This private retreat and conference center in the California desert has often been referred to as the Camp David of the west. The project is an expansion of the 400 acre historic private estate.

The estate has been the vacation site of a wide range of political leaders and celebrities. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, President Richard Nixon wrote his 1974 State of the Union Address at the house and, after leaving office, was a guest at the estate when President Gerald Ford pardoned him for any wrongdoing in the Watergate scandal. Ford and his wife Betty were frequent guests as well. President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan visited every New Year's for 18 years. President George H. W. Bush hosted a state dinner at the house for Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu in 1990.

Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have stayed at the house as well. Queen Elizabeth II visited for lunch, and Prince Charles made occasional weekend visits. The property required such privacy for world leaders that it earned restricted air space status. Other notable people who have visited the property include Frank Sinatra (who was married there), Bob Hope, Fred Astaire, Gregory Peck, Ginger Rogers, Bing Crosby, Mary Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr.