Palm Springs

[xmelissax]

I wanted to see if anyone here had experience with visiting Palm Springs in the summer. I will be heading there for 2 days in August to celebrate my boyfriends birthday. I know it's going to be VERY hot so I'm trying to come up with some low key activities to do that won't give us heat stroke,haha. I have rented a private villa with a private pool and hot tub, so I expect much of the day will be spent in the pool. We also wanted to try to aerial tram as I hear it's cooler up there and a beautiful vista. Does anyone else have any other suggestions? Restaurant suggestions would be nice too. I heard about the River Complex with restaurants, shops, a movie theatre. I thought maybe that would be nice for one nite. I need to figure out what to do the second nite. We are in our mid 20's and don't drink and don't really like gambling so bars and casinos are out. Thanks!

 

[captaincrash]

I've gone to play golf several times in the summer....

.. it is so hot it is a real ordeal. We used to do it for the insanity of the experience. So... be forewarned ... what exactly is your tolerance for extreme heat? Otherwise... the tram should offer some relief from the heat! Plus - simply plan on more to do at nite out and about.

It's not much that you probably didn't already expect.

 

[SpectroBelle]

We just returned from a trip to Palm Springs the first week of June. It was so amazingly hot. 112 degrees. I am normally a person who likes it hot, I'm not a fan of air conditioning in places. But it was just more than I expected. We did things in the mornings and evenings - went out for bfast and dinner, did sight seeing. There were 2 deaths in the area from heat exhaustion. One day we went to the pool around 1:00 and sat under a shaded umbrella - only for about 40 minutes, it was even hot in the shade.
My advice, just use common sense and enjoy the beautiful sunsets.

 

[xmelissax]

We planned on sleeping in late, spending most of the day by the pool and inside, visting the aerial tram, then going out at nite to have dinner walk around a little bit. It's meant to be a relaxing trip, mostly just for lounging around so not being able to do too much activity during the day is ok with me. We tend to be nite people anyways. Any suggestions on restaurants?

 

[SpectroBelle]

My only restaurant suggestion is for a little mom and pop hole-in-the-wall place that we found called Don and Sweet Sue's. We ate there 2 times, have a good breakfast and lunch (the fish and chips were great!). It's not really a nice go out to dinner type place though.

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

Any suggestions on restaurants?

We loved Ruby's - its a 50's joint on Palm Canyon Drive. Simple, casual, nice variety in the menu and fun desserts. We went there twice on our last trip last week. It is not a quiet place though.......

Have fun. The heat didn't bother us as much as we thought it might. And remember the tempature is about 20 -25 degrees less on the top of the mountain - up the tram ride. Very relaxing just to look at the view and relax..

 

[xmelissax]

We loved Ruby's - its a 50's joint on Palm Canyon Drive. Simple, casual, nice variety in the menu and fun desserts. We went there twice on our last trip last week. It is not a quiet place though.......

Have fun. The heat didn't bother us as much as we thought it might. And remember the tempature is about 20 -25 degrees less on the top of the mountain - up the tram ride. Very relaxing just to look at the view and relax..

If that's the Ruby's I'm thinking of it's a chain. I actually have one right down the street from my house but I've never eaten there. Maybe I will check it out on this trip.

 

[Dandylyon]

There is a water park in the area--I'd put in some time there (Knott's Soak City, Palm Springs). You can google it--I can't post URLs yet. Also, the aerial tramway is great because it is at least 30 degrees cooler at the top. It is nice to have lunch up there.

Otherwise, it's miserable in the summer.

 

[xmelissax]

There is a water park in the area--I'd put in some time there (Knott's Soak City, Palm Springs). You can google it--I can't post URLs yet. Also, the aerial tramway is great because it is at least 30 degrees cooler at the top. It is nice to have lunch up there.

Otherwise, it's miserable in the summer.

We will only be there 1 full day anyways and then 1 evening prior so I don't have too much time to fill up. We will be going on the aerial tram to get a little cooler in the day and see the pretty views. I don't do water parks though, they kind of gross me out. Too many little kids peeing in the water, thanks for the suggestions though!

 

[mickey7]

Yes, visit the aerial tram and it will be a lot cooler up there usually 20-30 degress cooler. There are some nice hiking to do once you are at the top of the mountain. For food the Mikado at Desert Springs JW Marriott in Palm Desert is really good. I have not been there, but I know a lot of people who have eaten there and said it was really good, but spendy. Make sure to make reservations if you go here. Do a search on the internet and you can view some of the food that they serve. Also I have been told that if you enter through the main entrance of the resort to get to Mikados, you can take a boat to Mikados. Have fun.

 

[heidimn]

We were there right after the first. We drove to Joshua Tree which was nice but not as outstanding as other NP, but it also was cooler - so depending on what direction you are driving may be an option on way in & out. The tram was nice also. It was hot at 8am it was already 100 and at 10PM it was still 100 - you will enjoy the pool.

As for restaurants we tried Roys, The Chop house and LG's - all toward Palm Desert as that is where we were. Roy's was our favorite - it is a small chain out of Hawaii and a mixture of food, we tried the sampler with fresh fish and a great chopped salad - everything was very well prepared. Would definitely do this one again. The Chop house is local (not part of the chain by that name) - it was the better of the two Steak house IMHO and was running a summer special Sunday-Thursday that included salad & 2 sides, so real good deal. Food was also well prepared. LG's has good reputation, but was expensive ($19 for ceaser salad prepared tableside for 2 - when we got the bill it was $19/person - wasn't that good at all - just lettuce & dressing!), and tried to rest on its reputation - maybe they have a different chef/staff during peak times, but this one I can not recommend, especially for the price.

 

[OCSurfCity]

One warning if you plan on going on that Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Although it may be 100º+ on the flat lands, up on Mount San Jacinto, it can get chilly. As soon as you get into town, check the weather at the top of the tramway.

Eat in Palm Springs. The food at the restaurant at the top of the tramway is atrociously bad. Take bottled water with you too. There will be plenty of trails you can take to explore.

 

[xmelissax]

One warning if you plan on going on that Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Although it may be 100º+ on the flat lands, up on Mount San Jacinto, it can get chilly. As soon as you get into town, check the weather at the top of the tramway.

Eat in Palm Springs. The food at the restaurant at the top of the tramway is atrociously bad. Take bottled water with you too. There will be plenty of trails you can take to explore.

I had heard that about the top of the tram so I will check it out before we head up. When we are going to be there from what I understand it is generally about 115 or even higher so I assume it won't be too chilly on the top. We weren't planning to eat there, I found a few casual places we like Cheesecake Factory etc. and I think we've decided to just deal with it once we are there about food. Thanks for your advice!


In response to Heidi, thanks for your suggestions. Unfortunately we have eaten at Roy's on the Big Island and we were really dissapointed so I don't think we'll be trying it again.