Tom Tabler exudes an excitement familiar to many Coachella Valley residents: Waking up every day to clear, sunny days in a picturesque place. It’s fantasyland.
“It’s so beautiful it looks fake,” says the general manager of JW Desert Springs Marriott Resort and Spa in Palm Desert. “It looks like a Hollywood backdrop. It’s just incredible. There’s nothing else like it in the world.”
Of course he’s referring to the majestic mountains against an impossibly blue sky some might think was a Photoshop job if they didn’t know any better.
Tabler, who has worked for 30 years at Marriott properties around the country, “jumped at the chance” to come here almost four years ago.
“Nowhere else can you get the feeling that you get here. When you get off work, you fall into that vacation mode. My wife and I go out and do things. We’ll take the golf cart out. We’ll take the dogs out. We’ll play tennis. We’ll go for a bike ride. We feel like we’re on vacation.”
He exploits the quality of life to persuade friends and colleagues to move to the desert. “I want the best talent in my resort,” Tabler says, emphasizing that tourism is the lifeblood of the local economy. “So I normally call them in January or February when it’s freezing wherever they are and take pictures and either text them or put them on Instagram, and they fall in love with the place without even coming here.”
VIDEO: Tom Tabler speaks about the magic of Greater Palm Springs.