La Serena Villas, A Kirkwood Collection Hotel

The villa was clean and well decorated. I loved how quiet the property was and the breakfast basket was a nice touch. The bathtub and private fireplace in our patio was such a unique and luxurious addition to a really cute property. The only downside was that the fixtures in the bathroom were a bit worn and could use an update.

We got this hotel in Palm Springs for four nights because our friends who live there kept raving about their restaurant, Azucar (I'll review that separately). We booked a regular king room, but when we checked in, the nice girl at the desk (Shantay, I think?) suggested upgrading to a Grand King for the views and extra space. It was an extra $130 per night which seemed steep, but totally worth it once we saw the room. The room had a Spanish colonial style which I love. Good bedding, big bathroom, but the real highlight was the outdoor fire pit and an amazing 4-claw bathtub. Used it every night! What's funny is from the outside, the place looks pretty but you'd never guess what's inside. We used the pool on a couple of the warmer days. It was busy but not crowded, everything was clean, and people were chill. Got some drinks and snacks poolside and the service was good. We all had dinner at Azucar on the rooftop right at sunset and it was delicious and beautiful with great service even though every table was full. They gave us a late checkout (2 extra hours) which was helpful with our 5pm flight. The whole experience was much more special than I anticipated and I highly recommend.