Agua Caliente Casino • Resort • Spa
Rancho Mirage, California
OWNERS: Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians
DESIGN ARCHITECT: VOA Associates Incorporated
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Roel Construction Co.
COST: $350 million
ROOMS: 340
OTHER AMENITIES: Spa, conference complex and entertainment center
When the Agua Caliente Casino debuted in 1999, its tribal owners envisioned a future as expansive as the surrounding desert landscape. That vision was realized in April with the grand opening of the Agua Caliente Casino Resort and Spa.
The newly christened, 422,000-square-foot project, owned and operated by the Cahuilla Indian band, features a 16-story, 340-key hotel; a full-service spa, pool and cabana complex; and an array of first-class amenities including a multi-purpose state-of-the-art conference center, five restaurants (one fine dining steakhouse, one 24-hour restaurant, a buffet, a deli, an outdoor bar and grill and a coffee shop); and two specialty retail shops. The existing casino has also been renovated and expanded.
Design architects and interior designers, VOA Associates Incorporated, Orlando, Florida, took their cues from the majestic backdrop of Rancho Mirage.
“The décor is rich with earth tones and natural hues to complement the exterior and echo the themes of the desert setting,” says VOA’s Managing Principal Jonathan F. Douglas.
Interiors feature superb finishes and fixtures that meet or exceed “four-diamond” criteria. An elemental color palette emphasizes tawny golds, rich reds and browns juxtaposed with textural influences like stacked sandstone, backlit onyx and gleaming Travertino Albero and Michelangelo stone flooring.
The new hotel, which includes a cascading waterwall within a soaring grand rotunda, “exhibits signs of Native American handiwork in a very beautiful, subtle way,” says Richard M. Milanovich, chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
The casino offers Las Vegas-style gaming with more than 1,800 slots, a variety of table games and an 11-table poker room. The resort will provide the gaming, hotel luxury and entertainment amenities typically found in Las Vegas destinations, in a serene yet utterly opulent setting.
