The first thing Laura Slipak says when I drag my stressed self into the chill lobby of the Mod Resort, her Austin Powers chic
hotel in Palm Desert: "Oh, dear." The second thing she says: "I think someone needs a Mod-tini."
Yeah, baby.
I've just suffered through two-plus hours of Inland Empire gridlock so that I can unwind in the desert, and I plan to ditch
my car for the weekend (if not, alas, forever). Which is why I've come to Palm Desert. Not only does it do the whole midcentury
modern thing perfectly, but of all California's desert resorts, it's also probably the most pedestrian- and bike-friendly.
The Mod is just a three-minute walk to the glittery shopping and dining street El Paseo, and a short bike ride away from
everything else I'm interested in checking out this weekend. That includes galleries, a recently unveiled collection of California
landscape paintings at the Living Desert museum, and the new Eric Johnson Memorial Gardens (named after the "desert landscape
guru of the Coachella Valley," who was also a former garden editor for Sunset).
Then again, if Laura offers me one more of her mood-altering apple martinis, I might just park myself beside the salt-water
pool and spend the rest of the afternoon meditating on the cerulean water.
- Loading comments...
