We interviewed Tom Mulhall, co-owner with his wife of the Terra Cotta Inn, the fabled clothing-optional resort in Palm Springs, California…

Nudist Day: Palm Springs has become to nudists what Las Vegas is to gamblers. Why do you think this is so?
Tom Mulhall: There are three major reasons why I think Palm Springs, California is the Mecca of nude recreation in the US. First, we have the best weather in the Northern hemisphere. Nudists want reliable sunny, warm weather. Palm Springs averages just under 3 inches of rain a year. My wife was born in Tampa, FLorida, where according to Wikipedia it averages 100 thunderstorms a year and over 60 inches of rain. Florida is too rainy. That is why we started our resort in Palm Springs. No other city compares to our beautiful sunny skies. Second, Palm Springs is a socially liberal town. I was elected president of the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce 5 years ago. There aren’t too many cities that would elect the owner of a nudist resort to be the President and spokesperson for their business community. Third, Palm Springs is a beautiful, safe community. We are right next to the San Jacinto mountains which are the steepest mountains in the US and are breathtaking. Palm Springs is a very safe community which is very important to guests especially in these post 9-11 times. Our town is one of the best, safest places to live in America.

ND: Why, in your opinion, should people choose to stay at the Terra Cotta Inn rather than at the competition?
TM: In the US, every single nudist resort is unique. They all take after the personalities of their owners and managers. We have always targeted ourselves as being affordable luxury. We are the nude recreation leaders in Palm Springs. We offer free Wi-Fi, top of the line beds and linens, state of the art salt water system pool and jacuzzi (we were the first of ALL hotels to go to a salt water jacuzzi), complementary breakfast and afternoon snacks, massage, and so much more. Now where we are really unique is we cater to vacationers. That is why we have the second highest occupancy rate of all hotels in town. Whenever nudists are thinking of booking a week or longer, or coming midweek, we are always their first choice as we are the only nudist resort in the western US that is busy every day of the week. No one wants to go to some other nude place midweek where hardly anyone else is around to talk to? Being a vacation resort not only do our guests come from all over America, but also all over the world. Just this December, the Vancouver Sun newspaper in Canada picked us as one of the top places in the world to go nude sunbathing.We cater to first timers. CBSmarketwatch.com reported we are the most mainstream nudist resort in America and perfect for couples nude sunbathing for the first time. Although 99% of our guests go nude sunbathing, we never pressure first timers. Many women at first feel more comfortable with the European style sunbathing, by going topless. That is fine with us as we know they will relax after a few hours and go nude sunbathing like everyone else. Finally, we cater to couples. We are a 17 room inn. At our size we can not be all things to all people. We have been very successful catering to couples on vacation.

ND: You use the turn of phrase “Luxurious and affordable”. Usually these terms are contradictory — please explain!
TM: You can be both luxurious and affordable. Just don’t overcharge. In my opinion, many nudist resorts shoot themselves in the foot trying to squeeze every last penny out of their guests. They will charge $1.50 for a Coke, we charge $.50. They won’t let you bring your own soda, snacks, etc. poolside. You have to buy it from the resort. We let our guests bring their own food. We even have a community BBQ where many guests become friends and BBQ together. Many nudist resort tack on fees like daily membership fees, we don’t do that. Many have annual membership fees, we don’t do that. Some charge daily internet access fees, our Wi-Fi is free. We invest in top of the line amenities which our guests love. So many say they have never had a better night sleep then at our hotel. Our beds cost about $1200 each, but are a bargain when you consider how often our guests stay with us. People hate to be nickel and dimed. We never do that to our guests. We keep our rates at a reasonable price so people say “I want to take my vacation with The Terra Cotta Inn” once or twice a year.

ND: What’s your policy regarding singles? Gay couples?
TM: Being a 17 room inn we can not be all things to all people. We can not be a resort for couples and also a resort just for single men, or a resort for families and their kids. So we refer single men and families with kids to resorts that want to book them.

ND: Palm Springs is famous as a playground for Hollywood stars. Any of them patronize the inn [no need to name names]?
TM: Yes, we do get our share of people from the Hollywood, music, and sports industries here. I would LOVE to tell the name of some of the guests as I feel it would help promote nude recreations, however out of respect for the guests, we would never do so. And we have been offered money to disclose celebrities names by some tabloids and gossip magazines. But in my opinion you have to always operate ethically. Our guests expect privacy. Our reputation is too important. So we will never disclose guests’ names. And our guests pretty much recognize just how special we are, so I have never heard of any guests going to the tabloids either.

ND: Do you allow day visitors?
TM: Yes we do take day guests. Day use if from 10am-5pm. We only book 5 couples per day as we do not want to overcrowd the hotel.

ND: Are there nude activities available outside the inn, such as nude mountain hikes?
TM: You can go nude hiking at Joshua Tree national park as being a national park it is not illegal to hike nude, you just have to cover up if you are requested to do so. It is about 1 hour drive away from Palm Springs.

ND: We’ve often heard that the hotel is frequently booked solid. What advice can you give to people looking to book?
TM: It is a nice problem to have being the popular place to stay at. We have one of the highest repeat guest rates in the travel industry at just over a 75% repeat rate. I always tell guests to book in advance or to call last minute hoping for a cancellation. We also have a free Yahoo group [see link below] at where I post last minute cancellations. Any one can join this group for free. Now, although we normally average around a 85-98% occupancy rate (except for December), it means we are not 100% full every month. It is normally easier to get in on a Sunday through Thursday. Also if your vacation schedule is flexible, you will always be able to get in some time during the year.

Photos courtesy of Terra Cotta Inn. Copyright Terra Cotta Inn
ND: You also maintain a blog. How has that worked out? Has it been a good marketing tool, whether intentionally or not?
TM: Our blog [see link below] has been a great marketing tool. And yes I did start it intentionally to help market our resort. AANR has recognized that the nudist industry has to attract younger people into nudism. Blogs are a perfect way to attract younger potential nudists as well as the baby boomers. We have already had repeat guests here because they found out about us on the blog.

ND: Tell us about a funny or peculiar incident relating to the inn.
TM: A funny incident? When my wife and I told my parents that we were starting a nudist resort in Palm Springs (we lived in Chicago at that time), my father called me 2 days later and told me that he just finished talking to his parish priest and he was happy to tell me that we were not going to go to hell for starting our nudist resort. Everything was OK with God. We thought that was pretty funny. And our parents have been to our resort a number of times as have our siblings.

ND: Tell us about yourself and your wife, before you started the inn.
TM: My wife and I met at the University of Illinois our freshman year in 1972. We have been happily married for 30 years. What we are most amazed about is how our previous work experiences have helped the resort. We were restaurant critics in Chicago for 10 years, so we can make great recommendations. I had my own accounting firm for 15 years before starting the resort. Mary Clare was the director of Consumer affairs at Quaker Oats, so she had a lot of PR and media experience. We went to our first nude beach when we were 23 or 24 years old and just loved it. We have vacationed at nudist resorts ever since. We love introducing people into the nudist lifestyle. I would bet that for about for 90% of our guests, their very first experience with nude recreation was at our resort.

ND: What are your plans for the future? Expansion?
TM: Future plans? One thing I have learned in the hotel industry. Bigger does not mean better. Bigger normally just means more impersonal. We are very successful in our operations. I don’t have a driving ambition to be the biggest, just the best. And luckily, our guests agree with us that they like us just the way we are.

Related Links:

• Terra Cotta Inn web site
• Terra Cotta Inn forum
• Terra Cotta Inn blog