.jpg)
Words by: BOOTH MOORE
The Bungalows
59700 Twentynine Palms Highway, Joshua Tree
Retreat-homesteadmodern.com
While the high desert now has hundreds of Airbnbs, there are fewer hotels to choose from. One new option is The Bungalows, a hospitality project from Homestead Modern,the luxury home rental management firm. The Bungalows are 14 newly restored midcentury modern suites located at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center, which has a dual mission of promoting well-being through yoga, meditation and other self-actualization practices, as well as preserving architecture, including its large collection of buildings by Lloyd Wright Jr. (Frank Lloyd Wright’s son).
The Bungalows are converted apartments that sit in gorgeous post and beam cinder block buildings originally designed by Pasadena modern architect Harold Zook in 1960 and recently renovated by Brad Dunning. The one bedrooms and studios have floor-to-ceiling windows that bring the desert landscape inside, and they are furnished in midcentury style, with modern conveniences like updated kitchens and bathrooms, and Malin & Goetz products. As a nod to Zook’s work with architect Albert Frey, “encelia yellow” was chosen as an accent color in the spaces, notable as it was one of Frey’s signature colors for his desert projects. Each room has its own outdoor patio with native plants. The 140-acre retreat center is funky, with grounds full of vortexes and artwork to explore, the onsite Food for Thought vegetarian café and a gift shop full of spiritual literature. “It’s more the casual visitor to Joshua Tree. We’re not getting weeklong stays; we’re getting people who are looking for more traditional hospitality,” says Robert Brada, owner of Homestead Modern. Rooms start at $250. The entrance to Joshua Tree National Park is just a mile away, and Yucca Valley and Pioneertown are nine miles away.
