The 2016 Palm Springs International Film Festival is in full swing and doesn't end until January 11.  The Black Tie Awards Gala, which kicked off the festival on January 2, featured A-list stars like Johnny Depp, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Rooney Mara and Saoirse Ronan.  While I watched the red carpet walk on TV, I recognized an actor being interviewed whose face I knew, but whose name was a mystery.  He is a character actor who I remember as playing villains in movies and tv shows.  I even think I've seen him in tv commercials and music videos.  Here is his picture; 

Does he look familiar to you?

He looked very familiar to me and then the interviewer mentioned that he lived in Palm Springs.  This caused my ears and interest to perk up because I'm always interested in knowing about famous people living in Palm Springs since I make a living off of Palm Springs tourism.  People are fascinated with celebrity and Palm Springs has a well know historical celebrity past.  This definitely sells the city to older vacationers, but new blood is always good.  Not that this particular 71 year old actor will draw the attention of those under 30, right.  But, he is a celebrity and does currently live in Palm Springs. 

Anyway, this Palm Springs celebrity's name is Udo Kier.  He was born in Cologne Germany, has appeared in over 200 films and has lived in Palm Springs since 1991.  In 1966, Kier was cast in the lead role for the film Road to St. Tropez.   One of the most important films in his early career was Andy Warhol's Frankenstein in 1973.   Another film, Blood for Dracula in 1974, was done by Warhol's studio and produced by Roman Polanski.  Kier played the lead roles of young doctor Frankenstein and young count Dracula.  Other films that people may recognize him from include Blade, My Own Private Idaho, Ace Ventura Pet Detective and Armageddon.   

What I mainly recognize him from is the 1992 video for Madonna's song "Deeper & Deeper".  This happens to be my favorite Madonna song, and I remember him playing this mysterious villain who had the most compelling eyes.  

Remember to rent a luxury vacation rental from Dry Heat Resorts whenever you visit the California desert.

The part of Palm Springs where South Palm Canyon Dr. veers East and becomes East Palm Canyon Drive has numerous hotels, restaurants, apartments and condos.  Mr. Lyons Restaurant  is a great restaurant in the area.  The Ace Hotel along with its fun and trendy restaurant, King's Highway is also there.

People referred to the area, due to the way the street curved, as "the curve" and a hotel opened up a few years ago in the area named, "The Curve".  It took the place of the old Travelodge hotel.  Well, now The Curve closed down months ago and is being replaced with what looks to be another trendy, urban boutique hotel and resort called "V Palm Springs".  They are doing major renovations all over the old buildings.  Even the front of the street is getting a major makeover.  The 140 room resort, as described on their website, will evoke sensations of luxury, beauty, and sophistication...it will provide a cosmopolitan yet relaxed atmosphere for guests. 

Opening in March of 2016, the resort will feature multiple pools, four gardens that "artfully embrace the rough-but-elegant beauty of the local desert landscape", porch-style swings, poolside bar, modern fire pit & an upscale restaurant and bar.

Anyone remember the name, Mark Geragos?  I recognized it immediately when I read that he is one of the owners of this hotel.  I didn't know from where, but I definitely recognized the name.  It turns out that Mark Geragos is an LA based high profile attorney known for representing celebrity clients like Winona Ryder, Michael Jackson, Nicole Richie and singer Chris Brown.  There is the celebrity angle to the new hotel:-)

Now as the owner of Dry Heat Resorts vacation rentals, I don't really want you staying at the hotel.  I'd much rather you stay at one of the numerous luxury vacation homes I offer that are walking distance to it.  Their rooms average 260 sq ft anyway so why would you want to stay there when Dry Heat Resorts vacation homes average 2,000 sq ft. 

The reason that I blog about new hotels in the California desert is to highlight the amazing growth we are experiencing and to inform my guests that great new restaurants, bars, lounges and other amenities are available just steps away from your Dry Heat Resorts vacation rental at some of the newer hotels. 

