It looks like Hyatt has a new plan to open a luxury hotel in Palm Springs.
The abandoned Andaz Palm Springs
Back in 2015 it was announced that an Andaz would be coming to Palm Springs. At the time, it was planned to open the 150-room hotel in 2016. For those of you new to Andaz, this is Hyatt’s luxury lifestyle hotel brand (ish) with hotels in popular destinations around the world.
The reality is that this property was in the pipeline well before the Hyatt announcement was made, as the four-acre property has been under development in some form for nearly a decade.
To date, the project has not yet been completed. The development seems cursed in just about every way – there have been endless allegations of breach of contract, lack of payment to contractors, etc. In mid-2020 it was announced that the hotel had gone to bankruptcy with the controlling body selling its stake in the property.
There weren’t any real updates up to that point, and based on what I’d heard, at least as a Hyatt, the project was more or less dead.
Thompson Palm Springs is in preparation
I understand that a new company has now taken over this project and there are plans to open Thompson Palm Springs. If you go to the Hyatt Development website, it will list the Thompson Palm Springs. Clicking the “View Website” button will take you to the Andaz Palm Springs website.
Only time will tell if the project is progressing a little faster this time. The fact that the construction work is largely complete means that in theory it should be possible to complete this project within a year or so, provided paperwork and permits don’t cause major delays.
There are more questions than answers right now, although it’s nice to know that this project won’t be canceled entirely and will remain in the Hyatt ecosystem.
Only renders of the Andaz are currently available – Andaz and Thompson are largely comparable Hyatt brands in terms of the size of the property, the luxury, and the amount they seek. The main difference will be in the finishes, although this shouldn’t be a huge problem as no work has been done on the interior yet.
Andaz Palm Springs lobby rendering (soon to be Thompson)
Rendering of the lobby lounge of Andaz Palm Springs (soon to be Thompson)
Andaz Palm Springs pool rendering (soon to be Thompson)
Andaz Palm Springs Pool Fire Pit (soon to be Thompson)
Andaz Palm Springs Guest Room (soon to be Thompson)
Andaz Palm Springs Guest Room (soon to be Thompson)
Another great California addition for Hyatt
Some general notes on this property and Hyatt’s total California footprint.
Firstly, Palm Springs is not my favorite place in the world, but I’m still excited about this property:
- I wouldn’t travel across the country to visit Palm Springs. What I love so much about California is the geographic diversity. So this would be great as part of a bigger trip to California. This will also be fantastic for those in SoCal looking for a weekend getaway
- There is an urgent need for luxury hotels in Palm Springs. I still miss the Parker Palm Springs from Starwood Preferred Guest. The hotel still exists but is no longer linked to a large hotel points program
- While I’m generally excited about this development, I wish this was a more secluded resort with a little more land and not a four-acre development right in the heart of the city
Parker Palm Springs Room
On top of that, I can’t help but point out how nicely Hyatt’s luxury portfolio in California is starting to develop:
- Starting this month, there will be three Alila properties in California between Alila Ventana Big Sur, Alila Marea Beach Encinitas and Alila Napa Valley
- For Hyatt loyalists, you have luxury hotel options to enjoy the beaches in SoCal, the great outdoors in Big Sur, and the wine country of the Napa Valley
- However, Hyatt still has plenty of room for improvement when it comes to luxury hotel options in cities in California, as Hyatt’s footprint in Los Angeles and San Francisco is still largely absent. It’s slowly improving (like adding the Thompson Hollywood), but there’s still a lot of potential
Alila Marea Beach Encinitas
Bottom line
It seems that the much-belated Andaz Palm Springs will now become the Thompson Palm Springs. I love the Thompson brand and I am delighted that this hotel will be added to the Hyatt portfolio.
We hope that this project will actually be completed this time as it has been delayed endlessly.
Are you looking forward to the Thompson Palm Springs?
(Hat tip to Tom)
