Architecture
John Elgin Wolff
Master of Hollywood Regency
Universally heralded as the style's quintessential master, John Elgin Wolff synthesized 19th-century French, Greek Revival and Modernist touches to shape what is widely known as Hollywood Regency architecture. The first postmodern architect on the west coast, Woolf was celebrated as "architect to the stars" for his influential design work for film luminaries of the day. Key to Woolf's success was his genius with scale and proportion, inherent throughout Marrakesh Country Club, his last major commission.
John Elgin Wolff
An Elegant Welcome
From the iconic sunset pink of the walls to the perfectly painted palettes within, John Elgin Wolff infused Marrakesh Country Club with Hollywood Regency glamour at its finest. Wolff designed each Marrakesh home as an elegant canvas, open and inviting, a sophisticated set primed for the designer's touch.
With ten-foot ceilings, floor to ceiling windows, and pullman doors breaching the mansard roof lines, each home features front and rear patios to complement the indoor-outdoor Southern California lifestyle and offer a unique opportunity to create an opulent showcase in which to entertain and live.
Fourteen jewel-box pools and pavilions with columned decks and shower rooms are generously placed to optimize ease, privacy and enjoyment. Marrakesh's exquisite, manicured landscaped grounds, signature 18-hole golf course, and celebrated club house anchor a community known for warmth and welcome.
Town & Country
Inside a Mid-Century Masterpiece in the California Desert
"Imagine…you could live in a house designed by the master of the Hollywood Regency style, John Elgin Woolf. Sounds good. Now imagine living in a whole town by Woolf…this is something else altogether. This is a dream."
"Marrakesh has a quality of form that has never been diluted since the day it opened its doors. It's young enough never to have been messed with, and the members know what they have."
- David Netto, Town and Country, December 2023
New York Times
California's Marrakesh Country Club: A Club That's Chic Again
"…these days it's as much a mecca for worshippers of high design as it is a destination for those who pray for eagles and birdies. Their god: architect John Elgin Woolf, who created Marrakesh's 364 pink and white villas and 14 pink and white pool houses in his signature Hollywood Regency style."
— Peter Haldeman, New York Times, April 26, 2017
Palm Springs Life
A Little Bit Pinker
"When the club opened in 1969, the 364 villas appealed to the more glamorous side of midcentury living and golf-home architecture. Now, they are a favorite among designers and the home industry set, who have since flocked here like flamingos."
— Lisa Maria Hart, Palm Springs Life, April 2022
Vanity Fair
Glamour Begins at Home
"The architect John Elgin Wolff created a new style of luxury in Hollywood… and in the 40s, 50s, and 60's gave the Beverly Hills elite a new kind of home, as glamorous as any movie set."
— May Tyrnauer, Vanity Fair, March 2009
Palm Springs Life
Pink Gold
"When people recall their first sight of "the Marrakesh," the memories are almost universally affectionate…the target of the affection and attention is the Woolf experience."
— Steve Price, Palm Springs Life, January 2019
Luxe
"California Abode Goes from Shag to Chic as Modern Art Dictates the Home's Direction"
"Renovations of architect John Elgin Woolf 's famed pink Hollywood Regency-style originals at Marrakesh Country Club provide opportunities to redesign interior spaces… Museum white walls serve to brighten the space and provide a blank canvas for the homeowner's collection."
— Kelly Phillips Badal, Luxe, July 2020
Curbed Los Angeles
Hollywood Regency-Style Condo By John Elgin Woolf
"The only colony of Hollywood Regency houses in the world, Marrakesh Country Club in Palm Desert was designed in the 1960s and '70s by the acknowledged master of the style architect John Elgin Woolf."
— Pauline O'Connor, Curbed Los Angeles December 2017