The Thompson Palm Springs seems to be the hotel equivalent of Berlin Brandenburg Airport, in terms of its opening timeline. The hotel was supposed to open in 2016, and still hasn’t welcomed its first guest.
In August 2023, the Thompson Palm Springs started accepting reservations for stays as of May 2024. However, that timeline has now been pushed back, and even the updated timeline seems optimistic. Let’s go over all the details, first with a bit of background.
In this post:
The abandoned Andaz Palm Springs project
Back in 2015, it was announced that an Andaz would be coming to Palm Springs. At the time the plan was for the 150-room hotel to open in 2016. For those of you not familiar with Andaz, this is Hyatt’s luxury(ish) lifestyle hotel brand, with properties in popular destinations around the world.
The reality is that this property was already in the pipeline long before it was announced that it would be branded as a Hyatt, as the four acre plot of land has been under development in some form for over a decade.
For years the development seemed to be cursed in just about every way imaginable, with endless allegations of breach of contract, lack of payment to contractors, etc. In mid-2020, the hotel landed in bankruptcy court, with the controlling entity selling its stake in the property.
Fortunately there has been significant progress on this property in the past few years, and there are still plans for it to be a Hyatt.
Basics of the Thompson Palm Springs
With the project under new ownership, the plan for the past three years or so has been for the property to become the Thompson Palm Springs. For those not familiar, Thompson is another one of Hyatt’s lifestyle brands, with a big emphasis on food & beverage outlets that are popular with locals.
Up until recently, the hotel was accepting reservations for stays as of May 1, 2024. However, the hotel has now only started accepting reservations for stays as of September 30, 2024, so that timeline has been pushed back by roughly five months.
Even if that timeline sticks, there’s no way this hotel is going to be half decent for quite some time. While part of the hotel is largely done, a FlyerTalk member shared a picture of the current state of construction for part of the hotel, and as you can see, that’s nowhere close to complete. So if the hotel does in fact open in late September, it’s still going to be a construction site for quite some time, and I wouldn’t want to stay here.
Anyway, the 168-room Thompson is expected to be a Category 5 World of Hyatt property, so a free night award costs 17,000-23,000 points per night. Cash rates at the hotel are currently quite reasonable, and start at just over $300 per night. But again, that’s all theoretical, since I’m not confident in this hotel opening anytime soon.
The Thompson Palm Springs will feature some guest room bungalows, two outdoor pools, gardens, lounge areas, and winding walking paths. Guests can expect further amenities, including a signature restaurant, an indoor and outdoor bar and lounge, a spa, a fitness center, 8,000 square feet of meeting and event space, and 20,000 square feet of ground level retail.
As you’d expect, the design has changed somewhat compared to the original project. Below are some renderings of the Thompson Palm Springs, as opposed to the initial plans for the Andaz Palm Springs.
Another awesome California addition for Hyatt
A few general notes about this property specifically, and about Hyatt’s overall footprint in California. I like Palm Springs, though it’s not a place I visit often, simply because I live in Florida. There are a few reasons I’m excited about this property:
- Personally I probably wouldn’t travel cross country to visit Palm Springs as a standalone trip, though 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 awesome for those in SoCal who are looking for a weekend getaway
- Palm Springs is desperately lacking luxury points hotels; I still miss the Parker Palm Springs belonging to Starwood Preferred Guest; the hotel still exists, but it’s no longer affiliated with a major hotel points program
- While I’m generally excited about this development, I wish this were a more secluded resort with a bit more land, rather than a four acre development right in the heart of the city
- With Hyatt having acquired Dream Hotel Group, Hyatt will have another new property in Palm Springs, as there’s a Dream Palm Springs in the pipeline, though it’s a long ways from opening
On top of that, I can’t help but point out how beautifully Hyatt’s portfolio in California is developing:
- There are now three Alila properties in California, including the 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 nature in Big Sur, and wine country in Napa Valley, plus this Palm Springs addition coming soon
- While Hyatt’s city footprint in California largely leaves a lot to be desired, it has at least been improving nicely in the Los Angeles area, between the Thompson Hollywood, the tommie Hollywood, Hotel Figueroa, and more (unfortunately the Park Hyatt Los Angeles project is still stalled)
Bottom line
The Thompson Palm Springs’ opening has been delayed yet again. The hotel is now supposed to open as of late September 2024. If that timeline does stick, the hotel will be quite unpleasant for some time, given the amount of construction that is still taking place.
Anyone want to wager a guess as to when the hotel will actually open?
I’m sure the city of Palm Springs is really going to be helpful in their quest of opening….. and none of the council members will have any interest in inserting their ego… And they won’t have endless hoops to jump through… best of luck to them in their journey
In better news on this development, one of the local papers got to inspect the property over the past week. It's making some promising progress, with a number of the rooms already completed:
https://pstribune.com/2024/03/21/i-took-a-tour-of-the-brand-new-thompson-hotel-in-palm-springs-its-happening-its-opening/
The resort in Indian Wells seems exactly what you want more secluded, and on more land. This is actually perfect, companion. The luxury is needed in town, plenty of resorts with land around the whole valley.
The HR Indian Wells is also getting a renovation. I recently stayed in one of the updated suites and the new rooms have come out nicely.
I had reservations for this property in June. My WoH concierge contacted me about my reservation and the delay. They offered me an ‘equivalent’ reservation at the PS Hyatt…. many, including myself, consider this a ‘weak’ Hyatt property —troubled would be less generous but probably more correct — maybe they’ve gotten their act together as I haven’t stayed there in 5 or 6 years? I accepted that offer, but I can see myself just scrapping...
I had reservations for this property in June. My WoH concierge contacted me about my reservation and the delay. They offered me an ‘equivalent’ reservation at the PS Hyatt…. many, including myself, consider this a ‘weak’ Hyatt property —troubled would be less generous but probably more correct — maybe they’ve gotten their act together as I haven’t stayed there in 5 or 6 years? I accepted that offer, but I can see myself just scrapping it all together. Disappointing. If it had been the Indian Wells Hyatt Resort I would have been more interested in actually staying. Now that’s a very different experience than a downtown PS property.
My guess is they ran into friction with actually making the original open date, pre bookings for the summer looked weak ….and they just decided to not open until after the slow summer session…. But what do I know.
From a trusted source - The 168 keys
will open altogether in September 2024.
As opposed of 100 rooms in may 2024 and 68 in September 2024 ;)
I just drove by it last night. It’s pretty hard to imagine they will be finished by September.
I’m actually the one who posted the pics on FT last month. To be fair, another part of the property is much further along, and they’ve even started putting balcony furniture out. But I’m not really sure how they’re planning on opening if one wing of the hotel is still an active construction site.