Ace Hotel & Swim Club
a 1960s Howard Johnson converted in 2009 by Commune Design, whose former Denny's now serves breakfast under the name King's Highway
The place
A 1960s Howard Johnson on Route 111, with its Denny's set out front. Commune Design turned the logic of the motel around in 2009: the parking aprons became planted courtyards and private patios, and the diner became the house restaurant, King's Highway.
One hundred and eighty rooms, two pools, one of them reserved for adults, a spa by appointment and DJs at weekends. It is the most affordable address in our Palm Springs selection, and the noisiest.
From a roadside motel to one hundred and eighty keys
The building was not designed to be a hotel. The o2 Architecture practice, which led the conversion, describes a 1960s Howard Johnson Motor Inn on a five-acre plot, or about two hectares, flanked by a Denny's with diner architecture. Commune Design, which produced the interiors, speaks for its part of a 1950s motor lodge: the two sources diverge by a decade, while Travel Weekly's trade listing gives a construction date of 1965. Wikipedia adds that the address is said to have first carried the Westward Ho name.
The dates of the conversion also diverge: o2 Architecture puts the completion of the works in 2008, while Wikipedia and Commune Design date the opening under the Ace name to 2009. The work consisted of turning the logic of the motel around: the parking aprons were converted into planted courtyards and private entrance patios, and the Denny's was recycled into the King's Highway restaurant. The key count is not stable: Commune Design claims one hundred and eighty rooms, Tripadvisor and Travel Weekly give one hundred and seventy-nine, trivago one hundred and seventy-six.
The operator's site lists nine categories, from the Standard King to the Ace Suite. Two of them stand apart: the Patio with Garden, described as a king bed, a record player and a private patio, and the Patio with Fireplace, presented with an adjoining patio fitted with a sitting area, a fireplace and a view of the pool. The King Lounge, the only category whose maximum occupancy is published, takes four people.
Two pools, a spa, and a bill to read in full
The Swim Club has two pools. According to the operator's site, the Main Pool is reserved for over-eighteens and the Commune Pool is open to families, the latter sometimes being taken over for private events. Opening hours differ depending on the source: the official page indicates 7am to 2am for hotel guests, the ResortPass platform shows 7am to 10pm for day visitors. ResortPass specifies that the pool parties with DJs are held on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5pm, restricted to over-eighteens.
The Feel Good Spa works by appointment only, Sunday to Thursday from 10am to 3pm and on Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 6pm, with treatments presented as based on organic botanicals. King's Highway, set in the former Denny's, serves La Colombe coffee all day; the Amigo Room bar offers cocktails and a weekly karaoke.
The extras are documented in the official frequently asked questions: a resort fee of 45 USD a night excluding taxes, covering the Swim Club, wifi, bicycles, the gym, the steam room and local calls; parking at 10 USD per day per vehicle; pets at 100 USD per stay for two animals under 25 pounds, or about 11 kilos. Tripadvisor reviews, on the other hand, mention an amenity fee of 50 USD a day together with a 5% service charge on food and drink: this divergence is not resolved.
South of town, under a new shareholder
The hotel stands at 701 East Palm Canyon Drive, on the Route 111 axis, south of the centre. Travel Weekly places it a mile from downtown and three miles from the airport; HotelsCombined puts the Moorten Botanical Garden at 0.4 mile. Oyster notes that walking to the centre is not practical, which contradicts the heading on the official home page, which announces an oasis in the centre of Palm Springs.
On ownership, Travel Weekly reported on 16 September 2025 the purchase of Ace Group International and its agency Atelier Ace by Japan's Seibu Prince Hotels, for about 90 million dollars, an operation housed in an American subsidiary named Ace Hotels Worldwide Inc. Travel Weekly's trade listing also dates the last renovation to 2022.
What to take away
- The braided-rope elephant head fixed to the stone wall of King's Highway, above the tan leather banquettes.
- The half-moon masonry fireplace on the patio of the Patio with Fireplace rooms, set against the breeze-block wall.
- The beige shade sails stretched above the private patios, with the San Jacinto ridge in the background.
- The round cut-wood Feel Good Spa sign set on the white wall, next to the orange striped awning.
Noise is the first reservation to weigh. ResortPass schedules pool parties with DJs on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5pm, and the operator's site advertises the Swim Club as open until 2am for guests: the rooms overlooking the Main Pool are exposed, and the property also sells day passes from 34 USD via ResortPass, which adds an outside clientele at the poolside. Tripadvisor reviews report weak sound insulation between rooms and building-site noise at night. On charges, the official frequently asked questions give a resort fee of 45 USD a night excluding taxes, plus 10 USD of parking a day and 100 USD per stay for two pets under 25 pounds; Tripadvisor reviews report 50 USD a day and a 5% service charge on food and drink, a contradiction we have not been able to settle. Summer is punishing: Weather Spark gives an average maximum of 41°C in July in Palm Springs, with peaks above 45°C. The fabric is still that of a 1965 motel renovated in 2022 according to Travel Weekly, and Kayak records a room cleanliness score of 3 out of 10 despite an overall score of 7.6 out of 10 from 1,555 reviews, while trivago aggregates 8.1 out of 10 from 5,316 reviews and Tripadvisor 3.9 out of 5 from 1,258 reviews. Rates differ sharply between channels, from 118 USD on Kayak to 529 USD on Priceline for the same property: compare the exact night before booking.
We have not stayed at this property. This entry is written from verified sources, including the operator's own website, rather than from a visit.
Practical information
Palm Springs International Airport (PSP) is the nearest: Rome2Rio counts 3.3 miles, or 5.3 kilometres, and five minutes by car, for a taxi fare given as between 17 and 21 USD; HotelsCombined gives 3.5 miles and about seven minutes. The SunLine network serves the Route 111 corridor on which the hotel stands, with a single journey at 1 USD and a day pass at 3 USD according to SunLine Transit's fare table; frequency remains low and the service is not designed for luggage.
Parking on site is charged at 10 USD per day per vehicle, with a pass handed over on arrival, according to the operator's frequently asked questions. From Los Angeles, Rome2Rio gives 120.4 miles, or about 194 kilometres, from LAX airport, and 2 hours 13 minutes of driving outside traffic; train and bus combinations take between five and six hours for 19 to 29 USD.