While in Paris watching “La Vie en Rose,” a stunning film revealing the life of Edith Piaf, the Parisian chanteuse, as portrayed by award winning French actress Marion Cotillard, I was surprised to see a scene that looked like one of those remote roads branching off Highway 62, leading to Joshua Tree National Park. After the requisite fact checking I learned that, indeed, there was a permit filed to film around Joshua Tree. This was further confirmed when Cotillard was honored with the “Break through Performance Award” presented to her at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on the opening night. Cotillard said she felt a connection to the desert after filming the scene, while driving back to Palm Springs. Her return to Palm Springs to accept the award was possibly her destiny. The magic of that moment is symbolic of what Palm Springs is all about: the legends, the glamour of vintage Hollywood, the hideaways and secrets the desert holds.
For 19 years Palm Springs has attracted an international flow of tourism thanks to the success of the film festival. Tourists have discovered a fascinating range of accommodations and attractions this progressive city has to offer, from the inimitable homemade corn tamales at Las Casuelas Terraza, a Palm Canyon Drive landmark restaurant opened in 1958, to the flamboyant Palm Springs Follies, where ageless “long-legged lovelies” dazzle the audience with their outrageously gorgeous costumes.
For those who appreciate 13 acres of desert landscape and 400-count Egyptian cotton sheets, the Parker is a custom-made resort hideaway. It’s a hint of New York, desert style; maybe that’s why they named their 16,500 square foot spa PSYC (an acronym for Palm Springs Yacht Club), although the nearest serious body of water able to float your boat is the rather desolate Salton Sea, about a 45 minute drive. (Beware an additional $30 “resort fee,” which covers 24 hour-gym access, free local calls, spa access, parking and WiFi, is charged per night.)
If you want to avoid resort fees, which seem to be proliferating on a global basis, consider the more user-friendly historic inns that abound here. Most are walking distance to the eclectic art galleries, consignment shops and specialty shops, like Café Chocolat (their selection of rarified chocolates, such as a Mayan-inspired truffe are sensational), scattered along Palm Canyon Drive.
For retro fans who appreciate mid-century architecture, the 16-room Del Marcos Hotel, designed in 1947 and recipient of the Palm Springs Modern Committee’s 2005 Design Preservation Award, is an authentic blast to the past. I heard it was on the Del Marcos’ terrace that Marion Cotillard/Edith Piaf was filmed in the scene where she is seen recovering from a nervous breakdown of sorts that she had suffered in Paris.
For mobster fans, the opening of the chic 56-room Colony Palms Hotel is home of the Purple Palm Restaurant, possibly named to recognize the role of Purple gang mobster Al Werthheimer. He built the hotel in 1936 and once operated a casino in the basement, the history books reveal.
And for those who want the feel of Hollywood without the traffic, there is the sleekly sexy Viceroy Palm Springs, named one of the “Hippest New Hotels” by Condé Nast Traveler and home of the Citron Restaurant.
Once you’ve decided where to stay, contact Elite Land Tours and have one of their Hummer H2s pick you up so you can explore Joshua Tree National Park first thing the next morning. Their eco-tours are rated the highest by the www.traveladvisor.com. They can custom design tours for groups and individuals and serve an impressive array of natural snacks and drinks along the way. Their latest tour, called Safari Trax, takes the intrepid to an 80-acre reserve that looks and feels like the Serengeti. Two golden Asian leopards greet guests as they leap upon the Hummer’s hoods. It’s all safely choreographed by Mark Farley, Elite’s CEO and an explorer extraordinaire who finds the drama desert inspiring.
And while in Palm Springs, check out the “Walk of Stars,” a tribute to those who have contributed to the legend and glamour of this charismatic city, from Elvis Presley to the 301st “Star” of Dick Van Patten. Coming up on Feb. 13 is a star for Buddy Greco and Lezlie Anders who operate a local nightclub, “Buddy Greco’s.” The Star “ceremonies” take place in downtown Palm Springs and are open to the public.
When you arrive in the desert, stop by The Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism Visitor’s Center on Tramway Road and Hwy. 111 for the latest buzz.
€ Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism: 760.778.8418;
www.palmsprings-org
€ Historic Inns of Palm Springs: www.smallhotelsofpalmsprings.com
€ The Parker Palm Springs: 760.770.5000; www.THEPARKERPALMSPRINGS.com
€ Elite Land Tours: 760.318.1200; www.EliteLandTours.com
€ Cafe Chocolat: 760.320.8889
€ Palm Springs Follies: 760.327.0225; www.PSFollies.com
€ Palm Springs Walk of Stars: 760.778.8418; www.palmspringswalkofstars.com
€ Palm Springs “art scene:” palmcanyondrive.org
Pamela Price is a contributor to www.forbestraveler.com