If you long to lay in a lounge chair underneath a palm tree swaying in the breeze, then Palm Springs is just the place for you!
This swinging desert locale is decadently rich in its offerings, and easy on the eyes.
Don't think this exotic playground is reserved only for Hollywood stars, everyone is a star here! The Spanish colonial buildings and lush tropical setting has been drawing in the visitors like a cool, refreshing drink.
As long as you're taking the plunge and heading to Palm Springs, why not treat yourself like a star? The Andreas Hotel and Spa will treat you like luxury with their pool and spa.
Or how would you like to stay in your own castle? The California Castle with it's rock waterfall and spa, billiard room and wine closet will ensure you are treated like royalty.
There are many gorgeous hotels in Palm Springs, so no matter where you lay your head at night, you will feel like you're sleeping on air.
By day you'll feel like a star too, with all the glamorous shops to browse in.
And the restaurants are equally as exotic, such as Le Vallauris, the Purple Palm Restaurant and Bar, overlooking a garden and pool area, or Spencer's Restaurant at the foot of Mt. San Jacinto serving 4 star gourmet cuisine.
So what are you waiting for?
Palm Springs is waiting with open arms to welcome you like royalty!
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California approximately 110 miles (177 km) east of Los Angeles and 140 miles (225 km) northeast of San Diego. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 42,807.
Golf, swimming, tennis, horseback riding and hiking in the nearby desert and mountain areas are other major forms of recreation in Palm Springs. It is one of nine adjacent cities that make up the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs area). The area code for Palm Springs is 760.
The ZIP codes for Palm Springs are 92262 through 92264.
The Agua Caliente band of Cahuilla Indians is composed of several small groups of Indians who were living in the modern day Palm Springs area when the Agua Caliente Reservation was established by the United States Government in 1896. Archaeological research has shown that the Cahuilla have lived in the area for the past 350-500 years.
The reservation occupies 32,000 acres (130 km²), of which 6,700 acres (27 km²) lie within the city limits, making the Agua Caliente band the city's largest landowner.
The reservation land was originally composed of alternating squares of land laid out across the desert in a checkerboard pattern. The alternating, non-reservation squares, were provided by the United States Government to the Southern Pacific Railroad as an incentive to bring rail lines through the open desert. Tribal enrollment is currently estimated at between 296 and 365 people.
The Cahuilla name for the area was "Se-Khi" (boiling water). In the early 1800s, Spanish explorers named the area "Agua Caliente" (hot water). An alternative use of palm is revealed in the November 1992 issue of Art of California. At least one Spanish explorer referred to the area as la Palma de la Mano de dios or "The Palm of God's hand,".
The current name for the area is "Palm Springs" which likely came into common usage in the mid-1860s when the land was first surveyed by U.S. Government surveyors who noted that a local mineral spring was located at the base of “two bunches of palms".
By 1884 when San Francisco attorney John Guthrie McCallum settled in Palm Springs, the name was already in wide acceptance.
Gay and lesbian community
The current gay and lesbian population in Palm Springs is estimated to be about seven times the national average.
This concentration is even greater than that of San Francisco, which has approximately five times the national average.
Gay residents represent about 35 percent of those who are year-round residents.
In 1995, the city elected an openly gay city council member, Ron Oden, a progressive African American.
In 2003, he was elected Mayor. He was succeeded in 2007 by Steve Pougnet, another gay mayor.
There are over 35 openly-gay resort hotels in the city.
The annual Gay Pride Parade and Festival is held the first weekend in November and in recent years has grown to attract more than 35,000 spectators who line Palm Canyon Drive for the event.
The largest gay events in the area, however, occur in March or April, with the "White Party" attracting thousands of gay men for parties and concerts and Dinah Shore Weekend (held on the same weekend as, but not officially affiliated with the Kraft Nabisco LPGA Championship held in nearby Rancho Mirage), one of the largest events in the country for gay women.
Sites of interest
* Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium
* The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies
* Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
Sports
Palm Springs is home to the Palm Springs Power, a California league baseball team composed of college all stars.
The Palm Springs Stadium, was once the spring training site of the California Angels (now Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) American League baseball team from 1961 to 1993.
The Palm Springs area features a number of sporting events including the Pacific Life Open, one of the most significant tennis events in the world, after the four Grand Slam tournaments; the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, and dozens of boxing events held throughout the valley.
Palm Springs has also hosted the Easter Bowl, the national junior tennis championships, and several NCAA golf tournaments.
