Put the ‘Springs’ back in Palm Springs

Palm Springs evokes many images in the popular imagination: California oasis, Old Hollywood hideaway, golf and tennis hot spot, mid-century modern pilgrimage destination. But long before Richard Neutra’s airy, glassy Kaufmann House or John Lautner’s concrete-domed Elrod House, there was Welwood Murray’s ramshackle wooden bathhouse.

That two-room cabin, built over a hot spring in the late 1880s, was one of the first tourist attractions in the Coachella Valley—newly accessible by rail for those with tuberculosis and other ailments who sought relief from the desert air and mineral water.

Mr. Murray, a Scottish farmer and entrepreneur, had taken out a lease on his bathhouse with the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. But as the “Agua Caliente” in their name suggests, that hot water was too important to their identity to leave it in someone else’s hands for long, and in the early 1900s control returned to the tribe.

“The hot mineral spring is essentially our heart and soul,” said Reid Milanovich, who has served as tribal chairman since April 2022. “We have used this water for generations for both spiritual and physical healing.”

The tradition of sharing springtime with visitors has also been passed down through generations: The tribe operated a succession of bathhouses, then opened the Spa Resort Hotel at the site in 1963. When this multimillion-dollar, 131-room modernist complex debuted, it became the place to take in the local waters. Indeed, it was the only place, as it retained exclusive access to the Agua Caliente spring, the only option in town. So when everything in the complex except the casino closed in 2014, anyone hoping for a hot mineral bath in Palm Springs was stuck on dry land.

The tribe had determined that the 1950s water collection system needed repair enough to demolish the spa—a catalyst for rethinking the entire site. “We’re talking about one of the most important parts of the reserve,” Mr. Milanovich said. “We had to make sure it would be protected for future generations.” The best way to do this, tribal members and leaders concluded, was to create experiences that were educational and celebratory of Cahuilla’s heritage.

After nearly a decade of work at the site and one of the most important indigenous archaeological finds in the country – thousands of artifacts unearthed; added thousands of years to the local historical record – the new Spa in Séc-he opened on April 4. And in late 2023, a neighboring museum will delve into the excavation as well as the tribe’s history, culture, language and more.

Although Séc-he (pronounced SEH-hee or SEH-khee) is located in the heart of Palm Springs, it is just one of several spring water spas in the region. About 10 miles away, the town of Desert Hot Springs – with its own famous aquifers and soak places – bubbling back to life after bankruptcy in 2001 and narrowly avoiding a repeat in 2013. Since Southern California’s first place legalized large-scale medical marijuana cultivation in 2014, however, the community is recovering, with new retreats opening and old favorites expanding out.

Here’s a guide to total immersion in Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs.

This site of 73,000 square meters translates from Cahuilla to “the sound of boiling water.” Still sonorous, if not boiling, as it bubbles through the spa’s signature bathtubs at 104 degrees, the spring provides a deeply soothing sound. This also applies to several other water features, from the fountain in the reception area to the waterfall wall in the covered relaxation garden.

With a day pass ($145) you can soak 15 minutes in one of the 22 private indoor pools, where the mineral-rich water not only feels sublime – especially with the jets turned on – but is also remarkably soothing and removes dead cells from your skin . (The tubs are emptied and cleaned between each use.) And if you haven’t had your fill of spring water after your 15 minutes, you can continue to soak outside in an edgeless mineral pool, where you can also swim. find a waterfall pool, mist-chilled cabanas, and outsized daybeds.

The outdoor pools are included in the day pass, as are aromatherapy showers, salt caves, steam and sauna rooms, and for the extra ambitious gym equipment. All of these are also free with every spa treatment — a highlight is the 90-minute Quartz and Poultice Massage ($325), which features crushed quartz meant to evoke warm desert sand.

