Although The Rowan Palm Springs is owned by mother brand IHG, Kimpton Hotels manage to hold their own in reflecting a boutique hotel ethos: Each hotel in the portfolio takes its design cues from the hotel’s location. The Rowan is no different.
With 153 rooms, the hotel is larger than the 100-room max number usually associated with boutique hotels, but it doesn’t feel like a large, rambling resort either. The lobby soars with high ceilings, white and gray walls, and breezy blue furnishings and artwork that mixes Kimpton’s love of industrial chic with the allure of Palm Springs’ modernism. This look carries on into the large rooms, starting at 364 square feet, with floor-to-ceiling windows, blue patterned headboards and black-tiled bathrooms for contrast. Rooms that look out at the San Jacinto Mountains offer jaw-dropping views.
A fairly recent add-on to the Palm Spring hotel scene, making its appearance late 2017, this property has more amenities than its smaller brother and sister boutiques. This is where lovers of more petite properties can really benefit.
The Rowan has two restaurants and three bars, including the comfy Windows Bar off the lobby, surrounded by bookshelves, and Juniper Table, a Mediterranean-focused casual eatery with a barista on staff to offer lattes and grab-and-go munchies. As the tallest building in downtown Palm Springs, you’ll also find great views at the 4 Saints’ Restaurant and the High Bar—try the ceviche of the day before it runs out—found on the top floor. And, as is the Kimpton tradition, you’ll be able to indulge in the nightly social hour in the lobby where wine and beer flow and light snacks are served.
But the real showstopper here is the rooftop pool on the seventh floor, the only one in Palm Springs. Sip on a Frozen Canary cocktail (tequila, guava, lime, and spicy chilies) while chilling on one of the swanky cedar day beds, with the misters spraying seemingly microscopic water droplets that feel like nothing but a cool breeze.
If a workout is in order the hotel has PULSE bikes and a fitness center complete with hula hoops. It’s all so vintage Palm Springs.