Filed under
Travel / Palm Springs / Diary
Published
April 19, 2026
Best by Lauren may earn a commission when you shop through certain links. Every product here was bought with my own money or tested for at least six weeks. No brand has paid to be included, and nothing is ranked higher because it pays more.
Two hours from Los Angeles and a completely different planet. We rented a house instead of rooms, which is the only decision that mattered.
Nobody planned anything. There was a lawn, a pool, a pergola and a kitchen, and the weekend organised itself around those four things.
Rent the house, not the rooms
Eight people, one house, three days, and it came in under what two hotel rooms would have cost for the same nights. More than the money, it is the only arrangement where everybody ends up in the same place at the same time.
Book a house with a lawn. The pool is what sells it in the listing and the lawn is what the weekend actually happens on.
Cook once
One proper meal at the house, everything else out. Cooking every night turns a holiday into a rota, and eating out every night means you never have the long slow afternoon that is the reason to rent a house at all.
When to go
October to May. July will genuinely hurt you — it is not a joke about the heat, it is a hundred and ten degrees and the pool is the temperature of a bath.