The most venerable of the Desert Hot Springs retreats, Two forest palms has served as an Al Capone hideout (or so the story goes) and a Hollywood backdrop (in the 1992 Robert Altman movie “The Player”). At 70 acres, the oasis is sprawling – the titular palms dominate a landscape so lush that turtles and birds seem as common as spa visitors. (Don’t worry: people and animals take the water in separate rooms.)

Over the course of the pandemic, the property has added a massive new spring-fed bath, where the newest tubs — all generally between 100 and 104 degrees — are meant to complement the beloved old Grotto. The Grotto, a large communal spring-fed pool surrounded by Edenic greenery and smaller tubs, has a warm cascade that doubles as a head, neck and shoulder massage. For an official treatment, though, you’ll have to head to the spa, where the 90-minute TBP Double Body Scrub, $245, is hard to beat. (Imagine a salt scrub followed by a cornmeal scrub and a bath in sage-infused warm mineral water.) There’s also an ever-expanding class menu, with a schedule of 60 to 70 options per week, from classics like yoga to novelties like natural odor formation.

For anyone who prefers to keep things private, each of the four new Grove Villa Suites has its own private teak spring-fed bath (as well as a fire pit, patio, and oversized rooms). But whatever accommodation, classes and spa treatments you choose, one thing is non-negotiable when you see it on the menu: the sticky fudge cake with locally sourced dates. Rooms from $265.

An equally lavish but much more intimate option, the Good House seems like your friend’s secret hacienda. You’ll feel like part of the family in this newly renovated seven-room retreat with a communal dining table, where the chef serves vegetable specialties. And are those pets frolicking in the garden? Yes, and feel free to bring your own.

While an ongoing expansion to an adjacent lot will more or less double the resort’s footprint over the next year, the scale will remain small – welcome news for fans of the Good House’s cozy atmosphere. (Not that anyone would complain about more room for massages and facials, which are already offered at a small spa.)

Then again, you could easily spend your entire time in the 94-degree pool and 104-degree hot tub – each tucked into lush greenery, surrounded by sun-yellow chaise longues and illuminated by twinkling lights at night. You don’t have to stay overnight to enjoy the facilities, though: you can choose from a range of options, from a $40 Soak Pass (two hours) to a $210 Chill Pass Deluxe (enjoy privileges and a massage for a day 30 minute facial, 30 minute facial and amazing mocktail). Rooms from $250.

Although it only opened in February, the Onsen hotel and spa harkens back to the region’s mid-century heyday, thanks to decades-old architectural bones, an oversaturated 1950s palette, and late-night happy hours. So for anyone looking for those Technicolor desert vibes here you go. “Think of Lucy and Ricky’s weekend retreat,” said the general manager, John Hopp.

Options for relaxation at this oasis – whose name is Japanese for “hot spring” – include a 98-degree spring-fed pool and 102-degree hot tub, spa treatments using the eco-friendly Osea line, yoga mats in every room, and a mountain panorama that practically insists on rest. Rooms from $143.

Recently purchased and overhauled, Azure Palm Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa oasis is home to a super-sized outdoor mineral pool (86-90 degrees), in-suite bathtubs (106 degrees but adjustable with a cold tap), a Himalayan salt room, and several saunas. Still, the new oasis – a sprawling wellness garden – is probably the hardest part to leave. Forming its own informal circuit, it includes a spring-fed pebble bottom reflexology walk; a self-filling hot bucket shower; and a series of 100- to 104-degree bathtubs, each sealed enough that hummingbirds can be your only intruders.

This summer, the resort plans to introduce Midnight at the Oasis events, giving overnight guests access to the pools late at night. Later this year there will also be private cabana tubs – bookable for the day with accompanying fire pits and hammocks. The indoor spa has one of the most extensive menus in the area – the 60-minute foot and scalp ritual ($145) is the ultimate complement to the reflexology walks and bucket showers. Day passes, including access to the resort pool, indoor and outdoor spas, sauna, cafe, and yoga studio, from $56. Rooms from $169.

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