Long a desert retreat for Hollywood elite escaping the glare and glitter of Tinseltown, Palm Springs may have spent a few decades on the B-list following its mid-century Rat Pack heyday, but it’s now back on the “map of the stars” and enjoying every minute in the limelight.
Even though the Palm Springs Desert Resorts area, encompassing eight cities in the Coachella Valley, is approaching $2 billion in new hotel and resort development coming on-line in the next few years, “The Springs” itself retains its charming, retro mid-century modern allure while still captivating long-time residents who came for the beauty of the desert and perhaps stars of a different kind.
“Palm Springs’ air and light are magical,” says resident Suzanne Somers, who herself captivated a generation of television viewers as Chrissy on the saucy late-’70s sitcom Three’s Company before authoring a series of self-help books and launching a multimillion-dollar lifestyle empire. “The night sky is always filled with thousands of stars, and on a full moon night you can hike in the mountains.”
Somers has witnessed the modern rebirth of “The Springs” firsthand, from that of a Hollywood haven that emptied out in the summer to a year-round resort once again catering to the L.A. elite along with a lovingly aloof permanent population.
“Thirty years ago [my husband] Alan and I awakened one morning and decided to look for a home in Palm Springs,” she remembers. “We called our friend Steve Chase, who told us about this crazy place up on the mountain that had just come on the market that day. He said, ‘You will either love it or hate it.’ We loved it and bought it that day.
“By the way, up until that moment, we had never spent even one night in Palm Springs,” she continues. “I still don’t know why we did this, but it was the best lifestyle decision of our lives.”
Since then, the destination has regained its prominence as a tourism and celebrity magnet, and once again draws young and beautiful stars of the screen, although surviving the desert summers was a life lived on the edge for awhile.
“In the ‘old days,’ the ’70s and ’80s, the town shut down for the summer and it was strictly local desert rats—including us—who took over for a few months, usually from April through September,” Somers says. “Not too many people had air-conditioning then. We only had a couple of swamp coolers, so living in the summer desert was not comfortable for most.
“We then watched the metamorphosis of this sleepy little village awaken as more and more people wanted to live and visit here,” she continues. “So today, the Coachella Valley has whatever you want, and it’s an all-year resort.”
With its hip mid-century modern architecture—swingin’ pads once owned by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and Joe DiMaggio are available for event rental—streets named after legends such as Bob Hope, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra and Kirk Douglas, and a massive amount of investment adding swank new properties bringing storied landmarks such as The Riviera Resort & Spa back to its retro Hollywood hipster glory, don’t be surprised to run into a celeb or two when walking the palm-tree-lined streets.
Just make sure to cop the laissez-faire air of the locals and act nonchalant.
“Palm Springs folks treat celebrities with respect and give them their space,” Somers offers. “Down Valley is different.”
