The landmark resort is being repositioned for luxury travelers and meetings, with a 2027 reopening anticipated and an affiliated company listing a $100 million project cost.
Palm Springs’ Riviera resort is preparing to return under the InterContinental name, bringing an international luxury brand to a roughly 400-room property whose latest reinvention reaches across its guestrooms, restaurants, pools and meeting facilities.
The planned InterContinental Resort & Spa Palm Springs is being promoted to the meetings industry as a comprehensive transformation of the former Riviera, which operated as Margaritaville Resort Palm Springs before reclaiming its historic name in 2024. Public materials point to a reopening in 2027, although they do not yet provide a consistent opening date.
The scale of the investment is beginning to emerge. Eight Form, which identifies hotel operator Welcome Group as its sister company, lists a $100 million project cost for the property. Its website does not explain how much of that amount represents acquisition, construction or other expenses, so the figure cannot be treated as a renovation-only budget.
For Palm Springs, the project would return a substantial block of hotel rooms to the market with a different commercial identity. Its combination of lodging, dining, spa facilities and event space gives the conversion implications beyond vacation stays, particularly for businesses competing for corporate retreats, incentive trips and meetings.
An InterContinental Conversion Years in the Making
The resort’s affiliation with IHG Hotels & Resorts predates the planned InterContinental launch. IHG’s February 2025 financial results identified Palm Springs among the InterContinental agreements signed during 2024. A January 2026 corporate announcement subsequently included the city among the brand’s anticipated openings that year.
Those disclosures establish that the InterContinental plan has been in development for some time. They also distinguish the upcoming conversion from the earlier shift into IHG’s reservation and loyalty system.
IHG’s current Palm Springs hotel directory still lists the Riviera as an independent property within its system. The resort’s own website likewise continues to use the Riviera name. Becoming an InterContinental would give it a specific luxury brand identity within the larger hotel company.
Welcome Group announced its acquisition of the property from Tamarack Capital Partners in 2024, along with plans to restore the Riviera name. That announcement initially anticipated a renovated and rebranded resort by mid-2026.
The property at 1600 N. Indian Canyon Drive opened in 1959 and became associated with Palm Springs’ celebrity resort era. It took on the Margaritaville identity in 2020, then returned to the Riviera name four years later. The coming InterContinental conversion adds another chapter to that history while retaining the existing resort as the foundation for the investment.
Renovation Extends Across the Palm Springs Resort
Past announcements describe the renovation as encompassing guestrooms and suites, public spaces, restaurants and bars, pool areas, the spa and the fitness center.
The plans include revised culinary concepts, poolside food and beverage service, upgraded banquet offerings and more flexible outdoor event areas. A substantial solar installation and other energy-conscious improvements are also identified.
These are descriptions of the planned resort, rather than confirmation that every element has been completed. Restaurant names, menus and the final operating schedule for the amenities have not been established in the public materials.
The existing IHG property listing describes 398 guestrooms, two pools and more than 40,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space.
A Larger Play for Luxury and Group Business
The resort is already being marketed to meeting planners during construction. Its sales pitch emphasizes the ability to bring guest accommodations, dining, receptions and other activities together on one property.
That combination matters commercially. A group booking can generate room revenue alongside catering, meeting-space rental and other spending. Outdoor gathering areas also allow a desert resort to offer a different setting from a conventional business hotel.
The InterContinental identity places the renovated property within an established international luxury brand. The business test will be whether that affiliation and the physical improvements attract additional demand and support the rates needed to justify the investment. The public materials do not disclose projected room rates, occupancy or group bookings for the reopening.
The Reopening Schedule Remains in Transition
The latest publicly described timelines extend into 2027. Visit Greater Palm Springs’ destination update identifies an early-2027 reopening after a closure running from June through December 2026.
Resort sales contact Daniel Gibby has described a February 2027 return. In a public LinkedIn update, he said major renovations began June 1 and that the sales and events office remained open during construction, with model rooms available to show prospective customers. On Nov. 10, he posted, “Our Sales Department is open for business and we would love to assist you with the planning of your next meeting, event, photo shoot, and tour rooms for Coachella and Stagecoach! The buzz is growing, and a legendary hotel is reborn!”
An October 15 report in Meetings Today placed the InterContinental debut in spring 2027. The different descriptions leave the precise first-arrival date, and any distinction between a soft opening and a formal launch, unresolved in the available public record.
Bob Marra is the CEO/Publisher of GPS Business Insider and GPS Market Intel. He has been studying, writing and giving presentations about business, economic and public affairs news and issues and the local economy in the Greater Palm Springs/Coachella Valley region for more than 20 years.
