Tall, twin outrageous orange doors welcome visitors to the latest outpost of desert chic in Palm Springs. As a suntanned man in a hot pink jacket ushers you inside the Parker Palm Springs, a new luxury hotel, it's clear that change is afoot.
The once-formal Merv Griffin Givenchy Resort and Spa has been transformed into an upbeat distillation of "the admirably immoderate essence of Palm Springs," its decorator, Jonathan Adler, says. That means lawn hammocks, spangled pillows, leopard upholstery, zebra rugs, Adler's pottery and bamboo chairs that swing beside a sparkling fire pit.
Palm Springs, that desert oasis, that Hollywood hideaway, that tired and abandoned retirees' retreat, is busily burnishing its past and reinventing its future as a glamorous-again getaway. The main target? The young, the sophisticated, the discriminating upscale visitor with taste and money in equal measure.
Yet the retirees and snowbirds who loyally filled the condos during Palm Springs' downturn in the 1980s and early '90s are still there.
They are old enough to remember when the Rat Pack and its imitators sipped martinis and crooned in nightclubs. Now that same easygoing lifestyle is appealing to other generations who find ironic comfort in lounging by the pool, crowding into a piano bar and visiting quirky little hotels with vintage kitchenettes.
As one of nine cities in the Coachella Valley, about 130 miles east of Los Angeles, Palm Springs finds itself at a tricky crossroads. It's hard to inject cutting-edge ideas in a city long gone gray (40% of its residents are senior citizens). Palm Springs must sell the attractions of the entire region while also luring new visitors to stay within its city limits. It must not alienate the retirees, ignore the growing gay and lesbian population, overlook full-time residents or out-price budget-minded newcomers such as families and young singles.
"There's one thing that we're hyper-aware of," says Jeff Hocker, director of communications for the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism. "There are 22 million people in Southern California. We can go after people in other cities, but we are a backdoor community for L.A. and San Diego. We need to maintain a level of hip and coolness to keep that audience."
Just over half of the city's visitors are from Southern California.
Five stars?
Meanwhile, the city is trying to bridge a perception gap.
