If you want to keep up with what’s happening in Palm Springs, you’ll need a calculator. There’s a major renaissance under way, and a buzz that just keeps growing. So does the price tag—$1 billion and counting—in new and renovated properties.

I recently visited the desert resort area for a first-hand look at what is behind the buzz—and came away energized by the excitement. Touring in balmy 75 degree weather, with a light breeze, didn’t hurt either!

Throughout the Coachella Valley, there are myriad renovations both under way and recently completed, plus new builds, that are making the area an even more fabulous meetings destination. In fact, says Rob Enriquez, senior vice president of sales and marketing for the Palm Springs Desert Resorts CVA, if you haven’t visited Palm Springs in the past two years, you won’t believe the dramatic changes.

First, there’s the newly renovated Palm Springs Convention Center, which has a fresh contemporary look that gives it a sense of place, with desert hues and details that echo the mountain geology just outside its windows.

Hospitality upgrades run the gamut—from spa, villa, golf course, meeting space or public area renovations at locations such as Rancho Las Palmas, Riviera Resort and Renaissance Esmeralda to brand new properties such as Embassy Suites La Quinta and a breathtaking Ritz-Carlton in progress. And numerous other properties, like Hard Rock and Mondrian, are in the planning stage.

On top of these are some largely undiscovered event spaces, like the Empire Polo Club, which offers a surprising number of interior and exterior venues—plus polo fields where you can even arrange a demonstration polo match for your attendees, complete with champagne.

My home-away-from-home was Desert Springs, A JW Marriott Resort and Spa, with a newly redesigned atrium Lobby Bar area that was a hugely happening place on Friday night and a place to relax during the day. Gondolas are moored nearby for a tour around the lake.

The Palm Springs Desert Resorts CVA—which represents the eight desert cities of Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage—is the point of contact if you’re considering a Palm Springs meeting. They’ve got their finger on the rapidly expanding pulse.