Thompson Palm Springs

Thompson Palm Springs opened in October 2024 on North Palm Canyon Drive, spread over about two and a half blocks of downtown. It has 168 rooms, 18 of them suites, and a second building with its own entrance, Upper Stories, an adults-only tower of 42 rooms. It is Hyatt's first project with HALL Group, the Dallas company behind the HALL Napa Valley wineries, and the Thompson brand's first hotel in Palm Springs.

The place

The address is 414 North Palm Canyon Drive, at the gateway to the Design District and in the middle of the main downtown strip. Palm Springs International Airport is about three miles away. The Palm Springs Art Museum is close, and Desert Hot Springs and The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens are short drives, as are Indio, Joshua Tree and Big Bear.

The ground level carries more than 30,000 square feet of street-facing retail, so the hotel works as a block of the street rather than a walled compound.

The concept

SMS Architecture designed the exteriors and B2 Design Co. the interiors, both drawing on the city's history as a centre of modern architecture. The lobby is open-air, with paths and artworks running through it.

The 168 rooms are described as bungalow-inspired. All have a private balcony, blackout curtains and a minibar, and the range runs from king and double-queen rooms to the 1,750-square-foot Thompson Suite.

Upper Stories is a separate tower for adults only, with 42 rooms, five suites, and a private pool and lounge.

Art is a large part of the project. Shore Art Advisory, led by Virginia Shore, assembled the collection. A mosaic by Jeffrey Gibson, The Land is Speaking... Are You Listening (2022), covers the facade, and in the lobby hangs Continuum Basket: Creation (2023) by Gerald Clarke, a wall sculpture made from crushed recycled aluminium cans in Cahuilla basket patterns.

The hotel also sells itself as an events venue. It has more than 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space and takes groups of up to 600 people. The San Jacinto Ballroom measures 6,200 square feet and the Lola Rose Terrace 2,500, and partial or full buy-outs are offered. A fitness studio has TRX and Peloton equipment.

Dining & wellness

Lola Rose Grand Mezze is the main restaurant, an all-day Levantine-inspired room on the second floor led by executive chef Quentin Garcia, with Chris Talluto as director of food and beverage. It opens onto a skyline pool and swim club that looks toward the San Jacinto Mountains.

The HALL Napa Valley Tasting Room pours wines from three labels, HALL, WALT and BACA, which gives the hotel a direct line to its partner's vineyards.

Bar Issi, a Mediterranean concept on the ground floor, comes from Melissa and Matt Hermer's Boujis Group and was scheduled for early 2025, after the hotel itself opened.