Vacation Rentals :: A Palm Springs Story

With so many unique hotels in Palm Springs, from retro resorts to hip hideaways, I've always chosen a hotel over a vacation rental. But a recent trip to my favourite desert destination inspired me to rent a holiday home rather than share hotel rooms with friends.

Vacation Rentals vs. Hotels

I love the comforts of home, aesthetic variety and neighborhood options of vacation homes. I love hosts who offer restaurant recommendations or touches like a bottle of wine or coffee and tea upon arrival. I love cooking my own meals if I feel like it. I love unconventional spaces like tree houses or Airstreams or houseboats. I love the privacy of my own space. I love living amongst locals in off-the-beaten-path locales instead of hotel strips.

All of this said, I love the ease of hotel booking. I love not having to clean and never having to leave the resort if I don't want to. I love meeting new friends and people watching. I love knowing what I'm going to get and how much it's going to cost. I love ordering food to my room. I love being right in the thick of it with the city on my doorstep.

There are as many great reasons to book a vacation property as there are to book a hotel. That's the ethos of Trip Styler. We have the freedom and opportunity to choose from any number of trip styles for any given trip.

Tips for Selecting a Vacation Rental 

• Establish a budget – Before diving too deep into your research, know your nightly cost {in your own currency, if applicable}. That way you won't be tempted by houses plucked off the pages of Architectural Digest.
• Select a neighborhood – Do you want to walk into town? Do you want a neighborhood with midcentury homes? Consider these elements and make use of Google Maps' Street View feature to get a feel for the area. 
• Decide on amenities – If a private pool is a must, avoid properties with shared pools. If you plan to cook, ensure there's a spacious kitchen and barbecue. Not all houses I looked at had a heated pool, which many assured me was a must-have in the winter.
• Count the beds {and baths} – If the house is Instagram-worthy but only has two double beds for five people, it might not worth the digital likes. Consider who's willing to share beds or take the couch before booking.
• Ask questions – Send Airbnb owners or property managers questions to get a sense of the hosts based on their responsiveness and helpfulness. I confirmed availability and cost and inquired about pool heating, neighborhood and wind factor, as properties on the northern side of town can be quite windy.
• Read the reviews – I'm a huge fan of reviews, but I always take them with a grain of salt. I pay close attention to reviews that mention any issues and how they were handled. Broken heater but owner responds immediately with several space heaters? That's a good sign. The beauty of Airbnb is that you can see a reviewer's photos, rental history and even their own properties for rental.

Things to Know

• Vacation rentals are not always cheaper than hotels – Our Palm Springs house was about the same price as two rooms at the Ace Hotel. 
• Vacation rentals require hours of research – I created a document with details on the all the houses I contacted, including photos, costs, neighborhood, style of home and record of communication. 
• Vacation rentals may be listed on multiple sites at different prices – I tend to research properties on Airbnb because it's the most visually appealing website, but I've never booked on the site {not for lack of trying} for reasons like availability, communication and cost. I found our Palm Springs rental on Airbnb, but booked it with the rental company. 
• Vacation rentals may have hidden fees – I encountered a sneaky fee when I rented our Palm Springs home because I was paying with a credit card. Other hidden fees to look out for include daily pool heating and cleaning fees. 
• Vacation rental owners can be flaky – I contacted about a dozen properties on VRBO and Airbnb and either I never heard back or was informed their calendar wasn't up to date by a third of them. 
• Vacation rentals may require contracts and deposits up front – The beauty of Airbnb is that everything is arranged through the website. Other companies may require contracts to be signed and deposits sent ahead of time or upon arrival in cash or money order.

My Palm Springs Rental Experience

I wanted a midcentury home right in Palm Springs with a heated pool and fun aesthetic. I needed beds for five people and a good kitchen for cooking together. I found 15 properties at our price point, contacted a dozen and shortlisted five. I ended up selecting this property {see photo collage at top of post} from a local vacation rental company. It worked well for our group with three bedrooms, a pool and hot tub, enough pool loungers for everyone, two outdoor eating spaces and two living areas. It was close to the airport, close to grocery stores and about 10 minutes from downtown. Would I rent this house again? Probably not—but only because there are so many properties to choose from and I want to experience them all!

>> View more Palm Springs vacation rentals on my Airbnb Wish List. <<

This post is written by Trip Styler's Assistant Wayfarer/Editor Heather.

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[top photos via oasis rentals except top left of author by @graceyvr, all other photos via airbnb]

Healthy on the Road: How to curb holiday weight gain

[trip style = any]

{Editor's Note: This post was written by Serena Matter, the Canadian Editor for DailySecret.com, and a travel and wellness enthusiast based in Vancouver, Canada.}

Five pounds. Sorry to tell you this, but that’s how much weight the average person will gain on vacation. Trying to keep off the pounds while traveling is one tough challenge, but it IS possible {and it doesn’t involve sweating it out for hours in the hotel gym, either}. With Spring Break and bathing suit season enroute, we’ve put together four healthy eating strategies that won't get you "choked up" over calories. 

