8 February 6, 2022The Sunday Times
Travel USA special
their own booze, however,
and you’d be surprised how
popular you can become if
you turn up laden with the
fixings for a tasty negroni.
Exchanging stories with
new acquaintances adds to
the enjoyment of the trip.
Once Bill gets going there’s
no stopping him: the late
Sonny Bono, a long-time
resident and former mayor
of Palm Springs, was
responsible for easing out
the spring-break teenage
crowd in favour of a more
moneyed and genteel visitor;
another former mayor, Steve
Pougnet, is awaiting trial for
allegedly taking bungs from
property developers; and Ronfive-litre Ford Mustang
convertible. And our first
impressions, as we trundle
south on North Palm Canyon
Drive, are less than auspicious.
“It’s like an adobe version of
Bicester Village,” says my
wife, Jane. Many restaurants
are closed (it’s a Monday)
and only Lulu is busy with
brunchers.
As we turn off the main
drag, second impressions perk
us up. We’ve booked the Orbit
In — a 1957 apartment complex
transformed into a nine-room
time-warp hotel at the foot of
the San Jacinto Mountains —
and discover later why so
many have done the same.
In a word, “Orbitini” — every
day at 5pm your host (who
could be the owners,
Kevin and Jin, or front-
of-house manager Bill)
serves complimentary
cocktails, wine and
snacks at the
hotel’s poolside
bar. Its liquor
licence doesn’t
cover anything
stronger than
wine or saké, so
some creativity
goes into the
signature drink.
Guests are
welcome to bring
→Continued from page 7 Burkle, majority owner of the
Soho House group, has sunk
approximately £24 million
into a six-acre plot with seven
houses behind the Orbit In
— Soho House Palm Springs?
Don’t bet against it. For a
seemingly sleepy desert town,
there sure is a lot going on.
We visit in January, which
proves the ideal time, with
temperatures of about 23C.
Summer in Palm Springs can
be brutal; last year it was over
38C for 145 consecutive days.
The dry desert air, though,
has been kind to the domestic
architecture. In most cities
it’s usually public buildings
and churches that feature
on recommended itineraries;
in Palm Springs it’s homes
built in the Fifties and
Sixties that catch the eye —
Richard Neutra, Albert Frey,
the Alexander family, John
Lautner, William Krisel,
Donald Wexler and
E Stewart Williams
are the architect
names to know.
Houses are
usually single-
storey, designed
to stay cool and
reflect the
surrounding
terrain. Local
stone and swathes
of bright whites
SLIM AARONS, RON GALELLA, STEPHEN BRIDGER, WESTEND61/GETTY IMAGES; ALPHA STOCK/ALAMY