Your bag is empty.
There’s something that feels distinctly Californian about packing a bag, jumping into car with the windows down and striking out into the desert. It’s the opening of many a great Western, and one can’t help but get the rush of anticipation that comes with adventure and the unknown. As many people hopped on Interstate 10 and made that iconic trip this spring for festival season, there was one desert destination that stood in sharp relief to the thronging revelry happening just a mile away.
Zenyara, a 37-acre luxury estate tapped by the world-famous Corso Agency in collaboration with Goldenvoice, offered a salve to the unwieldiness and overstimulation of the nearby Coachella music festival. The Balinese-inspired oasis makes you forget that you’re only five minutes away from hundreds of thousands of festival-goers. An 11-bedroom private residence turned event space, it’s quickly become one of the most exclusive party estates in the world.
The Zenyara sanctuary boasts a sprawling man-made beach that’s large enough to jet ski in, a high-end full-service spa, a horse farm, tennis and basketball courts and even a helicopter pad for the more well-heeled visitors who could never deign to sit in festival-bound traffic. Once you’re inside its high walls and surrounded by the gently rippling aquamarine waters, even the air seems to feel fresher. (I soon pulled off the paisley bandana that’s now a requisite part of dusty festival weekends.)
The entire production felt so seamless and effortless, one might not think of the 30-person staff working for six months, with 100 people working onsite both weekends, to orchestrate an event of this size. David Corso, the CEO of the Corso Agency and the mind behind the Zenyara experience told Playboy:
“It couldn’t just be ‘let’s throw a party,’ it needed to be unique and special. It’s such a gorgeous property that it gave us a palette to start with that was amazing, and allowed us to create what the attendees would expect, which is hard to do in the desert.” He adds, “To go into a property like this and create a large-scale event, the level of production has to be really high. If it’s not, it throws the venue off. It wouldn’t look right, it would look like you were trashing the place.”
“It couldn’t just be ‘let’s throw a party.’ The level of production has to be really high. “
Throughout both Coachella weekends, the Zenyara estate attracted a healthy who’s who of attendees who were either moneyed, famous or simply in possession of perfectly symmetrical faces. Celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Gigi Hadid, Virgil Abloh, Pusha T, Diplo, Stella Maxwell and Idris Elba streamed into the estate to partake in the free-flowing drinks, catered food and late-night DJ sets, programmed by L.A. promoter Framework. With a paparazzo’s dream guest list, Zenyara became the place to be seen with people I talked to having left other, lesser parties to make their way to this extravagant desert Xanadu. Partners like Adidas, Rolls Royce, Urban Decay, Skin Worship, Red Bull and Wynn Nightlife also ensured the event had plenty of swag and pampering to go around.
There’s definitely no shortage of after parties and day parties surrounding large music festivals, and as that scene grows, there are more and more people heading to places like the Coachella Valley with no intention of seeing the big headliner. Their only plan? Secluding themselves at the sophisticated getaways that pop up around the music festivals. Zenyara may be the newest party on the festival party circuit, but it’s quickly become the best one.
