History · Racquet Club Road and Warm Sands · checked October 2026
What happened to the Terra Cotta?
Two different clothing-optional resorts used the name. The original Terra Cotta Inn on Racquet Club Road ran from 1994 to 2015. The Terra Cotta on Warm Sands Drive opened in 2017 and closed abruptly in August 2019. Both properties now trade as hotels under new names.
Researched by the Hotel Terracotta editorial desk · Edited by John Dason · Sources checked October 15, 2026
Independent guide: Hotel Terracotta does not own, operate or represent either Terra Cotta resort and has no connection to their past or present owners.
The short answer
| Resort | Address | Clothing-optional years | There now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terra Cotta Inn (the original) | 2388 E Racquet Club Rd | 1994–2015 | The Monkey Tree Hotel (boutique hotel) |
| The Terra Cotta | 555 S Warm Sands Dr | July 2017 – August 2019 | Les Cactus (hotel for adults over 21) |
Searches for “Terra Cotta Inn Palm Springs” mix up the two. The original inn was the long-running one, built around couples trying clothing-optional travel. The Warm Sands resort reused the name for two years.
Timeline
The building at 2388 E Racquet Club Road had been the Monkey Tree hotel and later Legacy, a clothing-optional gay resort. (AvantStay history) The Terra Cotta Inn’s owners credited its design to Albert Frey in their press releases. (2009 release)
Tom and Mary Clare Mulhall open the Terra Cotta Inn as a clothing-optional resort that “catered to couples on vacation,” in a 17-room inn on about 1¼ acres. (2014 owner release)
The Terra Cotta Inn closes. The property later reopens as The Monkey Tree, a boutique hotel that joined the AvantStay portfolio in June 2021 and has 16 suites. (source)
A new resort called The Terra Cotta opens at 555 S Warm Sands Drive in Warm Sands, under different ownership. (listing)
After a quick sale, the Warm Sands Terra Cotta stops operating as a clothing-optional resort. A notice dated Wednesday, August 7, said that from that day “it will no longer be nudist.” (notice)
Tuscany Manor, at 350 W Chino Canyon Road, starts operating as a clothing-optional resort. It invites former Terra Cotta guests and takes on several Terra Cotta staff. (archived announcement) It has since closed; see Tuscany Manor’s status.
555 S Warm Sands Drive reopens as Les Cactus, a 27-room hotel for guests over 21. Its owner and operators are Matthew Kurtz with hoteliers Richard Crisman and Jeff Brock. (Uncover LA, March 12, 2020)
Why its closing still matters
The Terra Cotta was the first of three couples-friendly clothing-optional resorts in Palm Springs to go. Tuscany Manor, which tried to take its guests, closed in 2024. Desert Sun closed in January 2025.
The open resorts in town are now almost all for men. The closures timeline has the full sequence with sources.
Where former guests stay now
Nothing nearby recreates it. Which option fits depends on what you valued most there:
- Calm, mixed-adult pools without a scene: Mi Kasa Hot Springs or Hotel O2, both hot-springs stays in Desert Hot Springs, about 20 minutes north.
- Traditional, non-sexual naturism: Glen Eden Sun Club in Temescal Valley, about 75 miles west. It is a family naturist club rather than a couples’ inn.
- A couples-only social resort: Sea Mountain Inn in Desert Hot Springs. It is a lifestyle resort, which is a different atmosphere from the old Terra Cotta.
- A couples’ naturist resort with no lifestyle element: the nearest options are abroad. Hidden Beach in Mexico is the usual choice.
The couples guide compares these side by side. Next door to the Warm Sands site, at 535 S Warm Sands Drive, Casa Oliver is a clothing-optional resort for gay men, not couples.
Questions
Is the Terra Cotta Inn in Palm Springs still open?
No. The original Terra Cotta Inn on East Racquet Club Road closed in 2015 and the building is now the Monkey Tree Hotel. The later Terra Cotta at 555 S Warm Sands Drive stopped operating as a clothing-optional resort in August 2019 and the property is now Les Cactus.
What happened to the Terra Cotta resort on Warm Sands Drive?
It opened in July 2017 and was sold quickly in August 2019, when it stopped operating as a clothing-optional resort. It reopened in February 2020 as Les Cactus, a 27-room hotel for adults over 21.
Where do former Terra Cotta guests stay now?
There is no direct replacement in Palm Springs. Couples now choose between hot-springs stays in Desert Hot Springs (Mi Kasa, Hotel O2), traditional naturism at Glen Eden Sun Club about 75 miles west, or lifestyle resorts such as Sea Mountain Inn.
Is Hotel Terracotta the old Terra Cotta resort?
No. Hotel Terracotta is an independent guide with no connection to either resort or their owners.