Pack Snacks, Not Pounds
Let’s start with your first hurdle: the airport. No surprise, the food selection can be pretty dismal, pretty pricey, or both {unless you're lucky enough to score a pass to The Wing, Cathay Pacific's flagship lounge}. And airplane food is often even worse {unless you travel in biz aboard Emirates}. Since most of us don't travel with first-class tickets every time we jetset, make your time in transit a little more healthy and enjoyable by packing your own food, such as a mix of veggies and protein you picked up from Whole Foods’ salad bar the night before your flight. Pair that with some crackers and hummus, dried fruit, veggie sticks, healthy trail mix or protein bars and you’ll be treating your body like the temple it is.

Boost your Breakfast
Several studies have shown that your self-control is strongest in the morning. So why not take advantage of that willpower and begin your day with a healthy breakfast? Just think: When you start off on the right track, you can put your calories towards good use later on {read: decadent dinner or guilt-free dessert}. Besides, after breakfast you want to feel energized for a day of sightseeing, not stuck in a food coma from a stack of syrup-laden pancakes.

Practice Safe Saucing
Whether it’s ponzu aioli or chipotle mayo, sauces can up the calorie quotient of a dish substantially. Obviously you wouldn’t ask for your fettuccine with alfredo on the side, but wherever possible, ask for the sauce in a side dish. This allows you to control the amount, as restaurants tend to overdo it in this area anyway. Same goes for salad dressing—instead of pouring the dressing over your salad, just dip your fork in it before each bite. 

Trip Styler Tip: In addition to safe saucing, try sharing a main dish and a salad with your travel partner to up your veg content and maximize the menu. 

Make your Calories Count
We know; a huge part of travel is experiencing the cuisine of your destination, and all the unique flavors and ingredients that come with it. Don’t deny yourself the dishes of the region—just choose wisely. Instead of throwing back a few sugary cocktails, save the calories for something special, such as un pain au chocolat in Paris or Salt & Straw ice cream in Portland!

[photos by @tripstyler and sourced online]

Oscar Swag Bags Soar to New Heights

[trip style = luxury]

While the Oscars are, like, so 10 days ago, the six-figure swag bag is NOT. Because who needs a gold statue when you can go glamping, travel on a luxury train through the Canadian Rockies or stay at a 10-room villa in Tuscany?

The glitzy gift bag, which only went to nominees like Meryl Streep, Emma Stone, Julianne Moore, Bradley Cooper, Steve Carell and Benedict Cumberbatch in the acting and directing categories, takes Oscar contenders from red carpet to runway with these jet-set escapes worth more than US$38,000.

Trip Style = Glamping
TerraVelo Tours’ opulent-meets-outdoorsy glamping trip takes Oscar contenders from Hollywood to Heaven-on-earth in the most awe-inspiring alcoves of Wyoming, California and Utah. Here, guests are wooed with A-list amenities from plush memory-foam beds with Frette linens to "transportable luxury bathrooms” stocked with C.O. Bigelow toiletries and Turkish towels. Couple these frills with the option to go surfing, cycling, hot air ballooning, or do sunrise yoga, and we’d like to put our name forward to be Bradley Cooper’s +1. 

Trip Style = Train
For those red carpet regulars who just can't give up the red carpet treatment, the Rocky Mountaineer has them covered. The luxury train company unfolds a red carpet every time guests step on and off the train. I experienced this journey first-hand a few years ago, and here's an except of the ride, touted as one of the "top five trains in the world" by Conde Nast Traveller.

"Meandering past frothing rivers, glassy lakes and snow-coned peaks in my glass-domed car, I was briskly reminded that I live in a place sought out by both seasoned and trip-of-a-lifetime travelers for its wild open spaces. On the Rocky Mountaineer, you co-exist with nature while dining on exec chef-prepared meals and drinking Canadian chardonnay. At one point, I remember rushing to my coach's outside viewing area to snap the scenery, camera in one hand, wine in another. At that moment, a smile came to my face. I was relaxed, well fed and wonderstruck in my own backyard."

Trip Style = Luxury
Fancy a nine-night lesson in la dolce vita? First stop: Tuscany, where nominees can unwind in Villa Armena, a grand late-Renaissance-era villa only 20 minutes from Siena. From there, they can stop for an espresso with George and Amal in Lake Como at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, an Art Nouveau palace with a floating pool on the lake and a spa with panoramic views of the ritzy region. Finally, the stars will jet-set to Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, a 180-year-old property perched on the Amalfi Coast, surrounded by a five-acre Mediterranean garden. 

Villa Armena

[photos via travel providers]