If you plan on attending April’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, you better reserve a hotel room now before it’s too late.
On Priceline’s website, you can still find some rooms under $200 a night in Palm Springs. Rooms closer to the venue are costing upwards of $300 a night, with some resorts charging upwards of $600 a night.
Home and condo rentals are becoming scarce as well. As a former resident of the Coachella Valley, my insider tip is to find hotels that aren’t listed on travel sites. Some of those include Motel 6 and the Vagabond Inn. Also you will find many boutique hotels still have rooms available. They however do not list their rooms on Priceline, so that may hinder your search.
If you find a good deal, be sure to book immediately. I started planning for Coachella 2015 back in May of last year. That’s when I secured my lodging for $350 for 4 days! Planning pays off when going to music festivals like Coachella.
Another option is to stay somewhere further away like Banning, where rooms are costing around $75 a night. You could drive to a Coachella shuttle stop in Palm Springs and get to the venue that way. This would also allow one to sober up a bit when returning from the venue at night.
A word to the wise, be cautious when booking rooms and homes for rent on Craigslist, as people are trying to make a quick buck and that could leave you out of luck. Tickets are sold out to both weekends of Coachella. You can still purchase some on re-sale sites like Stubhub, but it will cost you.
Coachella is April 10-12th and April 17-19th at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio.
See you at Weekend 2!
— Jared
