Colony Palms Hotel Set to Open

Palm Springs Hotel Slated to Debut this Month After a $15 Million Renovation

• 
  SAVE
• 
  SHARE
• 
  TEXT SIZE
• 
  PRINT
• 
  COMMENT
• 
  PDF

. October 14, 2008

PALM SPRINGS, CA, April 11, 2007. The Colony Palms Hotel, one of Palm Springs' most historic properties, will reopen April 26, 2007 after an extensive $15 million renovation. Throughout the month of May, the hotel is offering a special introductory mid-week rate of $169 per night and weekend rate of $239 per night, both based on availability.

The newly refurbished hotel includes completely redesigned guestrooms, casitas and suites by famed celebrity designer, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, as well as a new poolside restaurant and intimate spa facility.

The Spanish-style hotel's d'ecor harkens back to 1940's glamour with an exotic slant, incorporating worldwide influences such as Uzbekistani suzani headboards, antique French tiling and vintage black and white photography. Each of the 56 rooms, inclusive of ten casitas with two-person outdoor bath tubs, and three suites with private entrances, will offer breathtaking views of the desert mountains, as well as Wi-Fi high-speed Internet, mini bars and High Definition flat panel TVs. The hotel's premier suite, the Winner's Circle, will feature a private entrance, fireplace and stunning views of the mountains and poolside courtyard below.

An oasis in the desert, The Colony Palm's spacious and lush poolside courtyard will have a Mediterranean feel consistent with the hotel's Spanish Colonial design, and will offer comfortable lounges, plentiful seating, garden fountains and fire pits.

"This hotel's rich history reaches back to the glory days of Palm Springs," said Steven Ohren, owner of The Colony Palms Hotel. "With this renovation, we are reviving the essence of the period of the hotel, while including a taste of the exotic."

The new restaurant, The Purple Palm, will showcase renowned Chef Jim Shiebler's Mediterranean-inspired menu and an extensive wine list. The d'ecor is in keeping with the hotel's vintage glamour featuring a color scheme of eggplant, olive green, terracotta and sunset gold. Classic colonial style furnishings and beautiful hand wrought Spanish light fixtures lined with glowing parchment are juxtaposed with edgy detail to give the restaurant its sophisticated feel. The Purple Palm, will feature courtyard seating under the stars, and will provide guests with a dining experience similar to that found in other world class restaurants in small boutique hotels lining the Mediterranean.

Located within walking distance of downtown Palm Springs and on the border of the infamous Movie Colony, the hotel was originally constructed in 1936 by Purple Gang mobster Al Wertheimer. Operating as The Colonial House, the hotel quickly became the town's most popular locale, primarily as a speakeasy, brothel and gambling house. The property was then sold to Robert Howard, grandson of the owner of champion thoroughbred Sea Biscuit, in the late 1940's, who renamed the property Howard Manor.