luxury boutique hotel palm springs – Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION.

Old Hollywood-Style charm is personified at a new luxury boutique hotel located in Old Las Palmas, Palm Springs.

Last week I was part of an open house amongst photographers from magazines like “home and garden” and “food and wine;” on site to check out the nine room, glamour-themed suites with names like Playmate, Ricardo and Rat Pack to name a few – at The Velvet Rope.

I was blown away by the attention to detail in each room. Owner/Designer David Rios is a visionary. The “Lavender” suite pays homage to Elizabeth Taylor and in fact Rios told me that the room was modeled after her real bedroom (the bed and dresser at least) when she had a home in Palm Springs. “Candelabra” honours none other than renowned showman Liberace (he also had an over-the-top home here which I had the pleasure of visiting during Modernism open-house years ago). The “Legendary” suite shows the glitz and glamour of the iconic Studio 54 phase. And more…

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves

Did I mention how much I love the bathrooms?

Better than the other way around, right?

A little bit hidden away in a corner of the premises is a door that opens up to a dazzling speakeasy which they’ve named “Club Valerie.” It’s named after an Amy Winehouse song and the cocktails will each be named after one of her songs (“Me & Mrs. Jones?” – I will be intrigued to try whatever is in that one). I wonder if they’ll do a “rehab” and how much alcohol will be in it, if so?

**Bar Valerie** in the afternoon open for viewing. Sequin pillows, old Hollywood movies played on a big screen, dance floor and Burlesque shows to come.

All Photos: d. king

To book:

https://thevelvetropeps.com/

And I can’t let you leave without posting one more…

It’s great when you feel like you’re on holiday in a place where you’re really not...only because it has become your second home.

Palm Springs snowbird season is coming to a close. As a result I’m coming close to the end of my quest for discovering and sharing the cool, the eclectic and the fabulous little boutique hotels, inns and places to take you away from the norm. I’m sharing places I’ve either stayed at or at least visited and spent some time in ~~hanging around~~ ~~where they’ve almost had to kick me out.~~

More places are on my list but it will have to wait until next season.The places I’ve blogged about are the inconspicuous little gems that you may not otherwise ever know about unless by word of mouth or you find by accident or through research. Take for instance the latest – a 28-room boutique hotel located downtown Palm Springs called

Holiday House

I love this place. Holiday House is exactly what it sounds like. I also like that in order to create a communal environment, Holiday House does not have televisions in any of the rooms. Personally speaking if I’m on a ‘real’ holiday I don’t want to watch TV. I would relax and then hang out at the very friendly bar and order food from the pleasing restaurant menu. I was just there on Tuesday for Taco Tuesday and it was excellent. It’s very comfortable. They also have a fried chicken Friday but you must reserve in advance. I hear it’s fabulous and I hope to find out soon – possibly even next Friday – just before I leave.

This hotel was originally built in 1951 and was a project of mid-century architectural designer Herbert W. Burns. Burns was one of the most important figures in helping to define Palm Springs modernist style, or what has now become mid-century modern.

From the website:

When it first opened, the Holiday House was billed as the newest “luxury hotel” in Palm Springs, and catered to what they referred to as “exclusive select clientele”. For years, the Holiday House ranked as one of the top hotels in Palm Springs. Since its inception, the hotel has changed hands and has garnered many different names and identities. Most recently it operated as The Chase Hotel. In 2017, Holiday House re-opened with its original name and spirit.

The design centers around Gio Ponti inspired tile-work in the bar and artwork throughout the property including pieces by David Hockney, Roy Liechtenstein, Herb Ritts, Alex Katz and Mr. Brainwash, with a garden sculpture by Donald Sultan.