Sensei Rancho Mirage, air museum and more

The Palm Springs Air Museum will soon undergo a $2.5 million renovation to the entrance that will include the addition of a 400-seat presentation room and larger restrooms, museum Vice Chairman Fred Bell announced during the annual gala on Friday, March 25, 2022.

Air museum is getting a $2.5 million makeover

The entrance to the Palm Springs Air Museum will soon undergo a $2.5 million makeover that will give it a new modernist look, improve the flow of guests entering and exiting the building, and add a 400-seat classroom/presentation space.

In the 25 years since it opened, the museum has grown from 40,000 square feet to just under 100,000 square feet, he said. About 150,000 people visit the museum annually, Vice Chairman Fred Bell said.

“We’ve grown 100% in size and the support facilities on the front end of the building just no longer make sense,” he said.

There will be new entrance and exit areas for museum visitors, as well as larger restrooms. “The hangars won’t really change, but the front of the facility will have a modernism look,” he said.

The museum is visited by students from numerous schools throughout the year, and the addition of the classroom is something “we desperately need,” Bell said.

He is hoping the renovation will be done within 24 months, barring any unexpected interruptions.

— Sherry Barkas

A two-room private villa at Sensei Porcupine Creek.

Reservations  open at Sensei, Larry Ellison’s posh Rancho Mirage resort

Sensei, the health and wellness company founded by billionaire Larry Ellison, has revealed details about the posh new high-tech wellness resort in Rancho Mirage that is slated to open in November.

The resort, built on Ellison’s private Porcupine Creek estate, will feature what executives call science and data-based programs to help guests achieve their wellness goals, ranging from improved physical fitness and better sleep to simply maximizing their relaxation time. Amenities will include an 18-hole golf course, tennis courts, a “wellness diagnostic center,” indoor-outdoor fitness and yoga pavilions, a spa, gardens, a lagoon-style pool, and private Nobu restaurant, among others. 

Construction on the facility, which began in June, is set to complete within the next two months, according to Sensei representatives. The resort, dubbed Sensei Porcupine Creek, is scheduled to open on Nov. 1. Bookings are now available online.

The resort’s offerings must be purchased as part of packages that include stays in one of its 22 accommodations — a mix of rooms in Ellison’s former estate house, an adjacent “Santa Rosa” complex and eight standalone villas. Activities include data-driven health assessments, nutritional consultations, private meditation and yoga instruction, golf and tennis training and nutritionally tailored meals at a private restaurant.

Package prices start at $2,400 for a two-night introductory experience and go up to a roughly $9,300 minimum for a five-night golf wellness experience. There are also minimum 30-day “Sabbatical Experience” packages that don’t have any set prices attached.  

— James Cutchin

A climber, right, climbs a rock in Joshua Tree National Park, Calif., Monday, January 24, 2022.

Climber dies at Joshua Tree

The second climber to die in Joshua Tree National Park this year was identified as Tina Fiori, 51, an experienced rock climber from Riverside County. Fiori died March 26 following an 80-foot-fall while rock climbing near the Sheep Pass Campground. 

Matt Himmelstein, a 55-year-old engineer from Orange, said Fiori was a victim of failed equipment. Himmelstein was part of Fiori’s three-person climbing team and witnessed her death.


Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *