At Los Arboles, it’s a family affair. Owners Felipe and Lisbet Castaneda have decades of experience as restauranteurs and hoteliers, and their eldest daughter Karina has also joined the business: she recently earned her degree in hospitality from Cal State Long Beach, and is assistant manager. Together, they run Los Arboles and its on-site restaurant, El Mirasol. After purchasing the property in 2002 when it was in ruins, the Castanedas restored the Los Arboles to its former glory. The 21-room hotel was gutted and remodeled in a Spanish colonial and mission style, with close attention to detail — Felipe was...

At Los Arboles, it’s a family affair. Owners Felipe and Lisbet Castaneda have decades of experience as restauranteurs and hoteliers, and their eldest daughter Karina has also joined the business: she recently earned her degree in hospitality from Cal State Long Beach, and is assistant manager. Together, they run Los Arboles and its on-site restaurant, El Mirasol. After purchasing the property in 2002 when it was in ruins, the Castanedas restored the Los Arboles to its former glory. The 21-room hotel was gutted and remodeled in a Spanish colonial and mission style, with close attention to detail — Felipe was there every day, making sure each tile was placed properly. Los Arboles means “the trees,” and it “looks like you’re in a hacienda, somewhere far away,” Felipe said. The hotel is within walking distance of downtown, and the rooms are well-appointed — some have private patios, hammocks, refrigerators, and fireplaces. Felipe came to the desert more than 30 years ago, opening his first restaurant in Palm Springs, El Mirasol on South Palm Canyon Drive, in 1985. The restaurant’s second outpost at Los Arboles is famous for using the freshest ingredients, making its own chorizo and tortillas, and pouring some of the tastiest margaritas. Because Los Arboles is a smaller hotel, the Castanedas become friends with their repeat guests, and Felipe said they have gotten to know “a lot of beautiful people, well-natured, lovely people.”