Meet Owner Mark Hermann

The key to great hospitality is empathy. If you know how your guests feel, then you can deliver what they want. For The Weekend Palm Springs owner Mark Hermann, it’s a journey of self-discovery, sophistication, and style.

“I just really feel very fortunate to have discovered Palm Springs,” Mark declares. “So often, our guests arrive and they’ve never been here, and I know what that feels like. Even though I grew up close, I really was not familiar with Palm Springs and everything it had to offer, from shopping, dining, the wonderful people that are here, the small town vibe, and of course the architecture. It’s internationally known for its architecture.”

A Gem Brought Back To Life

Hermann’s upscale resort is the newest jewel in the Palm Springs aesthetic crown, shimmering from its concept into a towering achievement of restraint and refinement. “It was a ground-up renovation,” Mark recounts. “The existing structure required about 2 1/2 years for a complete remodel. That included the boring elements such as infrastructure, such as plumbing, electrical, and sprinklers.  We then completely revamped the interiors of the suites themselves. Finally,  we re-envisioning the courtyard area.

The patios needed a lot of love, so we completely reconfigured the patios. We have private fountains and loungers on the decks. Even little designs elements like which cactus are we going to plant? What survives in the desert? Because I’m not from the Palm Springs area.”

So, how was our hometown fortunate enough to woo this visionary entrepreneur? It was a family matter. “My brother, Steve Hermann, invited family and friends to enjoy a weekend getaway at L’Horizon and that’s where I really just fell in love.” Swelling with enthusiasm, Mark continues, “Palm Springs is just stunning. San Jacinto Mountains framed with the blue skies, I just love it.”

Ditching The Day Job

His passion for Palm Springs inspired Hermann to ditch his day job and focus on translating his desert fever to other travelers in the area. “Trying to combine my love for moving out of corporate America and into my own business, we just started putting together some ideas. We then started shopping around for opportunities, and felt very, very fortunate to find a property in the Old Las Palmas neighborhood.”

Once he had the stellar location locked down, Mark turned to his savvy sibling for advice. “My brother’s quite talented. I did lean heavily on Steve for his design elements.”

The Hermanns mustered up their considerable creativity and Mark soon found freedom in the expansive parameters of the property. “We had a vision and it changed slowly as I realized the opportunity of the large space that our suites provided. 850 square feet, two bedroom, two bath – we had several iterations of what the interiors would look like. I really enjoyed Steve’s approach and it really was his design elements that made their way into the final product that is The Weekend.  From the interior brick walls to the photography of Slim Aarons, and we have the wood beams with tongue and groove ceilings. There are so many decisions to make in a hotel setting that I had a lot of opportunity to express my own design aspirations and I would run a lot of different concepts by my brother and he loved ‘em!”

The Weekend Comes to Life

Drawing from his years in the trenches of the corporate world, Mark put on his branding cap and got to work defining this fabulous new creation. “I actually coined the name of the hotel, The Weekend Palm Springs, because as sophisticated as the interiors look.  Some folks have said it’s almost like it’s staged ready for a photo shoot.  It’s beautiful – but it’s also very comfortable. I even included acoustic guitars in all the suites. Yeah, it’s just really fun to see your vision combined with some family members that really have a lot of expertise, and see it all come to life.”

After years of painstaking, detail-oriented work, Mark is happy to take a step back… and then a few thousand steps forward. “Part of my evening routine is to walk my dog starting in Little Tuscany and then parading through the Old Las Palmas area. It’s just such a special, really wonderful neighborhood.”

Beaming with satisfaction, Hermann continues, “I really feel very fortunate to be in that neighborhood and be a part of the history of Palm Springs. We wanted to capture some of that. So we most certainly have elements of the hotel be very mid-century.  However, it was important that people felt like they had almost a home away from home due to the size and the convenience of the two-bedroom, two full bath layouts… But at the same time, we deliver breakfast to our guests every day between 8 and 10am. Although it has elements of a home away from home, you’re certainly relaxing in a hotel setting.”

Despite being the consummate host, Hermann still relishes his role as a recent guest in our berg. “I really, really just enjoy getting to know Palm Springs. I’ve been been very active and everybody in Palm Springs has been so welcoming. It’s just been a fantastic experience.”

Now you know how we feel, Mark.

The Weekend Palm Springs.

111 S. Via Las Palmas | 760.673.7092

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