Ten Reasons to Stay at the Ace Hotel

My brand new husband and I went to Palm Springs for our honeymoon last week. We stayed at the super fabulous, vintage-themed Ace Hotel. They also have locations in Portland, Seattle and New York City, so next time you plan a vacation, check out the Ace. You’ll love it.

1. Vintage furniture and décor.
The Ace designers find mod furniture and accent it with work by local artists. Our room had photographs binder-clipped to the walls and a retro “Welcome To Palm Springs!” print above the bed.

2. Photobooths.
The hotels have vintage film photobooths-a cheap souvenir and a stylish way to remember your stay.

3. Friendly staff.
The staff left a bottle of champagne in our room, along with a handwritten note. They also left us a crib, and when we called to whine about it, they made it disappear within a few minutes.

4. Record players.
Some rooms have fancy turntables. They even leave a stack of records for you to enjoy. Ours included The Lovin’ Spoonful and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, which we didn’t listen to for fear of bad luck.

5. Good music.
By the pool, in the lobby and in the restaurant, we heard Cat Power, Johnny Cash, Andrew Bird, Bill Withers, Wilco and more.

6. Good food.
The Palm Springs restaurant Kings Highway is a reinterpreted roadside diner. The hostess serenaded us (and the rest of the restaurant) with an old-timey love song for our honeymoon. The Ace Hotel and Swim Club also offers BBQ night room service—they bring a portable grill, meat and all the fixins to your patio so you can cook and eat by your private fireplace.

7. Good toiletries.
They offer smell-good shampoo, conditioner and body wash from Rudy’s Barbershop.

8. Dogs!
Pets are welcome at the Ace Hotel.

9. Stumptown.
The hotels serve excellent Stumptown coffee—the Portland Ace even has a coffee shop in the lobby.

10. Cheap.
Rooms and packages are surprisingly affordable.