It’s 6pm as you step into the W Downtown. The first reflex is scent, a drink of the fragrant lobby that slides over your tongue. The second rush is noise, voices rise and glasses clink as the suit crowd blurs a day’s surfeit of tension. You sense music, your heels sink into the beat. You’ve found the city, the anonymity, the generic and cosmopolite. You could be anywhere, San Francisco, Shanghai, HK, Berlin. You’re in the moment, you let your body forget…
The Beat
More Awkward Than Your Gym Locker Room: Two Bunch Palms
Our morning started curtly at 9am when we heard the lock turn on our cabin door, the entrance of hotel staff thwarted only by the metal security bolt and our unexpected nudity. Words tumbled reflexively, and totally unnecessarily, from our mouth: “We’re NOT ready!” The door shut soundly. A few minutes later, the sound of another lock opening. Scratching. Straight through the sliding glass door at the foot of our bed we could see the looming shadow of a gardener raking the patio. Given our state of exposure, an orgy would have passed unacknowledged. Privacy? For all the talk of noise privacy and resort etiquette, would a few warning knocks on the door be too much to ask?
We Have a New Crush: The Parker Palm Springs
There’s nothing more decadent than a weekday spent poolside with a lemonade (spiked, of course). Our travels pushed past the beat of the city to the desert pulse of the Starwood Le Meridien Resort, the Parker Palm Springs. We were immediately knocked senseless by the absolute relaxation that sinks into your skin as you pass through the tall orange doors. This is not your highly-stylized Viceroy or your hair flying, cork-popping Ace – the Parker Palm Springs is a resort after your superego. The property is immaculately maintained, and designed so fluidly that almost any path eventually leads to your destination, whether it’s the pool, spa, lemonade stand, or life-size chess game. Whether your mood is raucous or temperate, it’s a beautiful thing to never feel lost.
The Parker Lobby and Pool:
The Room and Bath Amenities:
The Crush
There’s something sticky sweet about a new crush. It’s hot-tempered, breathless, exotic and terrifying in its possibilities. It’s the first lick of an ice cream cone, the rock star onstage, the music absorbing into your skin. It’s the beat of the city, an endless rooftop view, the rush of adventure, and the seduction of something new…