Citron, at the Viceroy, Palm Springs

For my 30th birthday (yes, 30, yikes!) J planned a lovely surprise of a nice relaxing weekend at the Viceroy hotel in Palm Springs. J planned a nice day out by the pool and a couples spa treatment, a very nice dinner at Citron (where we consequently also had breakfast the next day) and shopping the next day. Needless to say, I came back ready to face the world after a weekend of relaxing in a fantasyland in the middle of the dessert.


We pulled into the Viceroy on Saturday mid-afternoon and were mildly disappointed to see that the actual infrastructure of the hotel was a bit old and haggard. Essentially, the Kor group went in, bought a run down motel (the type of motel that has old school amenities such as wall unit a/cs), and re-vamped it in the classic Viceroy fashion of old Hollywood glamour. Thus, when walking into the Viceroy, Palm Springs, one is reminded of the Black and White decor of Viceroy, Santa Monica, but it has a more boutique feel to it, not unlike the smaller hotels in beverly hills, such as The Crescent.


The pool area is nice, there are three pools on the property, and the servers are attentive and pleasureable to talk to. We enjoyed the bar b que lunch outdoors by the pool, where I had a seared ahi club, and he had a chicken sandwich with chipotle mayo. Maybe it was the dessert breeze, or being poolside, or the fact that the meat was freshly grilled, but everything tasted delicious!


After swimming and lounging , we our spa treatments (massages, feet treatments and facials), and then got ready for dinner at Citron. The food was incredible, and I don't say that very often.

We started with a bottle of wine that I actually brought from my collection, a 2003 Turley Zin, from the Tofanelli Vineyard (review to come). This was the perfect opener for an orgasmic meal. We started with the "bucket o crab and shrimp," six kilpatrick oysters, a tomato and cucumber salad, and I had the filet with tomato risotto and he had the pork chop with the same risotto.




I tend to favor Kumamoto Oysters, that are chewy, not gooey, so when the waiter said that the only oysters they had were the kilpatrick, I was a bit apprehensive, but they ended up being very fresh and delicious. They were on the smaller side anyway, so were a nice refreshing way to start the meal, especially right before our crab and shrimp, both which were fresh. The tiger prawns were large and filling, and the crab was also served in generous portions, albeit a bit on the salty side.
I think my favorite part of the meal was the filet (which I rarely order) with the tomato risotto. The risotto was perfect in texture, not to mushy and not too hard. It was flavorful and creamy and delicious. The filet was grilled to perfection, and not overly marinated.

The waiter was super nice, and came back and chatted with us several times about this and that. He made sure our wine never ran low and that we always were well taken care of.


The food was so good that the next morning, J and I had to go back for breakfast (well, that and there aren't a lot of other options available on the main street). We both ordered the "Viceroy Breakfast," a simple but delicious combination of eggs, sausage, smoked applewood bacon and homestyle potatoes. Everything was delicious, and the service was almost too nice.

This is the perfect mini-vacation getaway for LA folks that want to escape LA for a few days. Ironically, almost everyone I talked to was from LA as well.


Viceroy @ Palm Springs
415 S Belardo Rd
Palm Springs, CA 92262
(760) 320-4117