EXCLUSIVE: Kimpton Hotel update

Right now it’s a lot of construction cranes and cement, but it’s still a sight to see and to envision.

“There’s nothing like it in Palm Springs,” designer Chris Pardo said.

We talked to Chris Pardo, the designer of the Palm Springs Downtown Project, about the Kimpton Hotel. The company, with 64 boutique hotels in 33 cities, moved into downtown Palm Springs, bringing its one-of-a-kind brand with it.

“They make every hotel unique with its own character related to the city it’s built in,” Pardo said.

I had an exclusive one-on-one interview with the developer of the downtown project, John Wessman. “I think the project will bring some exciting new, I don’t want to say younger but I will say younger retailers,” he said.

He then offered me something no other TV station has done before – a ride seven stories up in the construction elevator of the Kimpton site.

“I think that’s the most unique feature of the whole building,” Pardo said, talking about the rooftop pool. “The pool area is 125 feet long, 40 by 20 foot swimming pool, cabanas on both sides, misters.”

“I’m trying to show the more Palm Springs side of it, not have it be this Vegas feel. That’s not Palm Springs,” he added.

Just a look down Palm Canyon Drive, you can see what Palm Springs is – now even more of a magnet for tourists.

Here’s what we know is opening in the project in addition to West Elm: Blaze Pizza, Il Corso, Stout Burger, and high end rental lofts above West Elm.

Also, the Virgin Hotel is set to open in 2018.

“The only reason we really got the Virgin I think is because of the Kimpton brand coming in. They saw that ‘If these guys believe in it, I believe in Palm Springs as well,” Pardo said.

The Kimpton will open spring of 2017.