I've never been one to subscribe to the school of thought that you have to spend thousands of dollars on a retreat in some far flung, isolated jungle when you're craving a little solo time or a peaceful way to mentally reset and recharge. Instead I tend to focus on trusting your own inner wisdom and carving out retreats where you are the master of your experience. This can be as simple or as complex as you let it be. You just have to trust where you feel drawn to. (You'd be amazed how good even just turning off your phone for a day can feel).
But sometimes that wisdom tells you, you need to venture into the less familiar. Maybe you need a long road trip to clear your head, maybe you need a real change of pace to shake things up or maybe you just need to interject some visual freshness to really reset, and fall back in love with your day-to-day.
A place like Sparrows Lodge in Palm Springs, is the perfect place to get back in touch with you and to carve our your own pathway back to peace in the desert.
Set in the middle of downtown Palm Springs off Palm Canyon Drive, this cozy little hideaway is the epitome of retreating in plain sight. A true lush, vintage-inspired oasis smack dab in the middle of Palm Springs downtown, its a retreat space in a category of its own. And even though you are in the middle of it all, you couldn't feel farther away from everything.
Stepping foot on the grounds of the property, you're struck by its modern, rustic ascetic that immediately makes you feel like you've been transported back to Laurel Canyon in the 60's. That same effortlessly cool, simplistic and yet stylish allure is echoed all throughout the property down to the smallest details, like art, book collections, and of course the music humming through the air.
Sparrows Lodge is the perfect blend of accessible and exclusive. Having only 20 rooms and an adults only policy, you'd be hard pressed to find a more peaceful atmosphere. But its exclusivity isn't mired in pretentiousness. Its relaxed and welcoming charm, lets you define what a retreat weekend means for you. Whether it’s a spa treatment, a glass of wine and a good book, a starry, midnight dip in the pool, or a self-led meditation in your private outdoor patio, your weekend getaway is, at the heart of it all, completely peaceful and your creation from beginning to end.
Palm Springs might not be the first place you think to retreat to during the Summer heat, but Sparrows Lodge keeps things chill (both temperature and noise level speaking). The rooms are perfectly air-conditioned, the pool temperature is perfectly refreshing and the misters surrounding the pool keep things icy and breezy while you sip on a spritz by the water.
The rooms are well appointed with the perfect balance of natural and modern amenities, and you won't find a television in any of the rooms (something I found incredibly refreshing). The bedding was crisp, plush and cool and the stacked stone wall separating the rain shower and soaking tub set the tone of calming, minimalist, nature-inspired design.
My room was on the outskirts of the property, making for a deeply private, quiet and secluded feeling.
And just in case you hadn't fallen in love yet (although I'm not sure who could resist the charms of this place), the food at the Barn Kitchen was incredible. (PSA - GET THE ASPARGUS AND BURRATA). Vegetable forward dishes with emphasis on farm to table freshness and a wine list that keeps you on your toes in the best way.
Rounding out a day spent reading by the pool, I decided to wrap up my evenings by stargazing, quiet self led yoga practices followed by a sensuous bath in the soaking tub in my room; a combination that I highly recommend.
I get that its easy to overlook the desert in the Summer when you need a little reprieve from regular life. In all honesty, the heat index the week that I went was a bit daunting, but I can say affirmatively, that the magic of the desert is still alive and well in the Summer, especially when visiting Sparrows Lodge. Its the perfect place to put your phone on airplane mode, unwind and get back to basics without sacrificing style or comfort.
So, if you find yourself in need of a little reprieve without going too far off the beaten path Sparrows Lodge checks all the cozy, grounding boxes. ( They even send you off with a little farewell sage bundle. How adorable?!)
Check them out the next time you need a retreat.
xo