His name was Brody and from 1995 through August 2015, he was my faithful cat and companion.  For twenty years he was an ever-present part of my daily life.  When he started showing signs of sickness and weakness in June of this year, I didn't realize that his end was near.  This cat was so great that for twenty years, he never missed his litter box;  in June, when his aim went from directly into the center of the  box without a hitch to the corners of the box, I took notice.  The downward spiral had begun.  From the corners of the litter box, it moved to the corners and a little outside the box to all outside the box.  Eventually, he wasn't even making it to the bathroom, and I knew at this point things were going to get rocky.  I suppose I still didn't realize his end was near because he had been around for so long without showing any signs of letting up, that i just took his existence for granted.  I was also probably a little in denial.

In July, the veterinarian informed me that he was completely blind.  Well that explained some things.  His appetite started diminishing and he drank less and less water.  The veterinarian told me that his kidneys were barely functioning.  It seemed he went from being the happy active cat I had always known to being lethargic and pensive overnight.  It got to a point where I would have to lift him into my bed, feed him there and then have to carry him to his litter box where he would immediately go.  Then I would pick him up, litter still clinging to his tiny paws, and bring him back to bed where he would curl up beside me and still purr a little.  Over time, the purring became less and less and eventually stopped.  When the purring stopped, I knew he had no more joy and that keeping him in existence was nothing more than a selfish act on my part.  I knew it was time to let go.

Isn't this blog about Palm Springs vacationing?  Yes, it is.  Sorry to bring you down with the above.  I thought about the recent loss of Brody because I saw a show last night about a local tennis tournament/benefit for a cat and kitten rescue and wanted to blog about it. 

As you can probably tell, I love cats.  If you love them also and will be vacationing in the Palm Springs area on February 7, please consider attending the Kittyland Cat & Kitten Rescue's second annual fundraising lunch and tennis tournament at the Westin Mission Hills Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage.  to learn about it, please click here; http://www.kittylandrescue.org/

If you are still looking for a place to stay in Palm Springs on February 7 or any time, please check out all the amazing luxury Palm Springs rentals at dryheatresorts.com



 

Palm Desert's El Paseo Also Growing

With all the growth going on in the city of Palm Springs, I usually forget to highlight people, places and things going on in other parts of the California desert.  El Paseo, Palm Desert's upscale shopping district, for example, just experienced a ground breaking ceremony for a new four-star boutique hotel.  This will be the first hotel located on El Paseo itself which I think offers visitors a unique experience if shopping is a big part of their vacations.

The 150-room hotel, which is to be named, Hotel Paseo, will be across the street from The Gardens on El Paseo.  The Gardens on El Paseo is the upscale shopping center, within the upscale shopping street of El Paseo, that Saks 5th Avenue is in.

Hotel Paseo will feature a pool, spa, dining, ballroom and meeting rooms along with valet and underground parking and 24-hour room service. It will operate under the Marriott Autograph Collection brand which will allow its guests to earn and redeem Marriott rewards.

The first guests are expected to check in by February 2017.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival has become one of the main film festivals in the country.  Although most probably fly in private jets, Palm Springs' proximity to LA makes it easy for the stars to drive to attend the event which maximizes the star power of this film festival.  While this may not be the Oscars, this is an amazing film festival featuring hundreds of films from over 60 countries and a large attendance of celebrities.  If you've ever watched the Oscars, or other major award shows, and wanted to be a part of the glamour, this is your opportunity to do so while also being in sunny Palm Springs in January when the weather is in the 70's and 80's. 

The 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Johnny Depp with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor at its annual Awards Gala for his performance in Black Mass. Each year the festival selects an actor and actress to receive this award. The Awards Gala, hosted by Mary Hart and presenting sponsor Entertainment Tonight, will be held Saturday, January 2, at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 1-11.

