The Triangle Inn: Where guests become friends

Michael Green and Stephen Boyd traded in careers in the advertising business, and the humidity of Atlanta, for the resort life and year round sunshine of Palm Springs.

The husbands traveled quite a bit, and always tended to choose bed and breakfasts when booking a place to stay. They became “enamored” with several, Michael said, and in 1999 decided to open their own, originally thinking about starting it in Florida. They remembered how much they liked their previous visits to Palm Springs, though — and the idea of leaving behind the weather and bugs of the South and East Coast — so instead, they packed up and moved out west in 2000.

Michael and Stephen bought the Triangle Inn Palm Springs, a gay men’s clothing optional resort, and got to work researching and then learning the practical ins and outs of running a resort.

“We had marketed a lot of hotels, but had never run one, so that was different for us,” Michael said.

The laid-back Triangle Inn is a mid-century modern hotel, opened in 1958 as the Impala Lodge and designed by Hugh Kaptur for his first commercial contract — it’s a prime example of the steel, glass, and stone designs from the time period. The hotel has eight suites with comfortable furniture and fully-equipped kitchens or kitchenettes.

“We’re a popular destination for people coming from the UK or Germany, who love to go anywhere where there is sunshine, and we always fit the bill,” Michael said. 

Michael and Stephen live on property, “and it really does feel like we’re having friends in the backyard,” Michael said. When you run a boutique hotel, “you’re often on 24/7, and it is never easy to get away, especially if you live on property,” he said. “You really do have to love it, and care about the people.”