I’ve heard whispers of a hip, affordable hotel chain opening a new location in Palm Springs. The Ace, which already has locations in Seattle, Portland and New York, has a reputation for being a little kitschy, a little rock-n-roll. A friend has been trying to get into the Seattle one for months, so I figured I’d investigate the new desert location. If you take the main drag through town, it eventually turns and becomes slightly more residential. That’s where the Ace sits. It’s close enough to get into the thick of things in 10 minutes, but separate enough to avoid the traffic and chaos.
The Ace Palm Springs is a KOA (campgrounds of America) meets a hippy spa. Complete with a black and white movies screened on your private patio, to poolside alcoholic snow cones, to horseback riding excursions, they try to be all things to many random people. I happen to like all those items, but found they hadn’t totally worked out the kinks of the place.
Fresh in, we decided to grab a bite. While their restaurant is a renovated old school diner, it offers gourmet burgers, with garlic fries and aioli dip. Oh, and they also have fancy drinks available at all hours of the day, from their adjacent dark and moody bar. I had a Bloody Mary with my eggs to get the weekend started with a bang.
Between a photo booth in the lobby and beach cruisers for rent, the Ace is definitely not your standard hotel. They kept the preexisting motel structure, but gave it a groovy facelift, which is meant to make it feel like a campground. The interior walls of the rooms are lined with canvas to mimic a tent and the amenities are all themed as such.
Staying at the Ace was a departure from any place I’ve been in recent times. It’s curious hybrid of luxury and basics. For example, our deluxe room had only a small cut out for a closet (no door) and raw cement floors, however there is a beyond stocked bar (complete with the top shelf liquors) and beautiful tiling in the shower. They also have a quirky art situation. They have attached large clips on slats in the wall that allow you to hang whatever photos or items you want. I opted to take down the existing retro images and put up some fun shots from the Sunset Magazine I had in my bag, which helped personalize the room.
They call this Ace a swim club, so we went to investigate those facilities. They do offer two spacious pools with loads of comfortable, adjustable chairs. And there are cabana boys running food and drinks regularly. Across the board, the staff was friendly and service driven.
Passing the ping-pong table, we arrived at the spa. It shares a locker room with the pool, which means people are in and out pretty frequently. I felt a little self-conscious as I showered and dressed next to the line of traffic. I booked a couples massage, which are offered poolside in a yurt or inside in a treatment room. Again the exposure factor weighed in and we opted for the private room.
The spa manager gave me a strong, comprehensive Swedish massage. My girlfriend had a guy who must have checked in on the pressure with her like 15 times, which I found a bit distracting. They also had music playing on an iPod that was somewhat in the direction of Buddha Bar. It was a bit faster and louder than I’ve typically had in a massage, but I was willing to let it go. My girlfriend however asked that they turn it off all together, which left a heavy silence and a lot of check ins by her technician.
In all fairness, I think we were some of the first guests to stay on the new Ace property. They had some challenges with losing my reservation, losing power (due to the high winds) and they closed one of the pools for final renovations, which proved a bit inconvenient. We also repeatedly got locked out of our room when housekeeping set the deadbolt on the gate to our patio. I’m not actually even sure how they managed to do this, seeing as how they needed a latter to undo it. I suspect as they get a few months under their belt, the hotel will hum at a comfortable pace.
I liked the thought put into the look and feel of it. The signs, the lobby décor, the bbq pits on the patios were all unique and appreciated.
Prices range from $130-$250/night. The property isn’t that large, so the difference in room rates really only gets you a patio and closer proximity to the pool. Parking is easy in the outdoor lot, but note that they charge you $9/night – something we learned upon checking out. Find more information at www.acehotel.com. 