Johnny Depp is one of the most versatile and dynamic actors of our time,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “In his latest film, Black Mass, Depp, in a stunning transformation, creates a gripping and multi-layered portrait of infamous gangster James ‘Whitey’ Bulger. He delivers an astounding performance that has earned raves from both critics and audiences and is sure to garnerawards attention. It is our honor to present the 2016 Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor, to Johnny Depp.”
Past actor recipients of the Desert Palm Achievement Award include Jeff Bridges, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth, Matthew McConaughey, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Eddie Redmayne. In the years they were honored, Bridges, Day-Lewis, McConaughey, Penn and Redmayne went on to win the Academy Award® for Best Actor, while Cooper, Firth and Pitt received Oscar® nominations.

This year's festival runs from January 1 - 11, 2016. The Festival’s glamorous centerpiece, the Awards Gala, scheduled for January 2, 2016, brings the world’s biggest stars to Palm Springs as it honors the year’s best performances both in front of and behind the camera. The 2015 Awards Gala, as an example, featured Julianne Moore, David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Benedict Cumberbatch, J.K. Simmons, Reese Witherspoon and Robert Duvall, among others.

Sun, Blue Skies, Warmth, Movie Stars, An Eleven Day Film Festival, New Years celebration, Pools, Spas, Chic Restaurants, Mountains, Palm Trees, etc, etc.  Its time to visit Palm Springs in January.  

What was once the old Desert Fashion Plaza in downtown Palm Springs is starting to look a lot more like the imagined retail, hotel, restaurants, office space, and outdoor venue that is planned for the prime real estate.  While driving on Palm Canyon the other day, I saw something that got me even more excited about the forthcoming downtown complex;  a banner hanging over the second story of one of the buildings that read "West Elm".  Here is that banner.

For those of you who don't know, West Elm is a furniture store that offers customers modern contemporary furniture at a moderate price point.  I've seen West Elm stores in many large cities across the US, but never in a small city like Palm Springs.  I've always enjoyed browsing these stores and think this brand, which I've learned will be an anchor tenant at the new complex, is a great fit for a city that embraces modernism like Palm Springs does.  From what I've read, Palm Springs will be the smallest city West Elm, part of the William-Sonoma brand, will call home.  Now, I don't want to get ahead of myself (which is hard to do since William-Sonoma is one of my favorite stores), but a William-Sonoma store may not be far behind. 

The picture above shows the Northern most part of the construction.  The Southern most part of the 14 acre site (which is at the intersection of Palm Canyon Dr. and Tahquitz) looks like this:

This part of the development is where the project's Kimpton Hotel, set to open in October 2016, is being erected.

Events are becoming an ever increasing part of bringing tourists to the Palm Springs area.  Many have actually attributed the current renewed interest in visiting Palm Springs to the Coachella Music & Arts Festival.  It was kind of like the big event that created worldwide awareness of the Palm Springs area again.  Between it, The Stagecoach Country Music Festival, Splashhouse, Palm Springs International Film Festival, White Party, BNP Paribas Tennis Tournament, Modernism Week, MOD Palm Springs and so many others, there are more and more reasons to come and spend some down time in the California desert.  Palm Springs...Its not just for Winter anymore.

For those of you who are exotic car enthusiasts, Palm Springs is proud to present, Desert Concorso, 2015; Desert Concorso is a lifestyle event featuring sports and GT cars from around the world.  Desert Concorso delivers an exclusive peek into the luxury and excitement of fast cars.  The event will showcase historically important GT, racing and sporting cars from, but not limited to Germany, France, the UK, Japan, and the US. This is in addition to all of the great Italian marques. The field will also include a few American hot rods with exceptional engineering and design qualities.  Auto aficionados Keith Martin and Donald Osborne who will be involved as emcees. 

This year, Desert Concorso will be held on Sunday, November 15 at Palm Springs Stadium located at 1901 E Baristo Rd.  The event leads a two-weekend car extravaganza now dubbed "Desert Car Week" in Palm Springs with Keith McCormick and McCormick's Palm Springs Collector Car Auction taking place the following weekend, November 20-22, 2015.