HOLLYWOOD IN PALM SPRINGS EDITION: Are the "Who's Who" of Hollywood Fueling Home Prices??

The Hollywood Reporter devoted a section on Palm Springs in their March 14 Magazine Edition. In the various pieces, Hollywood Heavy Hitters were asked to weigh in on Palm Springs living.

One piece that jumped out (of course) is a view of the Palm Springs Real Estate Market; and because it's the Hollywood Reporter, there's a lot of name checking and bold faced names of who live/have homes here; in addition, the article discusses the price surge in mid-century homes, with an angle on Hollywood's "elite" pushing the prices up.

Are mid-century homes selling? Absolutely - for instance, just last week, we had a listing for $1.2M that sold within 6 days of being on the market.

Are there still bargains to be had? Yes. Are they becoming fewer and farther between? Yes.

Is it the Hollywood Elite pushing prices up? I think the better question is:  Have we seen a younger set of Hollywood/Start Up/Creatives from LA, SF, Seattle, London + NYC recently?
Oh, YES. Absolutely.

Listen, the Hollywood Stars and the power players have been coming here since the 1920's. That is not going to change any time soon. They in turn attract others, and so on and so forth.

The Reporter also did a nice profile on Suzanne Somers 73 acre compound which, by the way, is A REAL honest to God compound complete with hiking trails, and trolley.  Major bonus points for the Albert Frey designed guest house! If you have some extra cash laying about, I suggest you look into it.

On the opposite end of the Real Estate spectrum, the Reporter looked at the Who's Who of Hollywood who live in Big Horn Golf Club.

Big Horn photo courtesy of BigHornGolf.com

Big Horn is everything mid-century is not. (Love your movies, Mr Weintraub!)

The magazine looked at new restaurants in the area cloaked under the guise of where to eat during Coachella.

Seriously? Have they ever been to Coachella? Dining out is truly the last thing on your mind. Between seeing the bands, the parties and travel time, who has time to eat? Don't get me wrong - keep the list, because it's a great one. Just an ambitious goal on the weekends of Coachella.

Speaking of dining out and drinking, The Reporter did a piece on the Hollywood regulars and where they like to eat and what to do - a nicely compiled list, though it can't compete with my list of Palm Springs old school eating and drinking spots that I did in my Welcome Wagon Letter to Leonardo DiCaprio. :) The Hollywood Reporter's list is great - keep it bookmarked, along with mine.

The article gave a nice shout out to Wil Stiles Shop which I love  and in a different piece  they talk about the the Grand Dame of Palm Springs Style,Trina Turk.

Photo of Trina Turk Courtesy of LA Times

Trina has been the unofficial ambassador of Palm Springs for over 20 years. Her original shops on Palm Canyon Drive are the epitome of Palm Springs Style. She has Mr Turk for the Men, Trina Turk for home and of course Trina Turk for women. You can never go wrong with Trina. Never.

Another shop is Deja Vu Vintage Finery  a must stop for vintage clothes at reasonable prices.  (Trina mentioned this shop as one of her favorites in her Reporter interview during Film Fest)

Photo Courtesy of Deja Vu Finery

Speaking of Style, some of my favorite Home Decor shops they missed (understandably so; otherwise, the article would be pages + pages long.)   

Modern Way in Palm Springs. Courtney will steer you right. And if he doesn't have the piece you desire, he will know how to get it. 

Hedge In Cathedral City for mid century furniture + home accoutrement. They have incredible finds, at really reasonable prices. Great fun shop.  

Colin FIsher Studios in Cathedral City has an eclectic mix of modern, abstract, figurative, and traditional paintings + sculptures. Curated beautifully.

And lastly, a nice write up on the latest hotels which have gone up/are going up including Hard Rock Hotel + Arrive Hotel.

The Hollywood Reporter's section on Palm Springs is a well thought out and well researched love letter to our wonderful town. Bravo!

The Palm Springs Welcome Wagon: Leonardo DiCaprio Edition!

Hi Leo,

My name is Matthew, 

and I'm one of your neighbors in Palm Springs.

