Drift Palm Springs

A blend of short-stay-style suites and boutique sensibilities, the 39-key Drift Palm Springs is a lower-cost option for independent travelers not wanting to sacrifice style but willing to trade a traditional lobby and check-in for a $250 price point, a Baja-themed restaurant and Marfa-minimalist furnishings in large guest rooms.

• The mysterious Miró-like murals on calcimine walls
• The suites’ full kitchens and their kiln-fired coffee mugs and pottery

Opened in March 2023 just south of downtown Palm Springs, the snow-white Drift Palm Springs offers fans of boutique hotels a lower cost option in the area, with 30 rooms that can be configured as two-, three-, or four-bedroom suites, as well as nine singles. (For breathtaking views of the San Jacinto mountains, request the south-facing suites on the upper two floors.) Suites feature fully equipped kitchens and a pantry stocked with local treats, wine and mezcal. They’re deliberately spacious, ranging from 404 to 1629 square-feet for the largest suite, and furnished in a modern, minimalist style with a sparse limewash aesthetic that reflects Mexico’s Baja California Desert. Also sparse: service. Guests check in with an app. There’s no lobby, just the lounge of Maleza, the hotel restaurant featuring rustic Baja cuisine and helmed by former Ace chef Yssac Ramirez. There’s free yoga on Saturday mornings, complimentary PUBLIC bikes for guests and various programming options such as sound baths and poolside DJs.

Groupings of all kinds: families, friends and sophisticated bachelorettes. Romantic couples, and those who require pampering, greenery or full spa programs would be best suited elsewhere.