Continental Assets Management has recently purchased the Indian Wells Resort Hotel and announced that Quorum Hospitality has been hired to manage it.
Founded by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in 1957, the historic Indian Wells Resort Hotel is known for its vintage glamour, scenic surroundings and attractive resort-style amenities (see below for more on the hotel’s interesting history). The hotel features 156 well-appointed guestrooms and suites, an expansive pool, on-site dining, live entertainment, meeting and event space, tennis courts and direct access to Indian Wells Country Club.
“Acquiring the Indian Wells Resort Hotel is an extraordinary opportunity to steward one of the city’s most iconic hospitality assets,” says Andy Chang, CEO of Continental Assets Management. “Indian Wells is synonymous with world-class tennis and golf that attract guests from around the globe. Our vision is to honor all of these legacies, while thoughtfully repositioning the asset as a cornerstone of Indian Wells tourism for years to come.”
The Indian Wells Resort Hotel pays homage to its nostalgic roots.
Continental Assets Management is a private real estate investment company founded in Los Angeles. In its 30 years, Continental has been able to grow and diversify its portfolio to include hospitality, multifamily, commercial retail and developable land in California, Hawaii, Texas and the Midwest.
Under Quorum’s leadership, the property will benefit from strategic improvements centered around elevating service, refining food and beverage offerings, strengthening and expanding community partnerships, and creating memorable guest touchpoints that honor the property’s rich sense of place. Helping spearhead these efforts are General Manager Ebony Stinson and Director of Sales & Marketing Steve Tremewan.
“Indian Wells Resort Hotel is a storied and iconic destination,” says Todd Moreau, President of Quorum Hospitality. “We are excited to partner with Continental Assets Management and usher the hotel into a new chapter. We look forward to strengthening the hotel’s connection to the community, elevating the guest experience and positioning the property for long-term success.”
Quorum Hospitality, formerly Quorum Hotels & Resorts, is a hospitality management company with offices in Newport Beach, CA, and Plano, TX. Established in 1987, the company has a history of hotel management for all major brands, including Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and IHG.
“Historic” has true meaning at the Indian Wells Resort Hotel
The Indian Wells Resort Hotel’s story is inseparable from the mid-century moment when the desert became Hollywood’s preferred winter escape. In 1957, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz helped design and build what was then known as the Desi Arnaz Western Hills Hotel, conceived as an exclusive hideaway where celebrities could golf, play tennis, and spend long afternoons poolside under the desert sun.
Arnaz opened his Indian Wells Hotel, the forerunner to today’s Indian Wells Resort Hotel, on a site that would later become part of the Indian Wells Country Club’s 11th and 12th fairways. The resort and club quickly became a magnet for high-profile visitors, cementing Indian Wells’ identity as a private, star-studded enclave. That identity was amplified in 1960 when a young Arnold Palmer won the first Bob Hope Desert Classic, a tournament Indian Wells Country Club president Milt Hicks helped launch. The inaugural event drew a remarkable lineup, Desi Arnaz, Bob Hope, and numerous entertainment icons among them, while President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a regular visitor to Indian Wells who later became a homeowner at nearby Eldorado, underscored the area’s national cachet.
As Hollywood talent increasingly sought out the Coachella Valley in the 1950s and 1960s for its temperate winters and tucked-away atmosphere, Indian Wells evolved into a celebrity destination in its own right. Arnaz also played a role in developing the adjoining Indian Wells Country Club, which went on to serve as the original home of the PGA tournament long associated with Bob Hope. That legacy still translates into a tangible guest experience: patrons of the Indian Wells Resort Hotel continue to receive access benefits tied to the club’s private 36-hole championship golf facilities.