Okay, maybe not a next door neighbor; but where I'm from, in a small town you welcome the new neighbors, regardless of distance.

I live in a vintage airstream called The Silver Suitcase™ that I bought off of ebay and renovated last August; I just purchased 2 more, which I blog about.

(Crazy, right?  I went from 1200 sq ft to 240 sq ft. and have had more fun parties here than I ever had before.)

Anyway, it seems like every major publication has announced your Palm Springs purchase. We knew you had bought a house, but kept mum.

Until now, as it's evident the cat is out of the bag, so:

WELCOME TO Palm Springs! 

I do hope you enjoy your time here. It's pretty great, if I do say so myself.

To get your feet wet, here are some of my favorite, mostly Old School, Dining and Drinking spots in Palm Springs:

Sunday Afternoon: Melvyn's is a must do. Nothing better for a civilized afternoon with cocktails, the trio of musicians and a tuxedo'd maitre'd - yes, even when it's 120 degrees out and you're wearing board shorts with a t-shirt, Brian the Maitre'd will be there to greet you and welcome you to all of Melvyn's glory with their perfectly made Sinatra approved cocktails.   (Btw, they are hosting a special Dinner with Gavin MacLeod on March 19th!)

photo courtesy of Melvyn's/Ingleside Inn

Sunday Night Dinner:  Lyon's English Grille: Has been open since 1939 and on Sunday's there's The Nat King Cole Set. Nothing is better. King Henry Cut? Prime Rib?

Photo Courtesy of Lyon's English Grille

Monday Nights 7:00pm: Sissy Bingo at the Ace Hotel in the Kings Highway Restaurant with bingo caller extraordinaire, Hollywood Legend, Linda Gerard. Prizes are awarded, and if you're lucky, Linda will serenade you. Linda, Cocktails, Dinner, Bingo, and Prizes? Doesn't get much better than this. On a Monday night, people!

Photo courtesy of Ace Hotel

How awesome is Linda?!

Photo courtesy of Ace Hotel

Any Time Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner: Billy Reed's!
When you want to dine in old school warmth where everyone looks good -  no matter the wear and tear on your face, this is the place to sit back in an old school bar chair (with arms!) and order a chilled Martini or Manhattan done by a seasoned pro.

Photo Courtesy of Billy Reeds

Order the Liver and Onions, Prime Rib or Chicken Picatta and finish off with the best Cake and Pie in town. They also serve Breakfast and Lunch. BONUS: You can order off any of their menus at any time. And, yes, cocktails, will be served at 8am if you so wish.

Lunch + Dinner: La Tablita Mexican Restaurant in Cathedral City is the place to go if you want Mexican. Open for lunch at 11, close at 10 - full bar, and really outstanding Mexican food + Cadillac Margaritas. Worth the drive/Taxi. 

Photo Courtesy of La Tablita/Facebook

Any Day for Lunch: Tyler's!

Photo Courtesy of Tylers.com

I love the simplicity of Tyler's. Sit outside under the canopy or grab one of the 10 seats inside. They have a simple menu of burgers (veggie and turkey too), fries, sandwiches, malts, milkshakes with everything freshly made to order. 11- 4 daily + cash only. Get the "SomerSized" named after Suzanne Somers!

Lastly, a few things to keep in mind:

• Don't turn on the misters when it is 85 or above, all it does is produce humidity - not cute, nor cooling.
• The pool takes 24 hours to heat up  - keep in mind if you want it heated by the time you get out here.
• If your friends want discretion, put them up at Ruby Montana's Coral Sands Inn. Ruby's is the vault of all vaults. Trust me. You can find her here and here. She's on the border of the Las Palmas neighborhood.
• Palm Springs to Rancho Mirage is 20 minutes. Don't let anyone tell you any different.
• Coachella is about 45 minutes by car from Palm Springs. Don't let anyone tell you any different.
• The Sun Bus stops at Melvyn's - not that you would ever use it, but I love that tid bit. Makes me laugh every time.
• We have taxi's.
• Sunscreen. Highly recommended.