Gorgeous Getaway - ACE Hotel, Palm Springs

We're staying in the desert for this week's Gorgeous Getaway, with a trip to the wonderful ACE Hotel in Palm Springs.

Just a few minutes walk from downtown, set against the backdrop of the barren San Jacinto mountains and the big, brilliantly blue desert sky, the ACE Hotel is the desert motel of your dreams. A tired old Howard Johnson's was stripped down and re-imagined as a casual and chic getaway - from the breezy, whitewashed rooms hung with canvas drapes, to the sunsoaked terraces, retro pool and bar area, laid-back natural spa and deconstructed, 60's style diner serving delicious locally grown delicacies. The whole feeling is very chilled out, sunwashed and effortlessly cool.

I love the perfect little touches, like the soft, fluffy white beds and louver panelling in the rooms, the outdoor fireplaces scattered around the pool area for cool nights, the fleet of retro bikes for touring the area, and of course the fact that you can bring your dog - one of my top priorities. Reclining on a sun lounger with a good book and tiny bikini is so much nicer with your best friend draped across your feet.

If there's one (tiny) downside to all this cool, clever style, it's that the crowd can sometimes run into the trust-fund hipster vein, so be warned if you have a short fuse when it comes to ironic headwear. One morning at breakfast in the fabulous diner, a twenty-something fellow shuffled in wearing a grotty, artfully disheveled caftan,  morose-looking model in tow. Reclining languidly at his corner table, he perused the stocks page of the Wall Street Journal and sipped coffee in silence across from the bored and hungry-looking girlfriend. Most days, it would have been a struggle for me to keep from throwing a bread roll at the back of his head and shouting "Get a job!" Yet my french toast was so delicious, the coffee so divine, everything bathed in such a bright, clear desert light, that even I looked on the world of slumming hipsters with a more tolerant slant on that glorious weekend....

Have you ever seen a desert sunset? What's your favorite, easy, weekend getaway where you can relax and recharge? Are you allergic to hipsters? Share your thoughts below!