Spent my first Groupon / Ibotta vacation in Palm Springs with the goal to come under my $650 vacay budget. Let’s see how I did!

Booking It!

The Deal

My favorite way to get a deal on travel is to go during the week and in the off season! When booking my 3 days and 2 nights trip to Palm Springs , I started in Ibotta (referral code: yoylllu) for the 4% cashback on a Groupon purchase. Admittedly, this was my first Groupon vacation, so I was nervous about booking and whether the hotel really would have my reservation when I showed up to check in. Needless to say, my Sunday through Tuesday stay in a junior suite at The Riviera was on the books and completely amazing. Our junior suite was originally priced at $255 on Groupon for 3 days and 2 nights, but after applying a 10% Groupon discount the price dropped to$234. Since I started in Ibotta , I got 4% back in freebates dropping my total to $227 that I split with a friend for $113.17 a person! A Friday through Sunday stay would have been double the price topping off at $500 and that would have been WITH the Groupon deal!

Day 1

Checking In

The Riviera Palm Springs was amazing! We arrived at 1 p.m., two hours before check in and were greeted by an incredibly welcoming front desk staff. Even though we checked in early, they had our room ready for us! We chose to stay on the first floor of the two story resort because the hotel does not have elevators and we had a lot of stuff that we did not want to haul up the stairs!

Before we hit the pool, we stocked our mini-fridge with the $120 in snacks, water, beer, hard seltzer, and breakfast items that we brought from our Santa Barbara Grocer Outlet run before we left town! Beware, somehow our $34 pitcher of Mai Tais ended up being $61 with hotel fees, so we ended up just drinking in the room and then going to the pool.

Although, this is a dog friendly hotel, with 113 degree F weather, Mr. B. opted out of the trip! However, we loved seeing the dogs lounging in the poolside cabanas and restaurant patios!

After the pool, we took our concierge’s recommendation for dinner and had a fabulous dinner at Las Casuelas Terraza (222 S. Palm Canyon Drive). We LOVED the open air seating in a setting made to look like a Spanish courtyard where we were serenaded by music! I am still dreaming about the tacos, burritos, and margaritas!

Day 1 per person total: Hotel ($113.17) + Gas ($21.68)+ Snacks ($60) + Pitcher of Mai Tais ($30.67) + Dinner ($39.23) + Lyft ($4.00) + Tiki Bar ($16.00) = $284.75

Las Casuelas Terraza Carne Asada Burrito

Day 2

Mt. San Jacinto Adventure Day

Before heading to the dessert, I asked my friends at Blac Bo Co that regularly visit Palm Springs and ride the gondola to the top of Mt. San Jacinto for some pointers. Specifically, if they recommended eating at a restaurant at the peak or packing a picnic. Without hesitation, we were told to head to The Sandwich Spot for the D.I.L.F. sandwich and then head to the top of the mountain for a picnic. This was the best advise, ever! Our sandwiches were amazing! (We brought the beverages and chips and salsa from our stash in the room.)

Once we had our sandwiches, we were ready to ride the gondola to the peak of Mt. San Jacinto for a pre-hike picnic! Parking was $8 for the day and a round trip rotating gondola ride was $26 per person. The ride takes about 25 minutes in each direction and offers breathtaking views of Coachella Valley.

Once we arrived at the top, we scoped out a picnic bench with a view of the mountains and inhaled our sandwiches! After lunch, we hiked off of our sandwiches with a 2.5 hour hike that offered amazing views of the valley! Although it was over 100 degrees F in Palm Springs, it was only 75 degrees F with a breeze at the peak of Mt. San Jacinto: perfect hiking weather!

After an afternoon of hiking, we relaxed in the pool at our hotel and then took a bunch of fun photos in the lobby of the Riviera!

Hiking is exhausting, so we were not going to make it downtown for dinner. Instead, we walked the two blocks from our hotel to Draughtsman for a delicious meal and beers! Instead of ordering individual entrees, we ordered three appetizers to share.

Day 2 Total: Day 1 ($284.75) + Parking and gondola ride ($30) + Sandwich ($8.69) + Dinner at Draughtsman ($40) = $363.44

Day 3

Saguaro Spa & Pool Day

We started our last day in Palm Springs with a relaxing 60 minute Sweedish massage from Angel that was $66 on Groupon (regularly $99) at the Saguaro Spa. I started in Ibotta and got $2.50 back on my Groupon purchase, so my massage was really $63.50 + a $20 tip. I wanted to book the spa Groupon that was at The Riviera, but the spa was closed for renovations the week we were there. After the spa, we spend the morning lounging and enjoying lunch poolside.