Our West Coast Adventure - May 2017 - Day 11: Arriving in Palm Springs and Hard Rock Hotel

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Index can be found here

Sunday 21st May 2017

Steps: 15,886
Miles: 6.51

The alarm went off at 8:30am but we had been awake a little while before that as there had been a lot of commotion in the corridor outside… the downside of being the first room on the corridor meant a lot of traffic walking past!

By 9:10am I was out of bed and as it was our last morning in Vegas it was time to pack up ready to check out. By 11am we were all ready to go so Paul called down to bell services to get them to come and collect our bags. We had planned to go and have some breakfast on the strip before making a move so we were going to store all our luggage with them until we were actually ready to leave. We had been told on checking in that there was no need to go to reception to check out, we could just leave the keys in the room and they would e-mail through our invoice and then take any charges straight off the credit card they had on file. We owed just under $80 for the two night resort fees… nice to not have to pay parking for this stop!

As we made our way through the TI casino we had a stop at the Walking Dead machine for a last gamble… this had been the machine Paul had won on the night before but despite putting in $20 in each we only came away with cash out vouchers for $0.21 and $0.24! (Something nice to pop in the memory box at the very least!)

Making our way out of TI we stopped for a few photos, it was such a gorgeous morning and definitely hotter than what we had been seeing over the past week.

We decided we would go to Denny’s for breakfast (because you can’t beat a Denny’s breakfast!) so made our way through the Venetian to get there.

On making it to Denny’s we were told it would be a 15 minute wait for a table but we were seated in less than 10 which was a result! We both ordered a cherry coke (Denny’s do the best cherry coke we have ever found in the US!). For food Paul went for the all American Slam and I opted for a ham and cheese omelette. All delicious!

With the bill settled up it was now 1:05pm and time to head back to TI to collect the car and make our move out of Vegas. Leaving Denny’s we stopped to get some photos in front of the fountain at the Venetian and whilst there a nice man offered to take a snap of the two of us together.

By the time we made it back to the car it was 1:35pm and on pulling out of the car park Paul signalled right to head down the strip… completely forgetting we had to pick up all our luggage from bell services! Luckily a quick lane hop meant we could easily make our way out the front of the hotel to collect all our cases. With them soon loaded into the boot of the car we were on our way!

Before we could leave Vegas we had one last stop that was absolutely essential… at the ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign! This is situated at the very south end so it was a short drive to get there and there is a car park right in front so easy to stop and get out for photos.

As always there was quite a queue but it is of course an essential photo to have when visiting Vegas so we hopped in line. By this point it was crazy hot (according to the car 100 degrees) so Paul being the gentleman he is offered to hold our place in line whilst I stood in the shade…what a hero!

We waited around 10-15 minutes to get to the front and took a variety of photos of each other and then also asked the couple in the queue behind us to take a photo of the two of us together (I cannot tell you how annoyed I am that the people walking up in the background photobombed us… why would you approach the sign from this side when everyone is taking photos?!)

After having some photos directly in front we also then moved to the side to take a few more (if you are happy with this angle you wouldn’t have to queue at all)

With photos successfully achieved it was time to get to say goodbye to Las Vegas and be on our way! I sure hope we can come back soon…

Back in the car it was roasting!

We carried on making our way south and decided to make one last stop in at the outlets, because there is always time to fit in one last shopping trip!

It was a quick dash around, first stop was Converse where we couldn’t resist a very cute little pair of crib shoes for the baby ($22) and then also a fair of white Velcro ones for our nephew Joshua and some pink high-tops for me, despite being $32.99 and $54.99 separately they were running an offer if you bought one pair you got a second pair 40% off so they came to $80 total… bargain!

Next was the Disney store where we picked up some Marvel figures for our nephew Reece ($9) and then to Levi where Paul got another pair of jeans for the bargain price of $29.99 plus 20% off!

It was now 3:40pm and we knew we had to make a move as we had a long drive ahead of us. Making our way back to the car I made a quick stop at Subway to pick up some water ($2.50). Back in the car Paul decided he need a Coke fix so a stop at McDonalds was needed where he picked up a large cup for $1!

By now it was 3:55pm. We had originally planned to go via the Joshua Tree National Park on our way to Palm Springs but on putting it into the sat nav we found our expected time of arrival would be 7:52pm which definitely felt a bit late as it would be getting dark by then so not very good for sight-seeing! So at this point we decided to make a last-minute change to our plans and head straight to Palm Springs instead. With that decided we hit the road and started the long drive ahead!

We hadn’t been on the road long and I of course needed the toilet… damn pregnancy bladder! (A mere half an hour into the journey to be precise!) We were approaching Primm so we pulled off to make a stop there and as we would soon be needing gas too we thought we would kill two birds with one stone and head straight to a gas station.

