Iconic Palm Springs Riviera Hotel Returns: Margaritaville Resort reverts to Classic Glamour

The Margaritaville Resort in Palm Springs is once again the Riviera Hotel as of Friday.

The Riviera was transformed into a Margaritaville resort in 2020. 

Our news team reported on the possibility of the rebrand earlier this month.

The venue first captured the hearts of Old Hollywood glamour when it opened back in 1959. 

Some Palm Springs residents tell us they are thrilled for the Riviera's return.

"I'm glad that it's going back to the Riviera, said Palm Springs neighbor, Josh Reece. "The Margaritaville, just it didn't feel on brand for Palm Springs."

Steven Grant, Margaritaville’s Resort Director of Sales and Marketing, says the biggest adjustments deal with management systems that oversee bookings and reservations. 

"We're switching from the Margaritaville environment over to the Intercontinental Hotels Group environment. So that's a different reservation system. It's different access to the online travel agencies and things like that," said Grant.

Folks with existing reservations up until Mid-October are advised to call the hotel to get their booking accommodated. 

Grant tells me it’s been a busy start to the rebranding with the hotel completely sold out for The Dinah. 

"We've got about 300 plus people checking in today, so you've probably noticed a line when you walked in. We got a good number of people checking in," said Grant.

Moving forward The Riviera hopes to preserve its classic style by leaning on it’s history. 

"For example, our Jimmy Buffett suite is now the Chairman's Suite, in reference to the Chairman of the Board, which would be Frank Sinatra," said Grant.

The Riviera staff also adds that customers should be able to book a reservation starting Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. 

The system will be allowing booking after October 15, any booking done before then has been entered manually by the staff.

Stay with News Channel 3 for any updates.