The Riviera Palm Springs has a storied past.
In 1957, when architect Irwin Schuman acquired the 21 acre site at the north end of Palm Springs, his Chi-Chi club was already the talk of town. Soon after his Riviera resort opened in 1959, it became a favourite with entertainment industry tycoons and stars.
The first hotel to be built in a radial, spoke wheel fashion, its bold modernism spoke to Kennedy era optimism, and it made a perfect setting for films like 1963’ s Palm Springs Weekend.
In the 60’s, Desi Arnez, Elvis and Sonny and Cher performed here, and in the 80’s Sonny Bono opened an adjacent restaurant. But times change and before you could say demographic shift, the amphitheatre where Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. once performed, had become a spa.
And all that history can get a bit heavy, particularly so after renovations in the 2000’s that emphasised intense Vegas inspired red lighting and over the top Hollywood Regency glam.
Now, Miami-based designer Liubasha Rose has successfully modernised this classic property with a sleek new look that pays homage to its past, but with a more natural palette that complements the stunning backdrop of the San Jacinto mountains; the entrance way now beckons, rather than overwhelms, with inviting greens and whites, while curved lit screens lead to a mysterious corridor lined with mint walls. A lobby arcade functions as a microcosm of the hotel’s histories, with a series of small lounge vignettes featuring local artwork and photography and three new food and beverage spaces play to different cinematic moods: Cantala is a cosy dining destination layered in forest green, rattan, and cork with an outdoor area punctuated by woven basket lighting in the canopies of fiscus trees; Café Palmetto is the perfect lunch spot done up in pop-art inspired colours and punchy graphics; while the Gypsy Rose lounge channels retro glamour with midnight blue and rose velvet seating, crystal sconces, brass accents, and a David Lynch inspired black and white, over-scale hex tiled floor.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
1600 North Indian Canyon Drive
-
Porsche saves the best until last with the stunning 718 Boxster GTS 4.0Could this be the last ever Porsche Boxster with a combustion engine? If so, the 718 GTS 4.0 is the best iteration of the Boxster to date
-
Vinyl, darts, and design: how Audemars Piguet reimagined the watch boutique for ManchesterThe latest AP House from watchmaker Audemars Piguet displays design codes that nod to the legacy of its location
-
Copenhagen’s Noma opens its first café and flavour shopOEO Studio transforms the former entrance to the three-Michelin-starred restaurant into a tactile space inspired by laboratory precision
-
A24 just opened a restaurant in New York, and it’s as cinematic as you’d expectHidden in the West Village, Wild Cherry pairs a moody, arthouse sensibility with a supper-style menu devised by the team behind Frenchette
-
Seven kitchens, one fire: inside LA’s hottest new food marketAt Maydan Market, chef Rose Previte turns global street food and layered design into a vibrant, fire-lit experience
-
The Viceroy Hotel Group wants you to get on your bikeAcross properties in Santa Monica, Chicago, Washington DC and the Algarve, Viceroy guests can experience curated cycling routes and community events
-
Big flavours and bold design define La Nena Cantina, Los Angeles's newest Mexican hotspotFrom handmade tortillas to 40-ingredient mole, this new Sunset Boulevard restaurant takes Mexican cuisine seriously
-
Aperitivo time is this Los Angeles bar’s ‘ragione di vita’Located in Echo Park, Bar Bacetti is a welcoming haunt celebrating the great Italian ‘art of snacking’
-
This boisterous cocktail bar in Denver was inspired by Le CorbusierA 1950s furniture showroom has been reborn as a modernist social hub in the city’s Sunnyside neighbourhood. Its cocktails? Semiprecious
-
In Los Angeles, Darling doesn’t want to be your average dinner spotVinyl, live-fire cooking, and California’s finest ingredients come together in this immersive new concept from a celebrated Southern chef
-
The best dinner party in San Francisco is thrown at this bistro and vinyl barA new chapter begins in Mission Creek as Side A opens in the former Universal Café space
