Hotel Review: La Serena Villas, Palm Springs.
Overview
Having stayed in Palm Springs before, this time we were looking to try a different property and I was attracted to La Serena Villas; not only because of the high rating on TripAdvisor (as I write #8 out of 78 hotels in Palm Springs) but also the very central location. We would have a car, but liked the idea of being able to just walk around. There was so much going on with Modernism Week, but it’s definitely best to book as many activities in advance because many do sell out. We did some amazing visits when here (like a cocktail party at the Frank Sinatra house and touring the Frey II house) - I will write about all of these and more on my blog at ThePrivateTraveller website.
Hotel website: https://laserenavillas.com
Would I stay here again? Yes, in a shot. We have been to Palm Springs but never stayed downtown. I loved the location and La Serena Villas did not disappoint.
Location
La Serena Villas is a small all-suite hotel, one block from the main downtown area on South Palm Canyon Drive - within a very short walk of restaurants, bars and interesting places to visit. We drove from LAX and despite this only being a distance of just over 120 miles, which should have taken around 2 hours, we found driving on a Friday afternoon it took us the best part of 4 hours. As well as being the start of a weekend, we realised when we came to the US that it was also President’s Day on the Monday, a public holiday, so this probably also accentuated the traffic situation on the Friday - we were really stop/start in traffic most of the way.
If you’re here during Modernism Week (preview week in October, main event February) it’s a perfect location to be able to walk to the conference centre, museums, art galleries, shops, restaurants and bars etc. We went to the Art Museum a few mornings where there was a daily talk at 9am on various topics, our highlight was a feature on the newly-restored TWA hotel in New York.
Accommodation
There are a total of 19 suites throughout this compact property, ranging from small courtyard bungalows (e.g. villa #1, with a private back patio with outdoor clawfoot tub, fire pit and seating) to the largest property next to the palm courtyard with separate bedroom and living room, full kitchen, bathroom and a separate powder room for guests (villa #19). All suites featured an incredibly comfortable king-size bed (Frette linens and towels), flat screen TV (with Netflix, Amazon Prime video etc.), wine fridge, Keurig coffee maker, bottled water and toiletries by L’Occitane. There was also an in-room iron, ironing board and two bathrobes. As a welcome amenity, there was a bottle of fizzy wine and a small bottle of Tequila (salt and lime provided with a Valentine’s Day card). I do like a double sink (which they seem to have in the larger suites) but despite having a massive vanity counter in villa #1 there was only one sink (and set quite far back which was a bit awkward).
Nothing could really be faulted (although see comment below about being a bit mean with the shower gel), the standard of everything was exemplary and also kept exceptionally clean. The first few days, we did find it a bit irritating that we would leave the room before say 9am and not back until mid afternoon to find the room had still not been serviced, but they seemed to prioritise (not unreasonably) check-outs first.
Food & Drink
There is one restaurant on the La Serena Villas site which covers the three PS Boutique hotel properties. On the ground floor is a decent sized restaurant and bar (Frida Khalo themed) with tables both inside and outside on the deck surrounding the hotel pool. Above on the first floor is the Sugar High cocktail bar, with amazing views to the mountains at the rear and the surrounding Palm Springs area. Lunch is served 11am-3pm daily (plates ranging from $10 to $18); dinner is served Sunday to Thursday 5pm - 9pm, and to 10pm on Friday and Saturday. Starters are between $10 - $18, entrees from around $30 and deserts about $10. Food choice was good, including vegetarian choices and all were suitable labeled for gluten free, vegetarian etc. We ate at the restaurant one night, but there are so many great choices within a few minutes walk in the downtown area, some are detailed below.
Breakfast was served in a basket form, this included fresh juice (sometimes only one, but sometimes two bottles), a pot of yoghurt, a small dish of fresh berries, a small packet of granola, two boiled eggs and one croissant (with a small pot of jam) and one muffin. This can be served in your room (from 7:30am) or alternatively you can have the same basket served in the poolside restaurant. The first morning we had it served in the villa (we sat on the outdoor terrace with the fire pit on as it was a bit chilly first thing) but mornings after that we went to Azucar restaurant, where coffee and various teas are self-serve. I have to say the jury was out on the breakfast service - it was well presented and a logical idea rather than a full-service buffet for a maximum of 19 suites; but overall did feel a bit mean in terms of portion size. On weekends, which were obviously busier, a fuller service breakfast (at further cost) was served in the restaurant too.
