Dear eVisitors,   Welcome, and thank you for visiting this virtual portal to beautiful Palm Springs, California - my home for 20 of the past 23 years. It's a great place to call home - and have a career. In addition to being a longtime local resident - I've also almost always been involved in the hospitality and tourism industries. It's big out here you know...    I Love Palm Springs...   It's not perfect - but I can't seem to stay away... After a brief but life-changing three year sojourn to enchanting Santa Fe, New Mexico (from 1995-1998) I returned to Palm Springs and within a few years managed (some would say miraculously...) to became the General Manager of the infamous celebrity spa enclave Two Bunch Palms in Desert Hot Springs - now finally FINALLY under new ownership and management. I was there for over four years. Another life-changing experience - in a whole other way... Then, briefly, I helped a small group of local doctors and plastic surgeons develop their new-fangled state-of-the-art luxury Medical Day Spa facility. It was stunning...   After that I became the General Manager of Palm Springs' premier mid-century modern hip/cool little boutique hotels - the Orbit In / Oasis & Hideaway, which led to my eventual involvement in helping found the still somewhat roguish grass-roots small hotel group known as  Small Hotels of Palm Springs / An Association of Owners & Managers - people in the biz refer to it as SHoPS, its acronym - and now it's one of the most influential travel industry associations in the city of Palm Springs. It's also a highly cost-effective virtual co-op marketing venue for Palm Springs' many small hoteliers - finally making it much easier for visitors to Palm Springs to find the best of the best of all the "quaint little gems" that might have otherwise escaped their notice.   Among other professional endeavors, I have provided Sales, Marketing & Media Relations Services for a number of client businesses, the Pepper Tree Inn being one, as well as again volunteering for the John Williams for Palm Springs City Council Campaign. John is the owner of INNdulge Palm Springs and when he wins he will be the first business owner with direct hospitality and tourism industry experience to sit on our City Council "in over 10 years." Imagine that - in a world renowned tourist town...    It was my involvement (which remains ongoing) with the Small Hotel of Palm Springs group that ultimately inspired me to strike out on my own and create this "companion destination portal website" - which is what I call a virtual co-op marketing venue. And while it was my idea to create the Palm Springs Best Places Guide brand as a framework for other Best Places Guide destination portal websites - I've remained so busy with this one - my first born - now becoming known as just simply BestofPS.com - that I haven't yet been able to even consider  anything elsewhere.   However, I have managed to squeeze in a few other NEW projects - Bistros of Palm Springs .com - featuring a comprehensive listing of Palm Springs best Cafes, Bistros and Restaurants that most often recommended by small hotel owners, managers and their front desk staffs, PLUS I am working with the Palm Springs Hospitality Association's Restaurant Association with their portal website Palm Springs Restaurant Row (also currently hosted here) as well as that groups upcoming 1st Annual Palm Springs Restaurant Week scheduled for June 2008...   It's worth mentioning that I am not alone in my efforts to help bring visitors and locals the best of the best of the hundreds of often overlooked little businesses that populate Palm Springs - and contribute so significantly to its unique character.  I have for years been accused of living under a rock, and in some ways I suppose I still do, still want to, and while I've been to all the best places listed and linked here - I ALSO rely heavily on the objective (and subjective) feedback, insights and opinions of my ever-growing network of local resident and hospitality/tourism industry friends and colleagues.   They help me to  "thin the herd" so to speak - "culling" we call it - so that what would otherwise be a very large list of visitor-related businesses is pared down to the more manageable "browsing-friendly" collections "BestofPS.com" presents here.    As explained in more detail on the Home Page I do have a point of view and do choose to embrace some rather specific criteria for determining who's included - and who's not - criteria that people of certain bents, persuasions, proclivities, aptitudes and/or predispositions seem to value... You Can Decide If It Speaks To You...    So stay tuned, there's much more to come, updates are made daily - and remember...   ...if I know a place, so then do you...         Sincerely,   Jay Ramstead   Founder | Editor | ePublisher BestofPS.com & OUTinsider.com Palm Springs Best Places Guide   Email | editor@bestofps.com                               Also, I just wanted to let you know that the new Homeland Security Bill has passed. Things will be different now and Internet surfing will be tracked by what the FBI calls a "non-intrusive method." The FBI says you will not notice anything different. For a demonstration, click on the link below…   Homeland Security                   To have your business establishment considered for being listed and hotlinked on this webpage (or any webpage on this website) and subsequently be entitled to carry the "Awarded Best of PS .com" reciprocal hotlink icon on your website simply contact the Editor at BESTofPS.com at Editor@BESTofPS.com          gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg Where Meth Goes - Violence Follows   gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg