San Diego & Palm Springs Holidays

The Del is truly iconic. With its turreted red roofs atop whitewashed redwood cladding, you’ll spot it a mile off in all its Victorian splendour. Yet while the 1888 building is indisputably grand, newer additions to the hotel bring contemporary beach vibes to give you the best of both worlds.

Hotel Indigo is part of a high energy scene in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. Gather around a rooftop fire pit for cocktails with a city view before heading out to find some Californian fare and live music. 

Fun-loving yet sophisticated, Kimpton Hotel Palomar boasts a rooftop pool and laid-back Mexican cantina. With its central Gaslamp Quarter location, it’s just as easy to spend time out and about as it is to hang at the hotel. 

The toughest choice at Pacific Terrace hotel is deciding whether it’s a pool day or a beach day. This area epitomises a California beach break – surfers tackle the waves, and the boardwalk bustles with skaters and cyclists.

Warmly welcoming and with a knock-it-out-of-the-park rooftop pool, this is a great option when you like your hotels to have a bit of personality and buzz about them. Oh, and the super central address helps seal the deal on this one.

The US Grant is a palatial pad in San Diego and perhaps the city’s most storied hotel, thanks to its 1910 beginnings. It’s held on to its reputation for elegance and lavishness over the years and continues to be a magnet for lovers of luxury.

A fantastic choice for golfers

Luxurious spa hotel in downtown Palm Springs.

Overlooking the Gaslamp Quarter, Andaz San Diego has an enviable address amid this lively destination. Other than its location, it’s most lusted after for its rooftop pool, bar, and restaurant.

For the crowd that craves plenty of sports and leisure – golf, swimming pools, waterslides and whirlpools – Westin Desert Willow Villas is an easy-going escape. With mountains, desert and lively downtown hubs around, it also ticks the experiential travel box.

Kimpton Rowan’s crown jewel might be its hip Champagne and swimming pool rooftop scene, but with striking desert views and art-strewn interiors, any floor you land on feels just as swish.

On this 11-night road trip, you’ll drive east from the sparkling Pacific Coast, visiting San Diego and Palm Springs before crossing the state border into Arizona for adventures in the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. You’ll touch Route 66 at Flagstaff (where the night skies are nothing short of dazzling), get swept up in the scenery of Sedona, and finish in the luxury folds of Scottsdale, an upscale part of Phoenix, the capital of Arizona.

Set off on a self-drive that takes in the best of sun-kissed SoCal. Start in oceanfront Santa Monica with its tourist-hotspot-meets-local-neighbourhood vibe, spend a couple of days relaxing in the desert city of Palm Springs and feel the sand between your toes along San Diego’s glorious coastline.

This trip hits the famous Pacific Coast Highway but nips inland to visit Californian jewels like Napa, Yosemite, and Palm Springs. You’ll experience the best that the state has to offer, from its contrasting cities, ginormous national parks, world-class wine regions, and beautiful stretches of coastline. As you drive from north to south, the weather gets warmer and sunnier, and when you eventually reach San Diego, a thousand miles on the clock, it’s the perfect moment for a classic beach break.