Ace Hotel & Swim Club

Any hip hotel presents its own version of an idealized lifestyle. But while some present a consumerist bachelor-pad fantasy, others an elitist fashion-insider vibe, the Ace hotels feel democratic, participatory, accessible. Maybe it’s a product of the brand’s origin in the Pacific Northwest, a region that’s known for an egalitarian, community-oriented philosophy. At the Ace Palm Springs you don’t occupy spaces created by big-name designers, dine in a celebrity chef’s concept restaurant, or drink in some nightclub impresario’s branded cocktail bar. Here you drink in a high-desert dive bar and sit for meals in a repurposed diner — lunch counter and all — and order from a menu that’s high-quality and locally sourced but still comfortingly familiar.