the ultimate guide to doing 
the desert in style

Although there are a slew of women’s contemporary boutiques in Palm Springs, consider checking out the fabulous vintage shops which P.S is very well known for. After all, why not dress the part while sipping on a Singapore Sling at a mid-century modern hotel bar? Mitchells Palm Springs curates a wide variety of vintage designer by iconic brands like Chanel, YSL, Gucci, Pucci, Fendi, Hermes and Valentino. Melody Note Vintage houses fashion treasures spanning the decades from the 1920’s to the early 1990’s. Vintage PS Gal features everything from fabulous 50’s, 60’s and 70’s clothing, jewelry and accessories to home décor, tableware, glassware, furniture and era authentic collectables.

Looking for the best places to eat? For a fine dining experience, Le Vallauris in Palm Springs offers special pre-fix dinner selections and off the menu classic French fare like Escargot in Butter and Garlic, Dover Sole Meunier and Braised Beef Cheeks “Daube” with sautéed spinach and mashed potatoes. Since its opening in 2011, Workshop Kitchen + Bar retrofitted a 90-year-old movie theater and transformed it into a James Beard Award Winning restaurant design. Led by Executive Chef/Co-Owner Michael Beckman, the restaurant features an eclectic menu driven by farm-to-table seasonal selections including: Market Fruit + Burrata- a salad comprised of the freshest burrata cheese, strawberry, rhubarb, raspberry, blueberry, pear, sungold tomato, radish, basil za’atar and served with grilled bread, Goat Cheese Pierogi with apple, radish & kohlrabi slaw, sour cherry jus, dill cream and pickled mustard seed and Dory Fleet Black Cod with pomegranate, honeynut squash, Swiss chard, Bloomsdate spinach, orange vinaigrette and mint.

Occupying the 1940’s guest house of Cary Grant’s iconic Palm Spring’s estate, award winning Chef/Owner Andrew Copley of Copley’s on Palm Canyon offers diners a colorful array of elevated American fare like Char Grilled Asparagus & Fennel Salad with micro greens, truffle scented mushrooms, crushed avocado, feta cheese, tiny tomatoes, shaved cucumber and served with a red wine vinaigrette, Saffron Scented Seafood Spaghetti served with jumbo shrimp, New Zealand mussels, calamari, snap peas and basil in a pine-nut seafood broth and Charred Colorado Lamb T-Bone with crushed goat cheese potatoes, baby carrots and served with a mint and cilantro dressing. Chef Copley also offers live and interactive cooking classes at Your Dirty Apron where each Thursday, viewers may enter his home kitchen, and learn new dishes, helpful chef tips and personal methods of his cooking.

Located at The Parker Palm Springs, Counter Reformation is a chic wine bar, serving a menu of stunning small plates to pair with their incredible assortment of vino. Salmon Rillettes & Beef Tartare with apricot and turmeric toast, Fresh Shucked Oysters with cucumber-kalamansi granita and tobacco caviar and Caramelized Duck Breast served with spicy corn and bread pudding are just a few of their menu specialties.

Over the last several years, the desert region has become prominent for highly unique spiritual and holistic health and wellness experiences and retreats. In Palm Desert, you may choose to take a “Wind Work” workshop with Renee Baribeau, Shaman, “Wind Whistler”, and “Soul Coach”. As per Renee, The Wind Work® system channels an ancient sacred technique used by farmers, shamans, and sailors, and you learn how to transform your personal path by mastering the ability to shift conditions affecting you through insights into managing the wind patterns. In Joshua Tree, you may book a drum or rattle making session with “Drum Medicine Woman” Lisa Starr, an 18 plus year Alternative Healing Arts Practitioner, Shamanic Guide, Minister, and “Earth Magic” Guru. For a weekend spiritual retreat, guests may reside in one of her custom-built Bonita Dome structures of dwellings, built on the principles of earth architecture and sacred geometry, and meant to further enhance the experience of self-healing and empowerment. In Palm Desert, book into Bliss Chakra Spa where you are able to not only receive the pampering of all-natural facials and massage treatments, but they also offer Reiki, Raindrop Therapy, Chakra balancing, Polarity work and group Sound Bath sessions- meditative Tibetan Sound Bowl and Gong vibrational therapy.

Lastly, and most definitely on the opposite end of the spectrum from what is listed above, I would be remiss not to highlight the fierce and fabulous LGBTQ+ Palm Springs scene, as it has been prevalent and centralized within P.S desert culture since the mid-1930’s. With infamous annual multi-day events like Jeffery Sanker’s White Party for the boys, and The Dinah for queers, lesbians and non-binary, a slew of local queer bars and restaurants and Drag Brunches galore, Palm Springs is the place to go for everything rainbow. For the best Sunday-Funday ever, grab your girlfriends for a “kiki” and book into Oscar’s in Downtown Palm Springs for a long boozy Drag “Bitchiest Brunch”. Then, “T-Dance” through sundown in the courtyard with the boys as you shake your money maker to the sweet disco sounds of Gloria Gaynor, the Bee Gees and Donna Summer; Yaaaassss Kweeeeen!!

Whether for a weekend away with the girls, or some good quality time with the family, Palm Springs is a fantastic place to escape LA, and a Va Beau highly recommended vacation destination.