You Have Arrived; My Weekend at ARRIVE Palm Springs
Just a mere week ago I was driving through the desert heat, radio blasting, blistering toward my Palm Springs Getaway, with not a care in the world but a few days of laying pool side, rosé in hand, sun beating down on my porcelain skin.
Okay, to be fair I wasn't driving so much as sitting passenger side, reading my latest book out loud while Adam drove us to the desert with Coco in the backseat jockeying for her position in the front seat but sometimes the truth just isn't sexy enough, you know?
After eight hours but what felt like eighty (coming from Northern California now, remember?), we ARRIVED - pun intended, get ready there's more where that came from - at ARRIVE Palm Springs.
This adults only, dog friendly hotel is perfectly situated in the desert for an ideal Palm Springs getaway. With only 32 guest rooms, it's easy to feel like this desert destination is a solo experience - unless you're out by the pool of course. I don't know about you but I LOVE a small boutique hotel, in fact I prefer them when traveling.
While we didn't do a whole lot outside of the hotel during our weekend stay, I mean it was 111 degrees outside, it means I'm darn near an expert when it comes to talking about the incredible amenities offered at ARRIVE.
The rooms have a simple desert chicness about them that I adore. From the first time I visited Palm Springs I was drawn to the mid-century modern vibes and the unique design of this quaint little town. ARRIVE offered all that charm and then some.
Since we are still in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, I do want to mention that we felt incredibly safe from the moment we checked-in. All of our towels were pre-wrapped and marked "clean" to ensure we knew they had been pre-sterilized prior to our arrival. In addition, ARRIVE was very upfront during the booking, check-in and stay period regarding the precautions they were taking due to COVID-19. Thankfully for us, one of them was no in-room cleaning during our stay (unless requested). Honestly it ended up being a blessing in disguise since we had one curious little pug with us who would have been very excited to make some new "friends." You can read more about their COVID-19 response, here.
As you can hopefully tell, we were very pleased with our cozy, desert room and happy to call it home for a few nights.
Friday morning we woke up and worked out - shoutout to the Smart TV's in the room that allowed us to project our Health House workout on the big screen - before answering emails and hitting the pool that afternoon. Friday was pretty quiet by the pool, not many guests had checked in for their own weekend getaways at that point, and the weather was rather overcast believe it or not. While not what we anticipated for our sunshine-filled weekend, it was a nice reprieve from the 100+ degree temps and allowed us to bring Coco poolside for a bit. Yes, dogs are welcome to sit with you by the pool they just can't go in the pool and of course they're expected to be on their best behavior (which Coco always is). The waitress even brought her a bowl of ice water which was so thoughtful and reinforced my thinking that we were staying at the perfect hotel for us.
A couple glasses of rosé and one plate of curly fries later, not to mention countless hours sunbathing, reading poolside and swimming, we headed inside to get ready for a more formidable meal. Although trust me, if I could get by on a rosé and curly fries diet, I most certainly would!
While I will admit we went to dinner a little too early (aka the sun was still up and blazing at that), we thoroughly enjoyed outdoor dining at a local hotspot, El Mirasol Cocina Mexicana. Shoutout to my college friend, Ian, a Palm Springs local, who was able to provide all the best dining recommendations including this one.
Once back at our hotel for the evening, we stocked up on the goods (more rosé and ice cream of course) before settling in to relax and watch movies on that giant Smart TV in the comfort of our air conditioned abode. Another perk of ARRIVE is the onsite Ice Cream and Shop(pe). By visiting their website, we were able to scan through that day's selection of 16 gourmet flavors before placing our order and doing curbside pickup. They really make you work for that ice cream, I'll tell ya - LOL.
We drifted off into an ice cream coma that night and woke up the next day ready for another round of poolside chilling. Another perk of ARRIVE is the onsite coffee shop, Cartel Coffee Lab. If you know anything about me, you should know I am a sucker for a good iced coffee and Cartel Coffee Lab's did NOT disappoint. Plus the convenience, can we just talk about the convenience, please?! Now that I think about it, this actually was my ideal hotel - coffee, ice cream, rosé, curly fries, and a pool ALL within walking distance. What more could you ask for?!
The second day (Saturday) was much busier at the pool but we still felt perfectly safe and taken care of. Thankfully the clouds dissipated and the sun was on full display so while Coco stayed inside and enjoyed the AC, we remained outside for hours enjoying that strong, Palm Springs sun. I may have even fallen asleep briefly. Does anyone else feel so relaxed by direct sunlight that they can fall asleep? Talk about the ideal lullaby.
I forgot to mention another feature of ARRIVE that was truly unlike anything I had experienced at other hotels, customer service via text. From the moment we checked-in, I was pinged with text messages offering for them to reserve chairs at the pool the next day and anything else we may need to ensure our stay met our expectations. Believe me when I say it did, and then some!
I've only been away about a week but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss it. ARRIVE was the perfect destination for our last summer getaway and I'm so grateful to another dear friend of mine, Lisa, for the recommendation.
With destinations across the country, I highly recommend booking ARRIVE for your next trip. They're even currently offering an incredible deal called the Road to Arrive. If you're up to the challenge and visit all four of their locations where you're sure to be treated like a VIP, they'll throw in a free night stay at their newest location in Phoenix opening September 2020. Based on pictures alone (see below taken directly from ARRIVE's Instagram) I cannot WAIT to visit!
If ever there was a time to partake in a challenge involving a cross-country roadtrip, now would be the time to do it, don't you think?! Don't tempt me with a good time!
If you have any specific questions or concerns about ARRIVE that I didn't discuss in this post, please feel free to reach out either via Instagram or email at caseyk@almostfabulousme.com.
Otherwise, enjoy your stay!