ORBIT IN: A RE-ENTRY TO A WORLD OF RETRO.

Byline: Eric Noland Travel Editor

PALM SPRINGS - Dean Martin was singing on the CD player as the hotel guests made their way to the poolside Boomerang Bar (``You're nobody till somebody loves youuuu ...''). Spindly, stainless-steel bar stools awaited them.

Denise the bartender reached for the bottle of vermouth and the martini shaker while laying out some bowls of Chex mix. In the lava lamp, goopy yellow blobs were contorting into bizarre shapes.

Ah, retro. It's been the rage in Palm Springs for some time now, as visitors have rediscovered the architecture that sprouted here in the streamline-minded 1940s and the Space Age '50s and early '60s. Perhaps just as important, the people who are drawn to it have also come to embrace the playful, devil-may-care lifestyle that accompanied the era.

The Orbit In, a small boutique hotel that opened in March at the south end of Old Palm Springs, embodies the concept. It recalls a time of grainy, Super-8 home movies and ``one-dish meals'' from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

In light of current events, many guests probably find this bygone era vaguely comforting. Sorry to spoil the party, but that period also gave us the Berlin airlift, the Korean War and the stockpiling of canned food at elementary schools because an A-bomb attack was expected to commence at any instant. But why muddy the escapism with fact? It's certainly more fun to make believe. And the Orbit In gives that sentiment free rein.

The intimate, 10-room hotel was built in 1957 by designer Herb Burns, and it still features the distinctive bathroom tile and casement windows of the period, as well as the charming kitchenettes that Burns favored. But before its reopening, it was extensively renovated by architect Lance O'Donnell, such that the charms of midcentury Desert Modernism (do enthusiasts really need to use capital letters?) are fused with the amenities of the 21st century.

The tastefully appointed rooms have comfortable, pillow-top beds, as well as sisal-mat carpets that work ideally in a poolside setting. There are data ports, CD players, VCRs, safes, and high-quality linens and robes.

And it's clear somebody had a lot of fun designing each room. Ours, Atomic Paradise, had bedside lamps in the shape of Buck Rogers rocket ships and a lot of Jetsons furniture. A framed movie poster for ``Palm Springs Weekend'' (1963) promised a swingin'-good time with stars Troy Donahue and Connie Stevens.

Another nice feature was a tiny but private rear patio. We found this a pleasant place to sit and bask in the baking heat of a September evening.

Several rooms were vacant our first afternoon, and we were permitted a peek into them. The Leopard Lounge has faux animal skin decor to match, right down to the lamp shades. The Martini Room has a small, '50s-style bar in the living room - a suburban status symbol of the era. The Rat Pack complex looked to be perfect for a group: a suite of two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom.

Throughout, walls featured movie posters, cookbook art, vintage tourist promotions (including one that hilariously extols the virtues of ``the West's greatest playland'' ... the Salton Sea).

At this time of year, as Palm Springs enters its tourist high season, weekend rates start at $189, midweek rates at $159, but stay alert for packages. We got a two-night special in early September that worked out to $100 per night for the room plus a $100 credit toward dinner at the nearby (and reputable) Kaiser Grille.

At the Orbit In, guests can plunge back in time unashamedly. An honor library of videotapes includes such titles as ``Ocean's Eleven'' and ``Reefer Madness'' (as well as more current releases). Around the pool in the afternoon, the music is a kitschy mix of the Tijuana Brass, Louis Prima, Nat King Cole, Bobby Darin, Peggy Lee, Wayne Newton.

And then there's the fun of the afternoon ``cocktail'' hour. The term is used advisedly, because the Orbit In has a limited liquor license. The bartender shakes up a pitcher of orbitinis - martinis made with vermouth and sake - with a grand flourish. An interesting taste, although Denise said she's rarely had anyone order a second one. There are other sake drinks vaguely based on the '50s (the cha-cha features sake and orange juice, with sugar on the rim of the glass), as well as the more conventional afternoon pours of white and red wine.

When the desert afternoons are taking their time cooling down, misting machines all around the pool and bar area emit a cooling fog. The view is pretty spectacular, too, the San Jacinto mountain peaks jutting sharply into the western sky. Perched up there a ways - fittingly - is an Albert Frey classic home from midcentury, now overseen by the Palm Springs Desert Museum.

The inn has Schwinn Cruiser bikes available for guests' use, and we pedaled off one afternoon to explore Palm Springs' old neighborhoods. The flat terrain makes the exertion minimal, the enjoyment considerable on the one-speed bikes.

Palm Canyon Drive is only five short blocks away, such that we were able to walk to the Kaiser Grille for our dinner. Breakfast is a continental spread included in the room rate, with gourmet coffee steeped in French-press pots.

Although a number of shops, restaurants and museums are nearby, we noticed that most of the guests were quite content to spend a good portion of the afternoon just hanging out by the pool.

Music plays. Magazines are read. Two neon-colored plastic pool floats cradle a continuous procession of weary souls. A refreshing drink - Arnold Palmer, a mix of iced tea and lemonade - waits in a pitcher in the communal refrigerator. After a while, it starts to have the carefree feel of a backyard pool party, circa 1963.

Say, did you remember to load another three-minute reel into the movie camera?

IF YOU GO

The Orbit In is located at 562 W. Arenas Road, Palm Springs. Room rates from $189 on weekends. Phone: [phone] or [phone]. Web: www.orbitin.com.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Orbit In, a boutique hotel in Palm Springs, plays shamelessly to the current rage of midcentury escapism.

(2 -- color) Misters rocket forth to cool heat-weary tourists at the Orbit In, near downtown Palm Springs.

(3) One of the theme rooms available at the Orbit In is this ``Rat Pack'' room, with an original Jens Risom amoeba table, plus a ``womb chair'' by Eero Saarinen.

(4) This plaque on the door of the aptly named ``Martini Room'' reflects the palms, blue skies and mountains of the area.

Rodrigo Pena/Staff Photographer