Yes, You Should Definitely Stay At The Famously Fabulous Trixie Motel

Here’s why this shining star in Palm Springs needs to be on your must-visit wish list for 2023. Who knows? The superstar owner might even be the one checking you in for a stay in one of the spectacular rooms that feel like comfy art installations.

Meet Trixie Mattel

For fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Trixie Mattel needs no introduction. She handily won Season 3 of the popular series, as well as gaining superstardom as a successful recording artist and touring performer.

Now, with her partner David Silver, Trixie can add innkeeper to the solid gold resume. Wait, what? How’d that happen?

“We came out to Palm Springs after we started dating and just fell in love with the place,” Silver said during an interview at the motel.

Trixie — aka Brian Michael Firkus — said they started talking about buying a place in the Coachella Valley soon after that fateful visit. The Coral Sands motel popped onto their radar when it was listed as a condo. “We didn’t even see it as a commercial property at that time,” Silver said.

“But we both thought there was something magical about the place,” Trixie said.

Eventually, the paperwork was signed and the keys handed over; they promised the previous owner they’d take good care of the place. They had no idea that promise would be so prophetic.

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A star is born

Trixie had been in talks to develop a reality series when the opportunity to showcase the renovation project became the obvious choice. Hello, instant hit!

Trixie Motel — now streaming on HBO Max — followed the process of turning a worn out property into a glamorous destination bathed in all the shades of pink. “It’s crazy out there in the world, people are shooting up drag shows. But when you walk in, you can forget all that for a while,” Trixie said.

The charmingly campy series features mega-watt guest stars who show up to pass judgement on the work or to help out. Massively talented masked songbird Orville Peck offers an assist as Trixie rehabs a vintage bar in the room destined to become the Yeehaw Cowgirl Suite. Naturally, each themed room has a turntable and there’s a selection of vinyl in the office.

Trixie and Silver’s vision is realized just in time for Pride Week, the series finale. The duo heap well-deserved credit for shaping their vision to designer Dani Dazey and to their families for support throughout the often painful process. Silver’s sister, Allison, is the onsite manager and his mother helped develop menu items served in the gorgeous lounge. “Where else can you go and get a cookie made by someone’s mom?” Trixie asks. Sweet!

Trixie Motel has proved to be the best kind of tease, leading to solid bookings since the launch. But there are a couple of ways to snag a room — or a spot at the table in that awesome lounge-slash-lobby.

Craft cocktails and more

Stepping into the space known as the lounge is like time traveling. “It feels like Trixie’s home in the 1970s,” Silver said. Complete with celebrity snapshots and so much eye candy that it’s challenging to find a spot to park it for a drink and a nosh.

While the seven-room property is reserved for guests only, visitors can book a table at the lounge if it’s not too busy. Weekends are booming, so it’s often easier to secure a reservation during weekdays. Call 760-808-0014 or email [email protected] to book a table.

Best sellers on the lounge menu include Trixie’s nachos, the pizzas, charcuterie boards and, of course, Mom’s pink sugar cookies.

Breakfast baskets are delivered to guest rooms each morning featuring local pastries.

When the dynamic duo are in Palm Springs, they frequent 1501 Uptown Gastropub, Bar Cecil, Blackbook and Chill Bar. “I went in and did a DJ set one Sunday afternoon and that’s how we ended up meeting a lot of fellow business people in Palm Springs,” Trixie said. “It’s an incredibly supportive community.”

Speaking of community…

Beyond the stellar makeover of the Trixie Motel, the team driving this project was set on creating a sense of community and since opening, that mission has been accomplished.

“Guests check in and end up going out on the town together,” Silver said. “Some even make a plan to meet up here again.”

“It’s always meant to feel like a community, like a place you don’t want to leave,” Trixie said. “We’ve actually had guests cry when they check out, telling us they’ve never been anyplace like this before.”

Stay tuned for more whimsical properties in the future. “We’ve been talking about doing an adult sleep away camp,” Trixie said. “Picture a drag queen with a clipboard, telling you where to go.” Oh, we’re all in.

Watch the trailer for Trixie Motel:

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