Guide to Meeting & Event Planning in Greater Palm Springs

Greater Palm Springs

New & Coming Soon to Greater Palm Springs 

• Sensai Porcupine Creek, a new wellness resort on 230 acres in Rancho Mirage, is set to pen in late 2022. The former estate of Larry Elison, business magnate and co-founder of Oracle, will have 22 rooms and suites, meeting space for small gatherings, lush spa gardens, tennis and a Nobu restaurant exclusively for resort guests.

• The 66-room Paloma Resort, a full-service property in Cathedral City that began as a date grove in the 1930s and then became a beauty resort founded by the Elizabeth Arden Corp., has debuted. The Paloma offers an outdoor pool and garden, a restaurant and lounge, spa services, and event facilities for small to midsize corporate and social events.

• Visit Greater Palm Springs has launched the new digital Wellness Pass as a guide to some of the destination’s best facilities for fostering well-being, including spas, and often featuring special deals ranging from discounts on fitness classes to complimentary spa treatments and add-ons. Participating spas and wellness facilities include the new Azure Palm Hot Springs Resort, the newly renovated Well Spa at Miramonte Resort and the Agua Caliente Casino Spa Rancho Mirage.

• Opening in late 2022 in Palm Springs is the Spa at Sec-he, which aims to be one of the most luxurious hot-springs spas in the U.S. The waters will be sourced directly from the underground Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring. The facility will be a part of the new Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza, which will feature gardens, an oasis trail, a plaza for gatherings and myriad other spaces for meetings, private events and team building.

• In Downtown Palm Springs, the Thompson Palm Springs will join Hyatt’s luxury lifestyle portfolio upon completion in late 2022. The property will have 164 guest rooms and suites with panoramic views of the San Jacinto Mountains, along with two outdoor pools, gardens, lounge areas, and meeting space for small and large groups.

• The 398-room Margaritaville Resort Palm Springs capped off its recent rebrand and renovation with the opening of the JWB Grill, the namesake eatery of James (Jimmy) William Buffett and the resort’s signature restaurant. The property, minutes from downtown Palm Springs, also features the 10,000-square-foot St. Somewhere Spa with more than 18 treatment rooms, and two pools with cabanas styled as tiki huts. More than 50,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space includes three ballrooms.

• On 43 acres near Palm Desert, the new 11,000-capacity Acrisure Arena is nearing completion, readying for an opening in late 2022. Designed for hockey and live concerts, the facility will have all the amenities of a modern music and sports venue, plus meeting and exhibit space.
 
• The Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa is undergoing a renovation of all 512 guest rooms, which will sport new carpets, furniture and more upon completion this summer. The resort has more than 130,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting and event space, including a 17,326-square-foot grand ballroom.

 • The 884-room JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa has opened a new JW Entertainment Zone, where guests can play new and classic arcade games for prizes. The property’s Spa at Deserts Springs underwent a recent renovation, while guest rooms received new furnishings, carpet, expanded bathrooms and more. 
 
• New water attractions have opened at the 530-room Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa, allowing guests to enjoy a 450-foot lazy river, two 30-foot waterslides and seven new pools. The  resort's new 1,100-square-foot Hollywood Terrace Suite can host private events and parties. The suite has a customizable bar, full-sized refrigerator and an 800-square-foot private outdoor lounge that offers panoramic views of the property set against a desert backdrop of mountains and palm trees. The resort offers 88,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor event space centered around the on-site Indian Wells Conference Center.
 
• Slated to open in 2022, the Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza will include an art gallery celebrating the history and culture of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, along with a still-to-be determined amount of event space. The venue’s planned luxury Spa at Sec-he, complete with tranquil gardens, will incorporate the ancient healing waters of the Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring.

More Meeting and Event Venues

• In downtown Palm Springs, the Palm Springs Convention Center can accommodate groups of up to 12,000 people in a variety of settings, including a 20,000-square-foot ballroom, with additional meeting space available at the attached 410-room Renaissance Hotel. A new video presents the facility in all its glory.

• The 129-room Homewood Suites by Hilton – La Quinta includes a fitness center, a heated outdoor pool and a spa. A total of 4,800 square feet of on-site meeting space is spread among three meeting rooms, the largest of which spans 1,356 square feet.

• At the northeast end of the Coachella Valley, Metate Ranch can host groups of up to 500 attendees within 800 acres that offer  pristine desert landscapes, including palm oases, narrow-slot canyons and more. Corporate gatherings, open-air concerts, Jeep tours, hiking and team-building programs are just some of the activities that can be arranged. 

• There’s more than the sport of kings to enjoy at the Empire Polo Club. The Indio venue also serves as a premier event facility, drawing clients such as the Coachella Music & Arts Festival and the Kennel Club of Palm Springs Dog Show year after year. The club can handle groups of all sizes, from intimate rose-garden cocktails for 15 VIPs to gatherings for up to 90,000 people on the expansive grass polo fields. Indoor galas can be held in elegant spaces found at the Forum and the Hacienda del Toro.

• La Quinta recently welcomed the new SilverRock Event Site, which has 14 acres of walking paths, an event lawn, water features and a sustainable event building for groups of up to 60. The site also includes a  stream with a lake, a stage area and space for future art installations.
 
