Palm Springs was a place I had never been to. If I’m being honest, I thought Palm Springs was in Florida. Then once I found out it was in California, I thought it was in Northern California. So I pretty much know NOTHING about Palm Springs…or geography. I truly think going through school was pointless for me. My poor teachers. But when the opportunity of taking a little weekend trip to a place I had never been popped up, I couldn’t say no. So I booked a flight for my sister in law and myself and we jetted off to Palm Springs to check out the town and an absolutely adorable boutique hotel called The Monkey Tree Hotel.

PaleOMG: My Stay at The Monkey Tree Hotel in Palm Springs

My goal for the year was to travel as much as possible and I’ve definitely kept up with that. I went to Costa Rica, San Antonio, Vegas, Jamaica, Austin, Nebraska, Portland, and now Palm Springs. And I still have Phoenix, Kansas City, San Francisco, Idaho and Key West coming up! Still trying to talk my husband into more trips but he thinks saving money is more important. BLASPHEMY!!!

When we drove into Palm Springs, I fell in love with the miles and miles of modern mid century houses, hotels and businesses. The town is filled with that look and TONS of color. Everything is bright and full of energy. We pulled into The Monkey Tree Hotel and I instantly noticed the background. The streets are lined with palm trees, but then just a few miles away mountains are sky high and absolutely beautiful. At The Monkey Tree Hotel, you walk in and you’re greeted with bright blues, yellows, and greens. The whole hotel lights up with color and is absolutely jaw dropping with its views of the sky and mountains.

PaleOMG: My Stay at The Monkey Tree Hotel in Palm Springs

The doors are locked and you need a code to get in, so right away you feel safe and locked away from the outside world. When you walk in, you’re greeted by the owner Kathy (and homemade sangria that is to die for!!) who tells you a bit of background about the hotel before you settle in. Rumor there is that Kennedy and Marilyn may have hooked up years ago in one of the hotel rooms there that had an entrance from the parking lot. Another little interesting and slightly gross fact is all the rooms use to be connected. AND it use to be a nudist resort. Let that all sink in and just picture that for a minute.

But when Kathy and her husband Gary were ready to try something different from their big city lives they had created in New York, they found themselves in Palm Springs with their two sons, buying this hotel to create a spacious, quiet and calm getaway for vacationers. Not nudist vacationers, though. The hotel is locked away from the outside world, has only 16 rooms so even when the pool is full it still doesn’t feel overrun, and is a place you are happy to wake up in every day. PaleOMG: My Stay at The Monkey Tree Hotel in Palm Springs

We stayed in the Jungle Room which is super vintage and has it’s own little backyard area along with a GIANT bathroom with windows peering into the private yard. We woke up every day to coffee at the coffee bar outside our room and would drink our coffee in bed while we watched TV until we got hungry. Since Kathy and Gary both knew I was paleo, Gary made sure to come up with something in the kitchen that I could snack on in the mornings. Every morning they have a small breakfast bar full of fresh fruit, granola, yogurt and homemade pastries like scones and for me he made paleo muffins and savory tarts! And how amazing is this eating area?
PaleOMG: My Stay at The Monkey Tree Hotel in Palm SpringsPaleOMG: My Stay at The Monkey Tree Hotel in Palm Springs

They said they’ve accommodated other diets in the past like someone who was vegan and actually loved one of the recipes they made so they make it on rotation now! So when you stay there, just let them know if you have any allergies or restrictions and they will make sure you feel at home. Gary even made a strawberry rhubarb jam that we topped on our muffins. It was awesome!!

PaleOMG: My Stay at The Monkey Tree Hotel in Palm Springs

After breakfast, most of our days were spent at the beautiful salt water pool. Since temperatures were over 100 degrees every day, their pool floats were used almost the entire time. We would float away on a giant flamingo, or in a donut or in one of their super comfy chair-like floats. The pool was always quiet (especially since Palm Springs actual “season” doesn’t start until September – even tons of restaurants close down in the summers) with people reading by or in the pool, sipping on drinks or even dropping in the hot tub in the evening or taking a quick dip in their cold plunge pool. In the evening, they have happy hour sangria that is CRAZY delicious so we would load up on that and then take some tipsy dunks in the cold plunge pool then the hot tub. It was awesome and makes your skin sting like a motha, but it’s the best!

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When we weren’t spending out time at the pool or doing a little bodyweight workout on the grounds, we ventured outside the hotel to check out the some stores, the tram up the mountain, and to eat at a few restaurants. I wasn’t overly impressed with any of the restaurants we tried EXCEPT for Eight4Nine which had a ton of gluten free options. I absolutely loved that restaurant. I had a good buzz going in after sipping on sangria poolside, then I got a watermelon cocktail that was amazing and excessively strong, so I was definitely feeling it all night. One and done. The interior was so feminine and had so many cool touches to it. It was made for a perfect bachelorette party restaurant…which made sense why there was probably 12 there. I had the marsala pork tenderloin and it was wonderful! We even had a server that told us our eyes were beautiful…while he was setting down the check. Convenient timing. We know your game plan, bro…and it worked.