Paul filled the car up with $30 of gas and I popped inside to use their toilet facilities and also picked up a bag of spicy nacho Doritos ($1.69) because some in-car snacks were essential!

By the time we were leaving Primm it was 4:45pm and according to the sat nav we were due to arrive at Hard Rock Hotel in Palm Springs at 8:33pm… so still quite a long way to go! Time to hit the road!

Despite being lovely and cool in the car (god bless air con) it was still super hot outside, as we were driving past Baker at 5:25pm we saw a temperature gauge reading 102 degrees! 20 minutes later it was reading at 104 degrees on the car temperature gauge!

It was also around this stage of the journey that we hit some traffic and slowed right down!

It was a pretty long drive but by 8:40pm we were finally pulling up to Hard Rock Hotel in Palm Springs! The hotel only offers valet parking so we had all our bags loaded onto a trolley and left the car with the guy out the front of the hotel. The first thing that hit us when getting out of the car was how hot it was! Despite being close to 9pm and dark it was still 96 degrees!

We went inside and it was a nice smooth check-in process and by 8:55pm we were ready to enter yet another hotel room… ah theat excitement and anticipation all over again!

We certainly weren’t disappointed on entering the room, it was gorgeous! We stayed at the HRH in Universal last year and the theming of the rooms was quite similar… very funky and cool!

We had upgraded our room on booking to have a pool and mountain view but as it was so dark out we couldn’t really see at this point, something to check out in the morning!

Paul rang down to reception to have our bags brought up and I had a quick shower to freshen up (I was feeling quite yucky after so long in the car!). By 9:45pm we were ready to head out and find some food, stopping in reception for a couple of photos… the theming was fantastic!

On leaving the hotel we headed out onto what we assumed was the main road of Palm Springs, being dark and never having been here before it was quite hard to navigate our way around! Being pretty late on a Sunday evening there wasn’t too many people about on leaving the hotel we asked the guy on the valet if he had an recommendations of good places to eat and he suggested Lulu which we spotted straight away so we made a beeline for there.

By now it was 10pm so we had no problem getting a table as it was pretty quiet and as it was still so warm we requested to sit outside in the terrace area. Paul ordered a glass of Luna Pinot (I was somewhat jealous, I love a glass of wine!) and I went for a trusty lemonade.

Paul ordered the chicken tenders to start and then the seafood linguine and I opted for the chicken quesadillas. The food was delicious, definitely a good recommendation from the HRH valet guy! The only downside was that the service was a little lacking but I think that was due to us being there so late, clearly they were winding down to close up for the evening as we didn’t get offered any refills on our drinks and weren’t even asked if we wanted dessert! So it ended up being a rather cheap eat!

On settling up the bill we headed back out onto the main street and heard some live music coming from the bar next door so we attempted to go inside for a drink… only to be told by the doorman on approaching that they weren’t letting anyone else in… it was only 11pm, seems our late night ways were not going to be catered for in Palm Springs on a Sunday night!

So with no other options available to us we took a stroll back to the hotel thinking we would get a drink at the bar there instead. As we neared the hotel and were back in their wifi zone I had a quick look at the weather for tomorrow… yikes it was going to be hitting highs of 42 degrees! Now in planning this trip it has to be said that we had done very little research into Palm Springs as we knew it would only be a flying visit, we were totally oblivious to the crazy hot temperatures they get there!

On entering the hotel at 11:10pm we found the bar shut! Definitely not much of a night life on a Sunday here it seems! So before heading back to the room we took the opportunity to have a nosey around and get some photos whilst it was so quiet. It really is a fab hotel, very cool and trendy!

On heading upstairs we also found a Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs backdrop which encouraged me to do my best rock pose… Paul on the other hand went for the more traditional point pose!

We were back in the room by 11:30pm and I couldn’t resist having a little look at the mini bar items on offer, and despite a rather clear sign saying it was all motion sensitive I picked up a bottle of Fiji water… whoops! I put it straight back down but Paul took great delight in laughing at me and said we would be charged for it now! Paul fancied a drink so grabbed a can of Pepsi… a bargain at $5!

Back in the comfort of our lovely room I was now feeling very sleepy so by 11:55pm was tucked up in bed, leaving Paul to flick through the stations on the TV (as you will probably have gathered by now he is much more of a night owl than me!)

And there ends our long day of travelling that saw us move from Vegas to a very hot Palm Springs! Tomorrow we feel the full force of those crazy temperatures, we move on from Palm Springs, making a stop in the Joshua Tree National Park and ending the day by arriving in LA!

Day 12 can be found here

[clochette]

You can call them crib shoes as much as you like, but they are definitely baby trainers!

