Palm Springs Modernism Week: art, fashion, architecture, and much more

All the events are announced in advance of being booked, and usually, once the fall preview week has passed, all the events are detailed. I’d done quite a bit of research to find out what interested us most and created a wish-list of the events we would look to book. As I do with my vacation planning, I then tried to work out what was on when and where making sure there were no clashes. I also tried to get a good mix of events across the days we were there, but still to leave time just for enjoying other things in Palm Springs – the glorious weather and chilling by the fantastic hotel pool. That time, we stayed downtown at the amazing La Serena Villas – excellent accommodation, service and facilities, and ideally located within walking distance of many modernism week events.

I made sure that I knew exactly when tickets would be released for sale on the website, and I was online precisely on time. For certain events, like some cocktail receptions, which are maybe only available at one time or with limited numbers, it’s easy to sell out quickly. Having never booked before, I was a bit nervous about adding too many events to the basket before checking out and confirming, but it all worked a dream, and I could have made sure that all events were selected at one. As it was, once I checked out on the first batch and then reselecting other events, the only thing I wasn’t able to get my first choice for was the tour of Sunnylands – as this was something we both wanted to do, we just changed our plans slightly to stay another night in PS. We secured tickets for our last day before then driving onto Las Vegas.

We were able to tour the whole house and gardens ourselves. There was a full cocktail bar that served complimentary cocktails throughout the evening (some house specials and other drinks), and excellent food was provided by one of our favourite Palm Springs restaurants, LULU California Bistro. There was a full pasta bar with almost every conceivable type of pasta – you’d then select some additional vegetables or meat/fish add-ons, choose a sauce, and the chefs would prepare your bespoke dish with a garnish of your choosing. Such a memorable evening to sit in such a unique location, steeped in history, eat delicious food and drink amazing cocktails, all with that wonderful balmy evening atmosphere of Palm Springs with its incredible climate.

We’ve visited Palm Springs a few times, with a mix of staying both in the downtown area as well as being slightly out of town. While I enjoyed both, I’d say for Modernism Week you’re better off staying downtown – there are so many resorts right in the heart of the city (with great facilities too) where you can easily walk to many of the venues. For house tours, where you will be taken by a minibus (as many of the locations don’t have sufficient parking), a usual pick up/drop off point is the Palm Springs Art Museum.

On our last visit, which was for Modernism Week in February 2020, we stayed at La Serena Villas (21’s and over and dog friendly). This was a great choice; not only was the location perfect, the boutique property only featured 19 suites, all with some private outdoor space – ours had a private back patio with an outdoor clawfoot soaking tub and firepit. As well as an on-site restaurant (Azúcar) and Sugar High Rooftop Lounge Bar, there was a main pool and an additional pool, and hot tub in the Spa. La Serena is part of PS Boutique Hotels, a trio of hotels also featuring the historic Del Marcos Hotel (1947), designed by architect William F. Cody and The Three Fifty Hotel.

We visited the Palm Springs Art Museum several times during our Modernism Week stay (as well as all the amazing permanent exhibitions of contemporary art, sculpture and studio art glass, there is always something new with temporary exhibitions of featured artists or themes). We often went for talks in the Annenberg Theater (donated to Palm Springs by the Annenberg family of Sunnylands, the former Annenberg Estate also well worth a visit). The museum also has a great restaurant and outdoor event space, as well as being near to the stunning Frey House II. On our last trip, we identified the upmarket Willows Historic Palm Springs Inn as another ideal location, passing this on our way up to see this incredible modernist house that overlooks Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley.