Happy Memorial Day to all! Next weekend is the hubs’ and my wedding anniversary so we decided to use the extended holiday weekend as an early celebration and road trip to Palm Springs. We only stayed one night there last year for Coachella and didn’t really get to check out the city, so I was excited to get my tan on and explore the desert lifestyle.
Palm Springs is great because it’s so accessible to Los Angelinos, being only an hour and 45 minute or so drive from the city (in the lucky circumstances you don’t hit traffic). Our drive was super easy, leaving Saturday morning and heading back Monday morning. We even brought our little maltese (as I jokingly like to call him, Pup On the Loose) and we found the city to be super dog friendly, which made for such a hassle free trip with a pet.
STAY
We stayed at Arrive hotel and were super impressed with the open-air, low-rise build. The hotel is pretty small, only 2 stories, featuring modern rooms and a scenic pool area complete with fire pits, cabanas, and ping pong tables. This hotel was a nice mix of 21+ tourists like ourselves and not too ragey. We were there to relax ya know, not party like we were back in college (although I’m never really too opposed to that ;))
EAT
Ok, so I’ll caveat this section and let you know I did find it a bit tough to be fully plant-based in this city. Surprising there are very little vegan restaurants to choose from, mostly a lot of menus with seafood. I hope this post helps a future tourist who is vegan because there was not much info out there for me and I really had to do my homework!
At the Hotel
The hotel we stayed at, Arrive, has a restaurant and coffee bar on site- Wexler’s Deli and Cartel Coffee Lab, great for a bite by the pool or quick caffeine break. And- Cartel’s is ORGANIC coffee, so you know that made me a happy camper.
Snacks
Brunch
We brunched at the super fancy and fabulous Parker hotel restaurant, Norma’s, which I had heard people rave about. This spot is so worth going to check out the environment and people watch, even if you just grab a drink at the hotel bar. I felt like I was in Mad Men surrounded by 60’s glamour. It was bougie and the vibes were right up my alley ha.
Dinner & Dessert
For dinner, we hit up two spots I had read numerous 5-star reviews about- Birba and Workshop, also both of which I had seen vegan options on the menus! I’m always someone who likes to have nice, wine dinners. It’s one of my favorite parts about vaca!
Birba is an open, garden style Italian restaurant. Their pizza dough is all vegan and so is their pesto, so I had them customize a pizza for me and use the pesto rather than any cheese. The staff was super accommodating and my dish was divine.
For dessert, we popped in Native Cafe, one of the only fully vegan restaurants in Palm Springs. It’s a very casual environment and had a typical menu where they try to make vegan versions of American food staples like “chicken nuggets” etc. I’m usually not a fan of this type of vegan food, to be honest. I’d rather try to enhance plant-based dishes rather than eat a “fake” hamburger or something like that. But, I will say the peanut butter parfait we got was pretty divine. Overall, the spot is definitely worth checking out depending on how into the menu you are.
Next time I plan to try out Nature’s Health Food Market, Palm Greens Cafe, King’s Highway, and Lulu’s California Bistro, all of which I read have vegan-friendly options as well!
THINGS TO DO
Since it was such a short trip, we mostly spent all of the first day at the pool. The next day we toured the Moorten Botanical Gardens (also dog friendly!) and window shopped downtown. Our next trip we plan to check out the aerial tramway and visit a local organic spa.
This town truly is a fabulous place to get some r&r and such a great weekend getaway! If you’re looking for more recommendations, check out the tour guides from, Hundred Blog or The Blonde Abroad, both of which I found really helpful! And for specifically vegan shiz, check out Veg News’ list of Palm Springs Vegan Things To Do.
Have you been to Palm Springs? Let me know if you have any favorite places I missed! I’ll have to start a list for my next stay. And don’t forget to check out my other travel guides here for LA, Vegas, and more.
Have a great rest of your Memorial Day peeps. Until next time.
XOXO,
Dani
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