I'm a surfer from Culver City who ended up owning vacation rentals in the Coachella Valley. I'm not a Palm Springs local. I want to be upfront about that. But I spend enough time here, and I've leaned hard on Dawn's research and my own meals and walks, to say these recommendations are real. Not affiliate-coded, not algorithmic, not pulled from a "Top 10 PS Things to Do" listicle.
This is the guide we give Sundune guests. If you're staying at The Sundune, you're probably someone who wants a good cocktail and a good street taco, who values design but doesn't need to announce it, and who will happily spend a full afternoon at a surf park if the vibe is right. This guide is built for you.
Morning / Coffee
Les Filles
Start here if you want to feel like you're somewhere in the 9th arrondissement and not a strip mall adjacent to a Target. Les Filles is a European café that somehow nails it. The Parisian sandwich is perfection with simply authentic ingredients. Nothing is trying too hard. Order the sandwich, sit down, and let the morning move slowly.
Sottovoce
Sottovoce is an Italian wine and coffee bar that doubles as the entry point to an artist's collective called The Shops at Thirteen Forty-Five. It's worth visiting for the coffee alone, but the fact that you can wander from espresso into a curated collection of local makers and artists is the kind of thing that makes a morning feel like a full experience. Leisurely is the right pace here.
Wilma & Frieda's
The pop-tart at Wilma & Frieda's gets all the attention, and it deserves some of it. But the cinnamon roll deserves its own moment. It's the kind of thing you split with someone and then immediately regret splitting. Go early. It gets busy, and it should.
The Palm Springs morning walk that sets the tone for the whole day.
Brunch
The Farm + The Front Porch
The Farm is the obvious move for group brunch: spacious, good food, the kind of place that handles a table of six without falling apart. It's reliable in the best way.
But here's the move: after brunch, walk next door to The Front Porch. It's a Latin-styled hole-in-the-wall, and the tile work will immediately remind you of Casa Moto, that same handcrafted, warm, you-didn't-expect-this-here energy. These two spots sit side by side and together they cover everything you could want from a late morning: a good meal, a good wander, a little discovery.
Afternoon / Experiences
Palm Springs Surf Club
I'm a surfer, so I'm biased. But even setting that aside: Palm Springs Surf Club is one of the most fun ways to spend a full day in the desert. Lazy river, wave pool, a restaurant with a coastal California vibe that mirrors The Sundune's whole aesthetic: sun-soaked, a little elevated, not trying to be anything other than itself. Budget for it. It's a splurge day and it's worth it.
Moorten Botanical Garden
If Surf Club is the active afternoon, Moorten Botanical Garden is the exhale. Walk it at golden hour. It's genuinely soothing, the kind of place where you slow down without being told to. Cacti and succulents from all over the world, a pace that feels almost ceremonial. It's small, it's quiet, and it stays with you.
Phylum
Phylum is contemporary art meets high-design home goods, and it's essentially a taste of Modernism Week for people who missed it (or who want it without the crowds). Even if you don't buy anything, you'll leave with opinions. That's the point of good design spaces: they give you something to think about.
The Flannery Exchange
Free co-working space, boutique shops, a shop dedicated entirely to puppy lovers, matcha, coffee, and, this is the detail I keep telling people about, houseplants you can actually ship home. The Flannery Exchange is one of those places that shouldn't work as a concept but completely does. It's the kind of spot you discover by accident and then immediately text someone about. Spend an hour here in the afternoon when you need a break from the sun.
Palm Springs in one frame: bold color, desert plants, architecture that earns every Instagram post.
Dinner
Rooster & The Pig
Most visitors drive right past this one because it's tucked into an unassuming strip mall parking lot. Don't. Rooster & The Pig is an elevated Filipino restaurant, and it's a genuine local gem, the kind of place that regulars don't necessarily shout about because they'd prefer not to wait for a table. The food is specific, thoughtful, and nothing like what you'd expect to find in Palm Springs. Go on a weeknight if you can. Go with someone willing to order the whole menu.
Drinks
Boozehounds
The name tells you what you need to know about the vibe: lively, local, unpretentious. Boozehounds is where you go when you want a drink and good energy, not a craft cocktail experience with a seven-minute explanation. It's the kind of bar that makes you feel like you actually live somewhere instead of just visiting it. End your night here.
The Palm Springs version of ending your night right.
Palm Springs has a version of itself built entirely for first-timers: the Instagram midcentury shot, the pool selfie, the frozen rosé by the hotel. That version is fine. But there's a quieter, more interesting version underneath it, and that's the one this guide points toward.
If you want more Coachella Valley intel, the Indio local gems guide covers the other end of the valley. Different energy, just as worth knowing.
And if you're still looking for where to stay: The Sundune is exactly what it sounds like.