The Lay Out: Les Cactus in Palm Springs, CA
It's my favorite place to dissociate.
Does anyone else have this intense longing to really disconnect lately? And, not lightly with a little out of office and social media break announcement — I’m talking abandon the phone, the thoughts, reality altogether, put down the book, and zero consumption, just for a little.
A few years ago, I went to Palm Springs with a friend, and I joked that it’s my favorite place to dissociate. She checked me, saying it insensitive on our way out from LA. Hours later, poolside at Les Cactus, it clicked for her.
Located along the San Jacinto Mountains, Palm Springs is most well known for its mid-century modern architecture set against the desert backdrop. But, it’s beyond the buildings themselves. The decor, a lot of the music, the fonts — I LOVE the fonts there — on every hotel and business, is of very of a specific era. It was the escape for Hollywood from the 1930s though the ‘60s. Frank Sinatra and JFK partied in Palm Springs. While I don’t at all fantasize that nuclear family-ass, Civil Rights Era, being there does make it super easy to detach reality for at least a couple hours.
Expectedly, I want to do that by a pool.
Located a few minutes from the main strip in Palm Springs, Les Cactus is a tiny 27 room hotel. Unfussy and definitely not a party property, the top of their policies page reads: “LES CACTUS IS A SMALL, PEACEFUL PROPERTY. WE WORK HARD TO CULTIVATE A QUIET AND RELAXING ATMOSPHERE FOR ALL GUESTS TO ENJOY.”
And, I love that — relax, in caps lock.
Little details like the daily complimentary breakfast (served to your room in a basket), fire pit for cool desert evenings, hammock garden, massage room and extremely reasonable rates make this a property I want to kick it at because chilling is the priority.
Most importantly, the centerpiece of Les Cactus is their salt water pool and bean shaped jacuzzi. The rooms are all ground level and open up to the all-pink-and-green courtyard where the pool, jacuzzi, hammocks and fire pit are. (This would really be a great spot for a full buy-out.)
Here’s how I recommend fully detaching from reality at Les Cactus. First, you need a friend that enjoys silence as much as they want to have the aux. They absolutely cannot be someone likely to kill serenity, but you also want them to notice all the feel good details. This is essential.
There isn’t a restaurant on the property, so you need pool snacks. Navigate that accordingly.
Finally, you’ll want chairs facing the mountains, but don’t feel too tied down to them. The jacuzzi is tucked away in it’s own little corner. I sent emails from there one morning, which made tapping back into reality not a total drag. The hammocks get a bunch of sun, and there’s a little seating area above one of the rooms if, for whatever reason, you need completely removed.
The part that really tipped the scales for me was the music. It was kind of cinematic. Although it wasn’t exactly Frank Sinatra, martini music you’ll find around a lot of Palm Springs, my friend and I came to realize almost every song felt like it could soundtrack pivotal movie scenes, particularly of the female lead, gone a little unhinged driving in the rain variety. (Eerie, in a good way? I swear.) It was a bit of crossover between era-defining music and songs you might find in Killing Eve. The property itself is named after the 60’s French rock n’ roll song by Jacques Dutronc, and that shows up visually and sonically, daytime and nighttime. If you don’t know the vibes, go learn them. (I can also send some recs.)
