An arched façade was the only architectural element Martyn Lawrence Bullard liked about the original “uninspiring and dated” property he was tasked to transform into the 46-room Sands Hotel & Spa. In fact, it led the Los Angeles-based designer to create a Moroccan oasis. Operated by Santa Monica, California-based PRG Hospitality, Sands, located in the California desert community of Indian Wells, harkens back to Palm Springs’ luxurious heyday with influences from the 1930s to the ’60s.

Bullard opted for a notable pink exterior to “disguise the architecture,” which juxtaposes bold stripes and patterns found inside, and turned to greenery “to create a lush paradise that draws the eye to the landscape rather than the building,” he says. This warm, rosy tone “makes everyone look attractive in its glow, and black and white provide just enough contrast to add an exotic flavor, giving the hotel its Moorish vibes.”

Take the dramatic mix of Moroccan-inspired tiles randomly arranged in a blocked, staccato design in the lobby that captures the region’s Old World glamour, while custom palm leaf print upholstery and wallpaper—a backdrop for a mélange of mirrors and framed photographs—blend with a luminous green-tiled bar in the Pink Cabana restaurant. Meanwhile, the tranquil spa and guestrooms, with Moroccan-shaped headboards and bathrooms covered in midcentury-informed tile, are a quiet but welcome departure from the more flamboyant public spaces. “The second you get to the San Jacinto Mountains, something blocks that energy of LA and you breathe a sigh of relaxation,” says Bullard. “I wanted that feeling to exist within the hotel.”