PaleOMG: My Stay at The Monkey Tree Hotel in Palm Springs

PaleOMG: My Stay at The Monkey Tree Hotel in Palm Springs

Whenever I’ve traveled, I’ve usually stayed in all inclusive hotels or the normal hotels you can find in any city, but I’m so glad I was able to finally stay in a unique boutique (see what I did there) built around the true love and passion put into the facility. The owners are doing what they love by creating a space for people to get away, enjoy their stay, all while feeling at home. They put so much hard work into this hotel and it really does show. As soon as we were packing up our bags, I told my sister in law that I wanted to come back but this time with a huge group and rent out the entire facility for some sort of big party. It would be PERFECT for an event like that! Rarely do I want to go back to hotels, but this one is too amazing to say goodbye to. Because of Kathy and Gary at The Monkey Tree Hotel, I truly loved my experience in Palm Springs and can’t wait to head back just to see them and relax at the pool again. To see more about The Monkey Tree Hotel like their rooms, photos of the grounds and to read more about how they could make the perfect getaway for you and your friends, click here!

PaleOMG: My Stay at The Monkey Tree Hotel in Palm Springs

Hotel Accommodations Provided By:

The Monkey Tree Hotel

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33 Comments

  1. Stephanie says:

    Juli, I have to say, I love your blog now than I used to at the beginning. I am not an every day reader, I check it when I can. But I do appreciate that you respond to your readers. You can really tell when someone loves what they promote (whether it’s free or not) and I can tell you loved this hotel. I love that you’re branching out. I don’t believe that one blogger has a certain “brand” necessarily. People change and that is ok. I don’t even think it’s so much a change as it is “growing”. I appreciate that you appreciate feedback, even if it’s less than favorable. I will admit, when I read some of your posts in the past, when I saw bad language or maybe a little attitude, I didn’t read for awhile after that. But that’s not your issue. That is just something I am not particularly comfortable with. I don’t like confrontation. So even just reading EB’s first post… I was thinking, oh man this is going to turn into a catfight! But you both are mature and handled it well, considering how comment threads can be these days (i.e. have you ever read the comments on People.com. So mean!)
    So I will continue to read your blog and if I come across one I don’t care for, I will close my browser and meet you at the next post. Easy as that. 🙂

    1. juli says:

      i wish you could see the emails i get or the comments that don’t make it to my blog because they are so mean. i wish it was something that didn’t get to me and sometimes i definitely jump down people’s throats but it’s hard not to. when you’re bombarded with negativity when all you’re doing is putting what you love into the world, it gets really hard to deal with. thanks for commenting, stephanie!

  2. Jennie says:

    Um can I live there? P.S. I am seriously digging the travel posts. Get it girl. Branch out. I will read anything you post about: paleo tampons, non-paleo tampons (made from rice deriviatives), football hatred, cat fashion, etc.

    1. juli says:

      hahahaha someone actually emailed me about doing a post about organic tampons, but i just couldn’t do it lol! but glad to know people out there wouldn’t hate the topic!

  3. KariVery says:

    If I could have figured out a way to make my living the way you have, I’d be the happiest person on earth. You are just doing what a lot of peeps WISH they had thought of on their own, and I’m going out on a limb here and saying the negativity you get is just plain ol’ JEALOUSY. Love ya, keep doing what you do!

  4. Jessica says:

    Juli – I’ve read your blog for years and I love the different approach you’ve taken with expanding to new topics. Of course I love your recipes, but it’s also fun to read your hilarious thoughts on other topics. As a small business owner in the Palm Springs area it’s nice to have someone like yourself promoting in such a positive way. Regardless if you’re paid or not, anyone who has read your blog regularly knows your only promote things you love. I wish I could say don’t let the haters get to you, but if I’m being honest I would probably go off on them too! Anyways, glad you enjoyed Palm Springs!

    1. juli says:

      awwwww thank you so much, jessica! it’s so fun to talk about other stuff. just like any person, we grow and change and i’ve been able to do this with my blog as well and it’s so fun and keeps me wanting to actually keep up my blog longterm! so thank you so much for the support!!

  5. Katie says:

    I love your travel posts! Palm Springs never would’ve been on my radar but this cute hotel and those VIEWS definitely have me reconsidering. When you go to Key West you have to eat at Santiago’s Bodega! It’s a little off the beaten path but it’s super yummy tapas and they have great gluten free menu. We also loved La Creperie. Not paleo but they have some bomb buckwheat crepes!