The Car Bed: A Closer Look at the Signature Piece

The car bed is the signature piece at Stargaze. A restored 1950s car sits in the gravel courtyard with a real mattress where the seats used to be, and it has a custom stargazing roof that can be pulled back to open the bed to the desert sky. The conversion was fabricated by Emerick's Ironworks, the custom metal shop behind much of the property's ironwork.

Using the car bed

Bring a blanket after dark — desert nights get cold fast, even in summer — and give your eyes twenty minutes to adjust. On a moonless night you can watch the Milky Way without lifting your head off the pillow.

When it's at its best

At golden hour the paint picks up the color of the sunset. At night the show moves overhead. Either way, it earns its place as the signature of the house.

Please treat it gently

The car — like the phone booth and the vintage signs — is old, original and one-of-a-kind, so we ask guests to be a little tender with it: no climbing on the bodywork, no glass near the water, and a rinse before the hot tub. If you are not sure how the custom roof works, ask your host before you touch it. It's a piece of history you're allowed to lie down in. That's rarer than it sounds.