Villa Royale

Villa Royale

Villa Royale sits on a single story in south Palm Springs, a cluster of thirty villas built in 1947 when the Two-Hour Rule sent contracted actors no farther than two hours from a Hollywood set and Evelyn Pell opened a small ranch-style hotel she named after her own children, Valorie and Richard. That lineage still shows in the single-story layout: garden courtyards, a terrace and a sun deck spread across grounds you can walk from the city center, with South Lykken Trail and the shops of Cameron Center a short stroll away. The property is adults-only, which settles the question for anyone travelling with kids, but works for couples, small groups and pet owners (a $100 pet deposit applies alongside the standard $100 room deposit). Rooms run from a 175-square-foot Deluxe Queen to a 650-square-foot Standard King, each with a minibar, bathrobe and cable TV, though room-to-room variation is real given the property's age and mixed floor plans. Days move between the bar, the restaurant, a spa partnership for treatments, and pools that include both indoor and outdoor options, with bike rental and hiking access for those who want to leave the courtyard. A concierge, laundry and safe-deposit boxes cover the practical side, and the property is wheelchair accessible. What Villa Royale has that most Palm Springs hotels its size do not is an unbroken 1947 pedigree: the same low-slung villa footprint that once housed Mickey Rooney and screenwriter Irving Shulman, still walkable to town rather than isolated on a resort perimeter. It reads like a paused film set rather than a themed remodel. A single-story compound of thirty villas built in 1947, walking distance from downtown Palm Springs and still adults-only. Rooms range from a 175-square-foot Deluxe Queen to a 650-square-foot Standard King, with pools, a spa partnership and a $100 pet deposit for guests who bring dogs.