William S. Burroughs —

The stone-faced grandson of inventor of Burroughs Ten Key Machine, William was destined to live his life according to his own rules where he strongly emphasized need for personal freedom and nonconformity.

Throughout his life, aside from writing, Burroughs never really seemed to work, since his endeavors were financed by his wealthy Midwestern family.

He was an intelligent bookworm who graduated from Harvard by studying literature and anthropology. William, who experimented with various lifestyles, was an avid gun fanatic and frequent drug user. He had a fascination with gangster underworld, and often when he was out in public, was sharply dressed in a business suit and fedora. In addition, he was a frontiersman who traveled extensively and lived on cutting edge of society everywhere from Chicago, Colombia, Morocco, Paris, London, New York, New Orleans, Mexico, and Texas, until he "retired" in Lawrence, Kansas in 1981.

As he traveled, he preferred to settle into a motel and use it as his base camp for writing some of his numerous often shocking and highly idiosyncratic books. Hence, his aforementioned quote about his creative spirit being unleashed while staying in a hotel room.

On a beautiful evening with a full moon slowly rising over low Desert Hot Springs sky, Kim and I pulled our MINI into barely identifiable, yet full hotel parking lot. The only building moniker, a small grouping of white letters saying, "Hotel" signified to us where we were.

The Beat Hotel is at end of a residential street and is surrounded by empty plots of land complete with natural desert landscaping. Upon ringing doorbell, we were warmly welcomed by owner/curator, Steve Lowe, and were given an extensive tour of his labor of love.

Throughout tour, Steve recalled numerous memories he had of William S. Burroughs from his years knowing him. He explained history of his extensive collection of Burroughs artwork, pictures, manuscripts, and memorabilia. As Steve departed us for evening, we were on overload from countless facts about godfather of Beat Generation. So, we dropped off our bags at our very hip room, and each grabbed a complimentary glass of wine from library and went perusing Beat Hotel's funky lounge, and outdoor pool area.

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Don and Kim Tatera, Jetsetters Magazine Editor – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com

The key-hole grand entrance to lobby houses huge, intricately-detailed wooden French doors left open to unify indoors with outdoors. A warm, citrus breeze drifts in from front courtyard and demands my attention to look up and examine stone paved courtyard and exotic central fountain.

French doors on opposite side are also left wide open, framing a custom-designed mosaic pool (with a crow at bottom of pool!). Fallen bougainvillaea petals surround trees. Everything in me - writer, dreamer, artist, photographer, explorer, individual - sensorizes. Famous celebrities, renowned photographers, leading publications, supermodels, and designers travel to this Mediterranean-but-in-the-U.S.A. location for inspiration, too! Nothing is set up, staged, or propped. Everywhere I turn is a perfect photo op or artist’s lookout point. Mix in Moroccan music, heavily-spiced tea, and pine nuts for a transporting exprience!

The Korakia comprises two historic villas. Scottish painter Gordon Coutts built original Moroccan villa and screen star J. Carroll Nash owned Mediterranean villa. Both villas were lovingly and tediously renovated by owner and leading California architectural preservationist, Douglas Smith. Local handymen, not master carpenters and landscape architects create dream. His style of design is more of an “un-design”, creating an atmosphere of originality. “Successful design means that I was never here,” says Douglas.

Lovely and polite General Manager Flor Schechtel invites me to stay in The Library, once unofficial cultural center of Palm Springs. How appropriate, putting a writer in The Library; perfect little extra touch.

Ignoring need to wash traces of rock climbing trip off my face, I plop into luxurious, exotic poster bed. The high wood beam ceiling draws my eyes upward but shelves of books draw them to side.

I am sitting where THE artist Gordon Coutts displayed and sold his paintings; surrounding me are rare and first edition books from around world. My mind was screaming! I could vividly picture artists and writers in their literary discussions and after their time together, taking home a souvenir landscape painting. Even Winston Churchill stayed here.

A few more I-cannot-believe-this minutes before I open French doors and kerplunk back into fluffy feather bed with exquisite linens, imprinted with Korakia insignia. Every single piece and design is a historical work of art. The high wood beam ceiling, Persian rug, chairs from Afghanistan, vases from Greece, a pillow from Macedonia . . . my eyes follow everything and then drift out on to glorious private patio. It is all so Moroccan, so perfect.

Then I touch all that I see. My fingers follow cool, smooth arches of room. No acute angles anywhere. I move my index finger over signature in books and smell their leather covers. I sense age of manuscripts, originality of artwork, history of place.

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Lena Hunt Mabra, Jetsetters Magazine Editor – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com

Lena Hunt Mabra, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent. Join the Travel Writers Network in the logo at www.jetsettersmagazine.com