Coachill Inn Resort and The Grape House will make you reconsider the local campgrounds

As far as business plans go, putting cannabis hotels in Coachella Valley is probably a safe bet.

Legalization of marijuana has brought plenty of new business to California and two new resorts are about to make life a lot more comfortable. The first, Coachill Inn Resort, is being developed by hotelier Roger Bloss and touts itself as “the next generation in alternative lodging” that is being created for “a total cannabis and wellness experience.”

“Cannabis is the new gold rush,” Bloss, who is involved in eight different marijuana-themed hotels throughout the U.S., told The Hollywood Reporter.

“Take the coolest, most savvy wine tour company and exchange the word ‘cannabis’ and that’s what I’m doing. I look at wine as my equivalent.”

Bloss turned to cannabis after a heart attack and then a car crash left him with chronic pain. After he eventually swapped out his prescription drugs for cannabis, he knew where he wanted to focus his business moving forward.

The 154-room Coachill Inn resort will be part of the massive Coachillin Canna-Business Park, and is expected to open in time for New Year’s Eve 2020. It will include a spa, restaurant, fitness centre and a 2,000-seat amphitheatre that will come in handy in the valley. Rooms will be stocked with CBD products and rates will range from the affordable (US$150) to the fantastical (US$2,500 for the top-floor suite with accompanying hot springs river).

“We’re even going to shape the hot tub like a cannabis leaf, so each leaf is a private section,” Bloss said. “An upscale sports complex will include golf swing suites, tennis, basketball, pickleball and more. The hottest trend is bars, lounges and nightclubs that don’t have alcohol. So we are looking at mocktails infused with plants that are unique and healthy, yet create that social lounge-bar atmosphere.”

The second Coachella Valley development is called the The Grape House and will open with a restaurant, dispensary and smoking lounge in early 2021 before adding an adjoining hotel over the next two to three years. The dispensary is slated to offer a wide range of curated cannabis options and paraphernalia.

Designed by Dan Brunn, an internationally renowned architect, The Grape House is incorporating cannabis into everything it does. “The architecture for this warm, yet brisk cannabis destination will be inspired by the mystique nature of the California desert,” Brunn said. “We wanted to rethink what has already been defined in the initial rush into this booming market. Guests will encounter design that reimagines the line between interior and exterior, and a space that plays with the tension of light and shadow.

“The palette of materials, such as white terrazzo, natural oak and a spiral staircase of brushed bronze tie in the ephemeral space, all the while natural light basks the tall space.”

Sounds like a great spot for a puff or two.

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