How hot? I don't think so! Quite a change of pace between Palm Springs and Vegas then. I didn't think it got that quiet in America.

[Wismgari]

Wow... I can't even imagine those temperatures! I love that you guys consider 11.55 am early night, staying in magic Kingdom past midnight destroys me!

Excited to see Joshua Tree, we are planning to go there in October but haven't had a chance to plan which bits are best to see yet 🙂

[Redrach1903]

You are so right about Denny's! Can't beat it! But an omelette? Far too healthy

Haha loving your rage at the photo bombers. I would never have even noticed them if you didn't say! Hehe!

Wow! Those are some CRAZEEEEEE temperatures! I've only ever felt heat like that in the Middle East! Oocha!

The hotel looks gorgeous!

Great read again lovely xxx

[abiknox]

Not a bad day considering it was an 'on the road' type of one.

Dennys breakfast looks yum! Could so eat that right now

HRH looks amazing too, shame everything was closed for you though.

OMG that heat! I don't think I could deal with 42 degrees!

[Jake71]

WOW those are some cracking hot temperatures! Thank God for air con. The Hard Rock Hotel looks stunning.

[DisneyDreamer81]

That hotel room is stunning! The whole hotel looks incredible to be honest!

I love how late you guys stay up - proper night owls! I think I'll be doing well if I make it past 10pm in Florida in a few weeks, haha! x

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Originally Posted by clochette

You can call them crib shoes as much as you like, but they are definitely baby trainers!

How hot? I don't think so! Quite a change of pace between Palm Springs and Vegas then. I didn't think it got that quiet in America.

See more...

Haha yes they are definitely baby trainers, but too cute to resist!

I had heard Palm Springs is quite a place to party… clearly turning up on a Sunday night was a mistake!

Originally Posted by Wismgari

Wow... I can't even imagine those temperatures! I love that you guys consider 11.55 am early night, staying in magic Kingdom past midnight destroys me!

Excited to see Joshua Tree, we are planning to go there in October but haven't had a chance to plan which bits are best to see yet 🙂

See more...

Haha we certainly do seem to stay up late when we are away… I think just to make the most of every available minute… you can imagine how exhausted we are by the time we come home!

I can’t wait to share all my Joshua Tree photos with you, it is such a stunning place and definitely worth a visit!

Originally Posted by Redrach1903

You are so right about Denny's! Can't beat it! But an omelette? Far too healthy

Haha loving your rage at the photo bombers. I would never have even noticed them if you didn't say! Hehe!

Wow! Those are some CRAZEEEEEE temperatures! I've only ever felt heat like that in the Middle East! Oocha!

The hotel looks gorgeous!

Great read again lovely xxx

See more...

I know, can you believe it… a breakfast without any sugar! Most unlike me!

I was still going on about those photo bombers for days afterwards, Paul was the same and said he hadn’t even noticed them when looking back at the photos!

Hard Rock Hotel was gorgeous… I now want to visit more as they have them in so many different countries… any excuse for another holiday! xxx

Originally Posted by abiknox

Not a bad day considering it was an 'on the road' type of one.

Dennys breakfast looks yum! Could so eat that right now

HRH looks amazing too, shame everything was closed for you though.

OMG that heat! I don't think I could deal with 42 degrees!

See more...

I certainly was expecting more of a nightlife, I guess being a Sunday we were being a bit overly optimistic there… we will know for next time to arrive on a Friday/Saturday!

Originally Posted by Jake71

WOW those are some cracking hot temperatures! Thank God for air con. The Hard Rock Hotel looks stunning.

See more...

The heat was mad, tune in to the next instalment to see me struggling with it!

Originally Posted by DisneyDreamer81

That hotel room is stunning! The whole hotel looks incredible to be honest!

I love how late you guys stay up - proper night owls! I think I'll be doing well if I make it past 10pm in Florida in a few weeks, haha! x

See more...

Haha it’s definitely Paul that is the night owl, I just somehow manage to keep up with him… if I was on my own I would be tucked up in bed by 10pm every night no doubt!

[orlandosgr8]

A Denny's breakfast is the best way to start the day for sure

Love the look of the Hard Rock Hotel, and your food at LuLu looked yummy, shame about the service though.

Thanks again for sharing your trip, really enjoying reading it xx

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Originally Posted by orlandosgr8

A Denny's breakfast is the best way to start the day for sure

Love the look of the Hard Rock Hotel, and your food at LuLu looked yummy, shame about the service though.

Thanks again for sharing your trip, really enjoying reading it xx

See more...

You really can't beat a Denny's breakfast can you?!

I would love to go back to LuLu earlier in the evening, I am sure it would be a very different experience... the food definitely made up for the service!