A Hotel Boom in Palm Springs

The big P-S is no longer leaning on its midcentury modern glory days. A neo-renaissance seems to be Springs-ing up in this desert town. The 19-room Sparrows Hotel (pictured), between the Ace and Saguaro, is a restored El Rancho Lodge, and each room is outfitted with handmade furniture and an outdoor fireplace (rooms from $150). Sparrows opens October 1, as does a 160-room Hard Rock Hotel in the former Hotel Zoso (rooms from $270). Camp Palm Springs has been remade as Skylark Hotel (rooms from $149), and Extended Stay America has changed its name to a more hip, boutiquey- sounding The Monroe Palm Springs (free Wi-Fi, opened September 1, rooms from $110). In the rental home category, Random Haus is a 12-unit “condo-hotel” for LGBT travelers and families (suites from $195) while Colony 29 is a beautiful cluster of six houses, first constructed in 1929 as an artist colony. The property also has a palapa treehouse that can host an intimate soirée with views of the city and mountains (guest houses from $325). Visit PS this month for Modernism Week’s Fall Kick-Off, the World Championships Chili Cook-Off, Oktoberfest, the very first Fashion Weekend, spa week, a bike weekend (motorcycle haters, stay away on October 25–27), and Feartastic, a horror film festival.