The Colony Palms Hotel is located in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by la ...

. The hotel has 57 rooms and suites. It re-opened after a 2007 renovation, and features the "Winner's Circle Suite" in honor of previous owners, Robert S. and Andrea Leeds Howard (owners of the racehorse

Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...

History

The Colony Palms Hotel was originally built as the "Colonial House" by Las Vegas casino owner and Purple Gang member Al Wertheimer.
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The hotel began receiving guests in 1936, and had a reputed downstairs

speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States ...

and

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub p ...

. It was renamed "Howard Manor" in the late 1940s when Robert and Andrea Leeds Howard took possession. (with correction on
"For the record" (June 22, 2012). ''Los Angeles Times''
(Robert Howard was the son of

Charles S. Howard Charles Stewart Howard (February 28, 1877 – June 6, 1950) was an American businessman. He made his fortune as an automobile dealer and became a prominent thoroughbred racehorse owner. Biography Howard was dubbed one of the most successful Bui ...

.) Boxing champion

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926 ...

was also an owner. For the next 25 years the hotel was a haven for young Hollywood in Palm Springs. In the 1970s, it became a health spa called The Palms operated by Sheila Cluff (owner of The Oaks in Ojai, California). The original hotel had a mural on the wall that was

Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century, when he was rediscovered ...

-esque in nature, with some frolicking nudes. The new owner (Steve Ohren) preserved the original mural from 1935http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060528/BUSINESS01/605280330 {{Subscription when redesigning the resort with Martyn Lawrence-Bullard.

References

External links

Colony Palms Hotelvworld88
Hotels in California Hotels established in 1936 Hotel buildings completed in 1936 Buildings and structures in Palm Springs, California Tourist attractions in Palm Springs, California 1936 establishments in California