A spate of plush new properties has popped up in and around Palm Springs. Here's a sampling of the desert destination's latest crop of venues for live music, cabana dining, and luxury lodging and pampering.
1. Boutique hotel chain Ace Hotels opened its Palm Springs outpost, Ace Hotel Palm Springs, earlier this month. The property features 180 rooms, a spa, a restaurant serving classic American dishes, and two saltwater pools. The hotel was designed on the foundation of a 1965 Westward Ho Hotel with rooms that nod to indoor-outdoor living with tent-like walls, vintage furniture, and concrete floors that open onto patios with outdoor fireplaces.
Event space at the hotel is dubbed the Commune; it features 4,000 square feet of room with walls that open to a circular pool, an amphitheater, and views of the mountains. The space can be used as one larger venue or divided into smaller, more intimate spaces. The Commune has a catering kitchen and full audiovisual system with projector.
2. After a $70 million modernization, the 24-acre Riviera Resort & Spa reopened in October. The new property offers 45,000 square feet of event space, which includes a 19,670-square-foot grand ballroom, a 9,000-square-foot Desert Conference Center, indoor meeting rooms, and 10,000 square feet of outdoor event space in the form of courtyards, pools, and multiple garden areas.
A major upgrade to the resort was the addition of Spa Terre, an 11,000-square-foot spa with 18 treatment rooms, private steam rooms, a fitness center, and a full-service salon. The resort offers 406 guest rooms, 44 suites ranging from 680 square feet to 1,248 square feet and 108 Mediterranean suites with king beds and sofa sleepers.
3. The Agua Caliente Casino, Resort & Spa will open its four-level live music venue, the Show, on February 12, with a performance by Billy Joel. The 86,000-square-foot $76 million space seats as many as 2,000 guests, depending on configuration, and features orchestra, loge, mezzanine, and balcony sections. The venue offers large-format projection screens and tiered seating with clear sight lines; no more than 125 feet will stand between each guest and the stage. Seating with catering, private restrooms, and bars will also be offered in 12 luxury boxes and suites. In keeping with the look of the property—and to evoke the look of the desert in bloom—the Show's color palette is done in browns, greens, and yellows. The project broke ground in October 2007.
4. Named for an acronym that stands for “Double Income, No Kids,” gay-friendly Dink’s Restaurant and Lounge hit the Palm Springs scene in October. With close to 10,000 square feet of exposed steel, wood, and glass, the building blends modern and post-modern architectural elements with eco-conscious technologies. The venue includes a large, open dining room, a climate-controlled outdoor lounge with retractable roofs and walls, private indoor and outdoor cabanas, high-end lighting and sound systems, and mountain views.
The dining room capacity is 150 for seated events, and the patio lounge holds 200. The semiprivate cabanas each hold six, and include lighting controls and TV screens tied into satellite receivers. Full buyouts are available.
