Ofland Hotels halts development of resort near Joshua Tree National Park

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) - A plan to build a 152-acre resort near Joshua Tree National Park will not be moving forward, developers announced on Thursday.

As we reported over the summer, the planned Ofland Twentynine Palms was a 100-room outdoor hotel on a 152-acre site. The resort would've had two lodges, a restaurant, a swimming pool, a general store, employee housing and more.

It would've been Ofland Hotels', a Las Vegas–based hospitality group, second property and its first location in California. 

Company officials said after careful evaluation, they made "the strategic decision to halt the project in response to the softening market demand."

“The decision to halt the development of Ofland Twentynine Palms was not an easy one,” said Luke Searcy, Head of Development for Ofland Hotels. “As a company, we must adapt to shifts in the industry. Ultimately, current market conditions did not justify the level of investment required to responsibly move the project forward. We are deeply grateful to the City of Twentynine Palms for their support throughout this collaborative process." 

Ofland Hotels will focus its attention on projects in Tennessee and Utah.

The Twentynine Palms project was unanimously approved by the city council in July 2025. However, not everyone was in favor of the project. A nonprofit and a group of residents even filed a lawsuit against the City of Twentynine Palms in August over environmental concerns and allegations that the city violated the California Environmental Quality Act.