Facilities & Service
Being so centrally located, the hotel had everything possible - there were bikes to hire to cycle round the local area (and PS has various cycle routes already mapped out) and two pools on site. The main pool, between the reception and restaurant building, was a decent size and surrounded on two sides by comfortable loungers; with beach towels and flavoured water on tap. Nearby, in the Whispers spa area was another small pool, this time with jacuzzi and again surrounded by quite a few loungers. In this area there was also the massage room, so it was always nice and quiet. Being an adult-only property (no under 21’s) it was always kept child-free and a relaxing quiet environment.
We had driven to Palm Springs from LAX, it was easy to park either on the street in front of the property (Belardo), no parking restrictions, or at the back (on Cahuilla Road) there were also hotel-designated parking spaces and an enclosed private parking lot which looked like it had an electric vehicle charging point. If you do have an electric car, best to check with the hotel first about usage.
During our stay I did try and book a massage online but the site didn’t seem to work properly, so ended up just booking direct at reception. There also seemed to be an inconsistency with the treatments detailed online and what would have been available to book (i.e. the list had both a 60 & 90 minute therapeutic massage, but online booking had a maximum of 60 minutes). My (90 minute) La Serena Therapeutic massage was $185 with an automatic service charge of 20% over and above this. It was a decent massage (not a world best by any means), felt a bit rushed on the body, but I think this was the standard 60 minute full-body massage with the extra 30 minutes dedicated to reflexology/foot massage at the end. What again felt very mean, was the option to ‘Add-on’ essentials oils for an extra $15. I did opt for this and the therapist said I could choose as many as I wanted for that, but ultimately it was only a few drops included in the massage oil and probably should have been inclusive within the $185 massage charge I would say. She also didn’t seem to have any knowledge about which oils were best - I think there was a choice of about 20, and after picking an orange oil was told that “someone else had combined this with lemongrass”. I wasn’t really sure whether this was a good combination, if you’re charging for an add-on service there should be some knowledge around this. On check-out, they tried to charge for another massage on the following day (which I definitely did not have) - I never really got any satisfactory explanation as to why this was charged, nor did they follow up as promised with the hotel bill overall, by email.
ThePrivateTraveller’s top tips (any areas for improvement?):
Although the suite was always spectacularly clean, the vent in the WC ceiling was thick with dust (just run a vacuum over this now and again).
Be a bit more generous with shower gel - 30ml bottles are too small and often weren’t replaced. Would be more environmentally friendly to have larger refillable bottles.
Again maybe be a bit more generous with breakfast - always just one croissant between two (though there was one muffin too) and sometimes just one small bottle of juice rather than one each.
ThePrivateTraveller’s absolute highlights:
Location, location, location - perfect to walk to all the main sites and the downtown (and uptown) Palm Springs areas.
Pool and Whispers spa pool - loved the no children policy throughout the property.
Villa standards and space (including the small outdoor enclosed terrace) just great.
Useful website links:
PS Boutique Hotels:
La Serena Villas https://laserenavillas.com
Del Marcos https://delmarcoshotel.com
The Three Fifty Hotel https://thethreefiftyhotel.com
Restaurants:
The Tropicale Palm Springs https://apps.thetropicale.com
Lulu California Bistro http://www.lulupalmsprings.com
Eight 4 Nine Restaurant & Lounge http://eight4nine.com
Shermans Deli & Bakery http://shermansdeli.com
Thai House https://thaihousepalmsprings.com (this is labelled as a modest eatery - look past the decor for great food and incredible family service)
Some things to do:
Visit Palm Springs https://www.visitpalmsprings.com
Palm Springs Art Museum https://www.psmuseum.org
Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center https://www.psmuseum.org/visit/psam-a-and-d-center
The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens https://www.livingdesert.org
Uptown Design District https://www.visitpalmsprings.com/blog/mod-shop-til-you-drop-uptown-design-district
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