Sparrows Lodge
High sparrow
Palm sun days
Just off a roadside in California’s favourite desert city, Sparrows Lodge is a former actor’s home made into a cool, cabin-style retreat. Enjoy long communal suppers in the garden twice a week, check out the vegetable patch, admire the extensive art collection in the main barn or help yourself to some free sangria and settle in by the firepit. The rooms survive the heat, thanks to stone floors and shutters – retro fans will also love the exposed beam ceilings, pebble displays and butterfly chairs. And once you’re fully cooled down, the balmy delights of Palm Springs are on your doorstep.
Facilities
Rooms
Twenty, including two suites.
Checkout
Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm, also flexible.
Also
The Garden Rooms have wheelchair-accessible bathrooms.
Free Internet Access
Pet Friendly
Pool
On-Site Restaurant
At the Hotel
Free WiFi throughout, carpark, bicycles to borrow. In rooms: air-conditioning and Grown Alchemist bath products.
Our Favourite Rooms
Easy access to the pool comes, predictably, from the Poolside Rooms, so this is the option for you if you want to be first to dive in at dawn. Those planning on sticking around for longer should book the Cabin, which has its own kitchenette for cooking up your farmers’-market finds. The rooms nearer to the main entrance have slightly more street noise than the others – we’re not talking sirens and speeding, but they’re not as pin-drop silent as the rest of the retreat. And if you’ve ever wanted to bathe in a horse-trough, ask for a room with a tub: around here, that means an erstwhile equine watering hole made out of super-deep steel.
Poolside
There’s a heated outdoor pool in the middle of the property, with a hot tub at the end.
Spa
The hotel has an open-air massage tent with two treatment areas, for massages with a side helping of birdsong, burning sage and barking dogs. If that sounds a little noisy, move things in-room for an extra $20.
Packing Tips
Vintage threads to match the impeccably mid-century surrounds, visors and baseball hats for withstanding the desert heat, and iPads if you really can’t bear to forgo TV.
Also
In case it’s not immediately obvious, the lobby (and check-in area) is in the central barn, past the pool as you come in from the carpark. There are no televisions or phones in the guestrooms.
Children
Over-21s only.
Gallery
Food & Drink
Top Table
Make new friends by fairy light out by a vine-covered trellis, settle into a sofa or warm up in winter by the fire pit.
Dress Code
Ready for a hike.
Hotel Restaurant
The Barn Kitchen is a relaxed affair, where you can drop in for breakfast or a light bite throughout the day. Communal set suppers are held on ‘chicken’ Wednesdays and ’steak’ Saturdays – be sure to put your name down as spaces are limited. The exact variations on how chicken and steak is served change weekly, but everyone assembles on the arbour-surrounded long table and eats the same three courses. Lunch options include hipster favourites such as cobb salad and avocado toast. Breakfast is laid out on the bar; expect a mix of muffins, eggs, yoghurt, granola and fruit.
Hotel Bar
Guests can help themselves to (pink) sangria and s’mores every evening. The bar is in the Barn Kitchen and it does have its own seating – but, thanks to all that outdoor space to choose from, there are way better options.
Last Orders
Breakfast is available between 6am and 10am. Lunch is 11am until 6pm. Drinks are served all day (9am to 10pm).
Planes
Palm Springs’ airport is four miles away; the drive should take no more than 10 minutes.
Trains
There’s an Amtrak station a 15-minute drive away.
Automobiles
Los Angeles is a two-hour drive to the west, along Interstate 10. There’s onsite parking when you arrive.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
Sparrows Lodge is located in the southern part of Palm Springs, within walking distance to various spots in town. Jump on a hotel bicycle to see the city on two wheels. There are independent clothes shops on North Palm Canyon Drive, and the Perez Design Center (formerly Resale Row), at 68–929 Perez Road, is a must for vintage-furniture hunters. Staff will be able to guide you to their favourites. Joshua Tree National Park is within reach, about an hour’s drive away; stop off at the famous Integratron, a structure designed by George Van Tassel under instruction of visitors from the planet Venus and thought to facilitate rejuvenation and time travel… It’s by appointment and only on certain days, so be sure to ring ahead.
Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt
This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .
