ARRIVE Palm Springs

"Why book? One of the liveliest hotels in the area, this modern and comfortable boutique property centers around its massive pool and plentiful communal spaces built for socializing—with fire pit-flanked seating areas, outdoor games, and an indoor/outdoor bar—along with a fun-filled event calendar. Set the scene Built in 2015, the boutique hotel’s design gives a salute to Palm Springs' fabled mid-century style via clerestory windows and butterfly rooflines. Couples and groups celebrating everything from birthdays to bachelorette parties fill the poolside lounge chairs beneath black-and-white striped umbrellas and first-come-first-serve cabanas while sipping on fruit-infused cocktails. If you can’t find the lobby, that’s because there isn’t one: You’ll check in at the bar. Arrive was one of the first hotels around here to introduce text-message communication with staff. The hotel is meant for mingling (and a prime pick for a solo traveler), with marble ping pong tables, fire pits encircled by low-slung seating where guests gather after sundown, DJ nights, drive-in movies, and drag queen bingo. The backstory There was lots of anticipation around the 2016 arrival of Arrive, one of Palm Springs’ first hotels to be built from the ground up in many years back then. Hotel group Palisociety—known for putting a local spin on their boutique properties—took ownership of the entire group of Arrive hotels (there are also locations in Austin, Memphis, and Wilmington, N.C.) in January 2021, giving the property a refresh with some updated room furnishings and pool area upgrades including new lounge chairs, umbrellas, and daybeds. The rooms Rooms definitely reflect the locale, with clerestory windows, cactus-flower and palm-print wallpaper, rose-pink velvet platform beds, leather seating, and brightly colored mini fridges, along with marble bathrooms. Appreciated extras come in the form of Egyptian cotton linens, robes, Malin + Goetz bath products, work desks, and automatic shades. With just two categories, you simply choose between a studio room or one with a patio—worth the upgrade for its private outdoor seating and fireplace. Food and drink The food and beverage program here has gone through many different incarnations in a short time, most recently landing on a basic Cali-Americana daytime menu served at the pool and in the open-air restaurant (under a sky-high ceiling and massive spinning fan) where you can dig into shrimp tacos, avo toast, burgers, and grain bowls. While the bar stays open in the evenings, the restaurant doesn’t, so you’ll need to go off campus for dinner. The property is also home to artisanal ice cream parlor-cum-gift shop: Shop(pe) Ice Cream & Shop, scooping funky flavors like ube and birthday cake, in addition to a Cartel Coffee Lab. The neighborhood/area Definitely the anchor hotel on the north end of town, Arrive is surrounded by a few solid restaurants, and is a short drive (or mile walk) to the retail-heavy Uptown Design District. The service Low-key and cool, staffers skew younger (in line with the hotel guests) and are plenty attentive. Bartenders make an especially mean cocktail. Accessibility Two ADA rooms are available. Anything left to mention? Don’t miss the bar’s booze-on-a stick ice pops in Aperol Spritz, Paloma, and vodka-based Sex by the Pool studded with pomegranate pearls." - Lizbeth Scordo