Touring Palm Springs with the Cadillac XT6
Lately I’ve had Palm Springs on the brain. It’s one of my favorite places but, thanks to Covid, I haven’t visited in well over a year. In fact, the last time I was in town coronavirus was just a blip on the horizon and I was having the time of my life gallivanting around in the Cadillac XT6. Early last year I was invited by Cadillac to test out the XT6 and take it on a road trip to Palm Springs. Of course, I jumped at the chance and ended up having a fabulous time in the desert. But then came Covid and it just wasn’t the time talk about Cadillacs and weekend getaways when the virus was raging across the country. Luckily, things are in better shape now and although it’s been a minute I still want to share the fun I had that weekend in Palm Springs.
My adventure started before I left the house when a brand new 2020 Cadillac XT6 was delivered to my doorstep. When I was a kid my aunt had a Cadillac and, boy, was it fun to cruise around in. It was so plush and luxurious that it made me feel like a movie star riding in it. When I purchased my first vehicle as an adult it was…not a Cadillac. Unfortunately, it was (and remains) a brand out of my price range. Needless to say, I was super excited to try out the XT6.
Talk about luxury. Leather seats, BOSE speaker systems, wireless Apple Carplay and more were all at my fingertips. When I hit the road it felt like flying in a first class cabin. It was plush, it was luxurious and it was oh so comfortable. The ride was incredibly smooth and every road felt freshly paved. And the safety features! My seat would rumble if I started to drift, an indicator light would flash when a car was in my blindspot and the rearview mirror had a video option which showed the road behind me. I was awestruck.
All too soon I was in Palm Springs although that’s when the fun truly began. My home for the weekend was The Villa Royale, a quaint, boutique hotel tucked into a quiet corner of town. Built in 1947 it has 38 rooms that surround a Mediterranean style courtyard.
From my welcome cocktail I knew it was my sort of place and the mid mod vibe of my room only cemented my assurance. it was the perfect oasis for rest and relaxation and I’d happily return for a weekend getaway.
But on this visit there wasn’t much time for r&r because I had a city to tour! And what better way to tour it than in my XT6? After a good night’s rest I rejoined my vehicle and headed out on The Modern Tour with Michael Stern. Michael is a Palm Springs resident and an expert on the area’s mid-century modern design and my day was spent joining him on a tour of the exterior and interior of the town’s best homes.
If you’ve seen any of my posts about Modernism Week you know I love touring the area homes. The Modern Tour was everything I love about modernism week tours with one wonderful twist – we had the homes entirely to ourselves! It was fantastic wandering through them at my leisure and pretending, just for a second, that I was in my new desert pad.
It was such fun but all too soon it was over. The tour ended, I checked out of my hotel and, *sigh* I handed back the keys to the XT6. It was like a dream. Especially since a few short weeks later the world would entirely shut down due to the pandemic. Luckily, all of what I highlighted has survived the storm. The Villa Royale is open and accepting reservations for fun getaways, the Modern Tour is up and running and accepting reservations for a variety of excursions and the Cadilliac XT6 has graduated to the 2021 model and is available for purchase for those with deep enough pockets. And I’m still here. It’s been a long year and a half and I’m so happy to be back sharing all the good things California has to offer.