Palm Springs & Palm Desert
Many Canadians go to Palm Springs often and some even live there for part of the year. Palm Springs and the surrounding areas have perfect weather for smoking cigars. In the summer it gets pretty hot but the rest of the time, it is great for smoking a cigar outside. Smoking indoors is generally banned but they do allow indoor smoking in a few cigar lounges that I had the pleasure to try during my latest visit.
Fame Wine & Cigar Lounge
Fame Wine & Cigar Lounge brings a social, street-level energy to downtown Palm Springs. Located right on South Palm Canyon Drive, Fame has a decent walk-in humidor, a lounge inside and many chairs out front. Fame pairs premium cigars with wine and beer. Patrons are allowed to smoke inside but I would recommend sitting outside and watching the shoppers go by. You get a real Palm Springs experience. I have been to Fame a few times and each time I have had a good conversation with some fellow cigar smoker over a glass of wine of beer. The service and prices are average for Palm Springs. Neither being great. You do have to purchase a cigar from the store which is often standard and reasonable.
I make Fame part of my stop in Palm Springs but the highlight of my trip is a visit to the Pivat Cigar Lounge located in Palm Desert.
Location: 155 S Palm Canyon Dr, Suite A3, Palm Springs, CA 92262
Website: www.famelounge-ps.com/
Photo Placeholder: [Insert your Fame visit photos here]
Pívat Cigar Lounge: Casino Glamour with a Refined Edge
Set inside Agua Caliente in Rancho Mirage Casino, Pívat Cigar Lounge leans into the kind of luxury that feels intentional rather than theatrical. The room is huge and has everything a cigar lounge should have. It has a very large well stocked bar and walk-in cigar humidor, plush leather chairs, a large patio outside and so many large TV’s that no matter where you can sit you can watch 4 or 5 games. Cocktail waitresses dress like they are working in a fancy nightclub, and the service is better than most places I have been to in Palm Springs.
In Pivat you can order your meal from the steak restaurant in the casino and sit and have a cigar, a cocktail and a steak while watching sports. Friends, it does not get any better that that. Okay, maybe it does, they also have early afternoon happy hours, featured cocktails, industry events, live music regularly and slot machines if that turns your crank. I did not ask about the cigar policy but I did buy one of the house cigars and then smoked one of my own without issue.
I stay in Palm Springs but if I was staying in Palm Desert, I would live at Pivat. I recommend a visit to Pivat anytime you are in Palm Springs or Palm Desert. One final note, the prices for cigars, cocktails and food at Pivat is high-end but standard for the desert.
Location: 32-250 Bob Hope Dr, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
Website: www.aguacalientecasinos.com/entertainment/rancho-mirage-shows/pivat-cigar-lounge/
Photo Placeholder: [Insert your Pívat visit photos here]
Tobacco Patch
On a related note, if you are in downtown Palm Springs, stop into Tobacco Patch and say hello and buy a stick or two. The are a family run cigar store with a great selection, decent prices, and friendly customer service. I picked up too many Foundation cigar because 1, the owner was so excited when I asked about them and they had a great selection with a decent discount for volume.
The Final Draw
What makes these two lounges worth covering together is not just that they are both cigar-friendly, but that they express Palm Springs style in two distinct ways. Pívat is all about evening elegance: a destination for those who want a polished room, premium pours, and a cigar experience that feels a touch more formal. Fame, by contrast, is breezier and more conversational, with downtown character and a wine-driven identity that makes it feel relaxed, sociable, and effortlessly cool. Depending on your mood, either could be the right answer—and that is precisely the fun of it. Palm Springs knows how to turn pleasure into atmosphere, and these two spots do it beautifully. For cigar lovers passing through the desert, the choice is less about which lounge is better and more about which version of indulgence suits the moment. Ideally, of course, the answer is both.
