According to Marjorie Bell Bright, Nellie Coffman, a fierce pioneer and feminist, arrived in Palm Springs in 1909, where the survey shows only a few residents, no electricity, no telephones, no air conditioning, no smog and barely any roads. 

She opened The Desert Inn at the end of 1909 and made it the Hotel in the Valley.  It became the favorite watering hole for the movie crowd, politicians, industrialists and socialites. 

Because of the proximity to the hotel, the Roberson residence witnessed many grand parties, with guest such as Lena Horne, Patti Page, Buddy Rogers, Desi Arnez & Lucille Ball, Peggy Lee, Sophie Tucker, Nat King Cole, Lili St. Cyr, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Mary Martin, Mae West, Eleanor Powell, William Powell, Mousie Powell and many more. 

During World War II, while General Patton was based in Palm Springs, he would visit George Roberson.  They would smoke cigars in the sitting room, only to be chased away to the patio by Alto Toberson who couldn't stand the smell of it. 

In 1973, Paul Bruggemans and Camille Bardet, the owners of the famous Le St. Germain in Los Angeles, decided to open a restaurant in Palm Springs and fell in love with the Roberson house.  Great care was taken to keep the house in its original layout.  They opened Le Vallauris in January 1974 , and for almost twenty-five years, Le Vallauris has been the top rated and award-winning restaurant in the vallley. 

The original Le St. Germain Restaurant in Los Angeles closed in 1988 and reopened in Indian Wells in 1995 to rave reviews. 

Nellie Coffman and her sons would be happy to see how the Roberson house continues to be a glamorous and high quality establishment. 

Diners at Le Vallauris have included President and Mrs. Gerald Ford, the Frank Sinatras, the Bob Hopes, the Gregory Pecks, Suzanne Somers, ambassadors, such as the Hon. Walter Annenberg, Leonard Firestoneand Merv Griffin, writers Sidney Sheldon and Harold Robbins, Charles Price, Robert Phinny, the Gabor family, Royal Princes and Princesses, fashion designers such as James Galano and Hubert de Givenchy and business leaders such as Lee Iacoca and  I. Sharp of the Four Seasons Hotel Fame.