are ARRIVE, Sparrows Lodge and The Palm Springs Hotel.

The Riviera is now part of SPG's Tribute portfolio, with great deals to be had if you factor in the $35 resort fee.

The Triada (Marriott Autograph) seems to be realizing that they are not 'all that' and rates are coming down.

Friends of mine continue to stay at Caliente Tropics for the pool and Tiki ambience, but it seems Caliente Tropics can't keep a bar or restaurant concept open for more than a few months which leaves the front looking almost abandoned.

V looks like where the ACE will send its frat boy/d-bag rejects. I wish them luck with their crazy resort fee next to half torn down buildings.

The ACE and The Parker are still my favorites.

tatterdema

What I like the best about Caliente Tropics, is the pool area is open until 2 or 3 am. Stayed at Palm Mountain a while back, and the pool closed at some crazy time like 6pm.

I have only stayed at CT twice in the last 5 or 6 years when the bar and restaurant were open, but I see it has reopened now. That's not a deal killer for me, I just BMOB, and go out to eat.

Up until a few months ago you could book the Riviera on BA website with the resort fee included, but I see that is gone now.

I can't see paying more than about $50 a night for the V until they get finished with it. Will have to check it out while I am staying at the CT next month.

KenCT

I stay at Canyon Club every year for a week in December, and I can't say that I agree with Robert's assessment. The only public area I use are the pool and the hot tub, and I find them to be well maintained. The rooms? Well, it's an aging property, but I've not had an issue with cleanliness.

But the think I like best about CC is the fact that it's walkable to downtown and you can quite easily live without a rental car. It's on a shuttle bus route as well, and Uber is very convenient. Certainly not the Ritz, but you could do a lot worse for the price that you pay.

Vip4me

Anywhere really it's such a magical place. I've stayed at the Renaissance and loved it.

Morland

On a side note, anyone done Palm Springs for New Year? Will be there at the end of this year and not sure what to arrange. There's a big block party with a concert by the Village People, but not sure whether to give that a miss - I assume most of the bars like Hunters and Toucans will organise their own parties. Any thoughts?

DavidDTW

Watch the "Modern Family" rerun of their trip to Palm Springs for NYE?

tatterdema

I stayed at Warm Sands Villa's last month. It was nice enough, but I probably would not stay again. Sold out, but I saw only a couple of people for the entire 3 nights. Kind of weird. It would be fine for a couple that wanted very little interaction.

I just got an email promotion from them saying it was part of Auberge Resorts Collection. I wonder if it sold.

brooding

I will be there with my partner for NYE also.
Not sure what to expect, haven't been to PS before.

Dieuwer

I would like to know this as well, for a potential future NYE visit to PS.

Morland

I was in PS for this NYE and enjoyed it, although it was a bit low-key due to heavy rain on the evening itself.

We considered four main options (although I'm sure there are more):
- Dinner - most restos offer a special menu over midnight. There are also special menus earlier in the evening as most restos do two fixed sittings
- Block party - organised by one of the casinos. Village People were playing but we weren't sure to what extent it would be very gay as opposed to "look at the gays". Ultimately the weather killed this option (although the party did go ahead)
- Strippers Circus - big dance party in semi-derelict restaurant on the edge of town. We only heard about this when we got into town so the cheap tickets had gone and on-the-door tickets were $80. The gogos were hot, but the venue was not, and they were struggling with a leaky roof in several areas. This wasn't for us.
- Regular bar - Hunters had no cover and we got there at 11pm. The music was cheap, the drinks were cheap, the crowd was... well, cheap and we had a lot of fun.

chimark

Just stumbled across the GLBT forum - didn't know it was here. If anyone is looking for a nice small resort in PS, highly recommend the Desert Eclipse. We stayed there before we purchased a condo in PS (and have stayed there since as well when we had someone renting our place). Very nice amenities and decor - high end bedding, small private patios for each room, most rooms are suites. The clientele is quieter and very friendly - the owners are wonderful!