Mile markers from the front desk

Road guide

Our favourite places within a tank of gas, from the hot springs down the road to sunrise in Joshua Tree. Distances are from the front door.

Ask the front desk

Pull over for

Eight good detours

Hot Springs Pool

1.2 mi

Mineral soak, open late

Hot Springs Pool

1.2 mi

Mineral soak, open late

Taco Truck

0.3 mi

Al pastor, cash only

Taco Truck

0.3 mi

Al pastor, cash only

Pioneertown

29 mi

Saloon, live bands

Pioneertown

29 mi

Saloon, live bands

Joshua Tree

38 mi

Sunrise hikes

Joshua Tree

38 mi

Sunrise hikes

Date Shake Stand

9 mi

Cold, sweet, essential

Date Shake Stand

9 mi

Cold, sweet, essential

Thrift Mile

3 mi

Six shops, one street

Thrift Mile

3 mi

Six shops, one street

Palm Springs Tram

14 mi

Snow at the top, sometimes

Palm Springs Tram

14 mi

Snow at the top, sometimes

Salton Sea

52 mi

Strange, beautiful, go

Salton Sea

52 mi

Strange, beautiful, go

Ask at check-in

The hand-drawn map

Drawn by the night manager, photocopied a few too many times and still the best way to find the date shake stand. Every room gets one.

Fill up in town. It’s 40 miles to the next pump

Leave before 7am in summer

Signal drops past mile marker 20

Field notes

From the journal

All stories

Paint roller covering a white wall in pale blue

Behind the desk

Sixty coats of paint

How we stripped six decades of beige back to the original 1962 coral, and what we found under the carpet in Room 12.

4 min read

Behind the desk

Sixty coats of paint

How we stripped six decades of beige back to the original 1962 coral, and what we found under the carpet in Room 12.

4 min read

Records

Crate diggers welcome

Every room has a turntable and a crate of records. Here is how the swap shelf at the front desk works, and the ten records guests keep stealing.

3 min read

Records

Crate diggers welcome

Every room has a turntable and a crate of records. Here is how the swap shelf at the front desk works, and the ten records guests keep stealing.

3 min read

Straight empty road running through the desert towards mountains

Road guide

The road out to Joshua Tree

Our favourite way to the park: a date shake, a thrift stop and one very long straight road. Leave at five, back for tacos.

3 min read

Road guide

The road out to Joshua Tree

Our favourite way to the park: a date shake, a thrift stop and one very long straight road. Leave at five, back for tacos.

3 min read