PALM SPRINGS, Calif.—Palisades Hospitality Group (PHG) and CovoCapital, a boutique real estate investment company based in San Francisco, announced they have purchased the Colony Palms Hotel. PHG will operate the Colony Palms under its hotel subsidiary. Other hotels in this collection include the El Dorado Hotel & Kitchen in Sonoma, California and the North Block Hotel in Yountville, with more hotels under development in Napa and Sonoma.
Located just one block off the city’s main downtown strip and built in the 1930s, the 57-room resort features original Spanish colonial architecture, from arched entryways and coved ceilings to original Moorish floor tiles. The Colony Palms Hotel also features a full-service spa and a full-service on-site restaurant, the Purple Palm.
Over the next several months, PHG will also undertake upgrades and enhancements to the historic property’s spa, guest rooms, restaurant, and landscaping. In addition, the hotel will add 1,200 square feet in meeting space under the new management for small groups and events accommodating up to 50 people.
“The Colony Palms is a gorgeous, historically significant property in a fantastic location that offered us a perfect fit with our larger mission at Palisades Hospitality Group—to expand our boutique hotel presence in leisure destinations with truly special, individual properties that fit the way people want to travel,” explained Tim Harmon, chief executive officer of Palisades Hospitality Group.
Originally built in 1936, the Colony Palms property was once owned by alleged mobster Al Westheimer and featured a casino, speakeasy, and brothel that attracted such famous Hollywood guests as Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, and Humphrey Bogart. Later in the 1940s, the hotel was purchased by the owners of famed racehorse, Sea Biscuit, Robert and Amanda Leeds-Howard, and was renamed the “Howard Manor.” In the 1970s, the property changed hands again and was reinvented as a health resort called “The Palms.” Most recently, in 2008, the hotel underwent a substantial $17 million renovation at the hands of interior designer Martyn Bullard-Lawrence, also known for his role on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Designers.”