• The Sonoran Palm Springs is a 38,000-square-foot outdoor event space in South Palm Springs that includes a pool, cabanas, a pool bar, fire pits and an expansive lawn. Guests enjoy monumental views of the San Jacinto Mountains and dramatic starlit evenings. The venue hosts private events, galas, film festivals and outdoor screenings, fashion shows, art and wine festivals, product and brand launches, conferences, conventions and more.
 
• In Indian Wells, the luxurious 215-room Miramonte Resort & Spa sits on 11 acres dotted with olive trees; citrus groves; and rose, herb and flower gardens, with the scenic Santa Rosa Mountains as a backdrop. The resort’s 18,000 square feet of meeting space accommodates up to 500 people, while the Well Spa is designed as a Tuscan villa with 13 treatment rooms, four outdoor cabanas with open-air showers, and two pools. The property currently is undergoing an $8 million renovation that will touch all guest rooms, food and beverage offerings, and outdoor spaces, with work set for completion in late 2021. 

• The 444-room Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage offers an ideal retreat for groups in the Coachella Valley. Amenities include five restaurants, 27 holes of championship golf, the 20,000-square foot Spa Las Palmas with 26 treatment rooms, a 24-hour fitness center with Pelotons, a lazy river, a cliffside hot tub and more. For meetings, the resort has 37,000 square feet of indoor function space, including the 12,900-square-foot Las Palmas Ballroom. There is an additional 45,000 square feet of outdoor function space, which includes the 10,000-square-foot Starlight Terrace. All facilities follow CDC-certified enhanced cleaning procedures.

• If you want to fast-track your group to some exhilarating downtime, take them to the BMW Performance Center in Thermal, Calif., a half-hour outside of Palm Springs. Professional instructors take attendees out on a multi-configuration course with hairpin turns, high-speed straights and a 300-foot-long polished concrete skid pad.

• In Palm Desert, the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens has officially opened its new Rhino Savanna attraction. On four acres just inside the Zoo’s main entrance, this colorful habitat is home to 12 African species, including two black rhinos, among the zoo’s largest animals. Panoramic look-out points abound, along with assorted residents such as waterbuck, springbok, two species of pelicans and a variety of other birds, plus fascinating subterranean creatures such as the naked mole-rat.

• The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway traverses along the stunning cliffs of Chino Canyon en route to Mt. San Jacinto State Park. During the ride, the tram cars rotate slowly to give visitors a spectacular view of the valley floor below. At the top are two restaurants, observation decks, natural history museum, two documentary theaters and more than 50 miles of hiking trails.
 
• Two distinct desert ecosystems, the Mojave and the Colorado, come together in Joshua Tree National Park, a stark wonderland of plants and animals that have made their home in a land dramatically sculptured by the elements over untold millennia. Visitors can hike, rent a bike, enjoy a picnic and take in the incredible scenery, awe-inspiring sunsets and sparkling night sky. 
 
• Culture beckons in all corners of Greater Palm Springs, and never more so than at the Palm Springs Art Museum right in the heart of town. Here visitors encounter the landscapes of Agnes Pelton, beautiful glassworks by David Kaplan and Glenn Ostergaard, the surreal majesty of the “American Roads” series of snapshots by visionary young photographers, and much more.
 
• For the golfers in the group, the Indian Canyons Golf Resort offers 36 holes in a beautifully landscaped course enjoyed by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Jackie Gleason and former U.S. presidents. The layouts are set on 550 picture-postcard acres on the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation.

• For some fun nightlife in South Palm Springs, take the group to the Palm Canyon Roadhouse, a wood-paneled local hangout and longtime favorite offering pub grub, cocktails, beer and live music with a distinct nod toward country and western.
 
• Escape Room Palm Springs can accommodate up to 65 players at once in the largest such attraction in the Coachella Valley. Groups can choose from themes such as Bank Heist, Titanic, Locker Room, Jack the Ripper and Vampire’s Lair, for which teams have 60 minutes to search for clues and use the items they find to earn their escape.

Top Restaurants in Greater Palm Springs

1. Citrus & Palm – American
2. The Vue Grille & Bar – American
3. Mastro's Steakhouse  – Steakhouse
4. Joy Asian Cuisine – Asian
5. Le Vallauris – French
6. Il Corso– Italian
7. Peaks Restaurant – American
8. Adobe Grill – Mexican
9. Babe's BBQ – Barbecue
10. The Edge Steakhouse – Steakhouse
    
    

Featured Meeting Venues

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Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel

Guest Rooms - 410

Meeting Rooms - 11

Largest Conference Room - 3,143 sq. ft.

Total event space - 46,912 sq. ft.

Room Rate Range - $205-$340

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Margaritaville Resort Palm Springs

Guest Rooms - 398

Meeting Rooms - 22

Largest Conference Room - 19,670 sq. ft.

Total event space - 40,000 sq. ft.

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Hotel Zoso

Guest Rooms - 163

Meeting Rooms - 8

Largest Conference Room - 9,500 sq. ft.

Total event space - 18,622 sq. ft.

Room Rate Range - $149-$599

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