I’m sitting in the leather armchair in the corner of our room at the Arrive Hotel in Palm Springs, clinging to the last hour or so of the three days I will have been here. I’m two days past a major tweak of my back, suffered just after waking on our first morning here. Right now, the back is feeling pretty good, and credit where it’s due—Arrive is a fabulous place to recover from an injury, thanks in large part of the pool-sized hot tub just downstairs that I’ve had at my disposal at all times. (Well, technically from 6am through midnight, but whatever.) Also thanks to the aura of pleasant ennui cultivated here. It feels good to do not much of anything, but to do it well.
This is, incidentally, the first time in these three days that I’ve spent any real waking time in our room. Instead, the pool area has typically served as our living room. Laptop is perched on my knees as I’m trying to get a quick burst of work done. There’s a great midcentury-style desk not two feet from me, but whoever named them laptops seems to have had a direct line into my tendencies.
Notably, my dog lies next to me, as she has pretty much for the duration. Coqui has been with us everywhere—at the pool, at the onsite restaurant Wexler’s, where I can’t recommend highly enough that you order the overnight oats for breakfast, and at the hotel-owned gastropub The Draughtsman, where I can’t recommend highly enough that you order the Cauliflower “McNuggets,” a perhaps unfortunate name for what are essentially cauliflower florets fried and presented in the style of bbq wings. It’s a dish that’s caught on across the country, but the Draughtman’s version is the best I’ve tried.
Opened in 2016, this is the first Arrive Hotel of what looks to eventually be an Ace-like chain of them in secondary markets around the country—Wilmington, Phoenix, Memphis and Austin are all underway. (Having recently stayed in Phoenix, I can say a hotel of this type can’t come fast enough to that city.) In Palm Springs, hotels in this vein abound, yet this one not only melts into the existing milieu, it’s the rare new build that enhances it.
All the details of my stay below:
The Location: Arrive comes quickly once you get into Palm Springs, a nice perk after a longish drive. (If you’re flying in, the story will be different but still convenient.) Downtown is a short drive away, but you can skip it altogether and have a great time. The hotel abuts a classic midcentury Palm Springs neighborhood where we took the dog on walks. Definitely take time to stroll a classic Palm Springs neighborhood while you’re in town.
There are also a handful of good restaurants within a block or so.
The Room: The rooms are spacious and comfortable, with cool grey tile floors, beautiful wood ceilings, a sprawling king bed, and midcentury touches. I loved the mismatched pendant lights at the bedsides—my favorite was the one on the left, its red cord contrasting with the brass body. Some of the 32 total rooms have a private patio with two chairs and a fireplace, but we chose one without this feature (and didn’t really regret it).
The hotel provides endless complimentary filtered water to the room, still or sparkling, much appreciated in this dry climate. There was supposed to be an Apple TV but the one in our room was missing. If we had cared we would have asked the hotel to do something about that. I didn’t notice any kind of minibar.
The few gripes I do have with hotel are mostly inspired by the room. The windows sit at the very top of the walls, where they meet the ceiling. It’s an interesting design touch, but in practice means that a) you can’t see outside while in your room, and b) you have no choice but to use the air conditioning, which is a true shame when you consider how nice and dry and cool the nighttime Palm Springs air gets. What an easy sustainability measure it would have been to enable guests to throw open some windows at night.
By the end of our stay, the room was a mess, due to good relaxed living, yes, but also a lack of storage space, especially for suitcases. In lieu of a closet, there was an open rack. If there’s one thing a hotel room should never forego in the name of saving space, it’s a closet that luggage can live in. Without this space, an unkempt room becomes inevitable.
The Bathroom: The shower completely open to the room is ridiculous—this is a hotel trend that needs to stop. Still, it’s a great shower aside from this. The sink and vanity are also open to the room, which is something I actually kind of appreciate. Plentiful Malin + Goetz bath products are supplied. The toilet sits in its own little room.
The following will continue to go into every hotel review I ever write until things change—more wall hooks would serve the room well. For the love of god, someone hear my pleas.
The Common Areas: I came to Palm Springs for a bout of tailored relaxation, and at Arrive, I got exactly what I was craving. The building is new, but it takes its cues from midcentury design, and the resulting melding of indoor and outdoor spaces is a joy. The rusty red palette totally works in this desert environment, and the low-slung building allows for views of the surrounding mountains no matter where on the property you’re hanging out.
Especially compared to the pools at other hip hotel spots in this town—namely the Saguaro and the Ace, where the sunning and soaking experience feels far more complicated and laden with expectation—here the pool area envelops one in calm and style and comfort. During our stay, there was always a little something going on, but never enough to make a person feel anxious. It felt close to like being at home, if home had a well-designed pool and friends who stopped by anytime for a desultory hang. I would note, however, that we stayed at the hotel on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights. My understanding is that the place becomes more of a scene on the weekends, and as the season kicks into full gear.
The hotel supplies a bevy of floaties for the pool—in the shape of hearts, lips, butterflies, etc. They work great for Instagram and also for aimless journeys from one end of the water to the other. At night, a series of fire pits kept us outside long after the nighttime desert cold set in. The poolside bar was at the ready with some quality cocktails. There’s also a bocce court and ping pong tables.
Food and Drink: The property has two restaurants, a coffee shop, and an ice cream parlor. All were great, and even if someone weren’t staying at the hotel, I would recommend any of these four spots to them. They did provide a constant source of low-grade frustration in having no centralized billing system. The hotel is strictly pay as you go, no charging drinks or snacks to the room, which means you always have to bring cash or a credit card with you to the pool, etc. I would hope this is something the property is working on.
The Service: Arrive has fully embraced the age of texting—instead of calling down to reception for things like ice or housekeeping, you send a text. The system works seamlessly, and appeals to people like me who will avoid making a two-minute phone call for at least a week.
I’m of the opinion that at a resort property such as this one, checkout should be at noon, but here it’s 11am. To add insult to injury, Arrive charges $25 for an extra hour in the room. I learned this the hard way, when I asked for a 12pm checkout the morning of our departure. After learning of the charge, I declined it on principle. Hotels should realize the unpleasant taste this leaves guests with as a last impression.
The Verdict: The rooms do the trick, but they are not the reason I would recommend a stay at Arrive Hotel Palm Springs. To be clear, I would absolutely recommend a stay at Arrive, thanks to the pool, the food, the hot tub, the fire pits, the atmosphere and aesthetic, and the general friendliness.
