Best Hot Springs and Spas in Palm Springs

Several of Palm Springs’ resort and spa hotels offer day spa services such as massage and skin and body treatments. If you’re interested in the type of day spa that is more about relaxing in a pool or Jacuzzi, the town of Desert Hot Springs 12 miles north (a 20-minute drive) is your best bet.

Palm Springs Spas

The hotel spa at the trendy Technicolor Saguaro Palm Springs offers massage and signature facial and body treatments for rejuvenation, hydration, and detox.

Estrella Spa, in the classic, luxurious Avalon Hotel, offers massages, facials, scrubs, nails, waxings, and holistic health treatments by appointment. The spa also offers seasonally based specials including romance packages.

The Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs offers signature treatments in its Rock Spa, including a massage with a soundtrack and therapeutic sound vibration as well as wraps, facials, and skin treatments. Treatment packages are available for couples …or for you and your entourage.

The Hilton Palm Springs offers an assortment of services in its Elements Spa, including Swedish and deep-tissue massage, exfoliating and rejuvenating skin treatments, manicures, pedicures, and aromatherapy. Day guests also enjoy hotel amenities such as a pool, hot tub, and fitness facilities, as well as access to a full restaurant menu and poolside bar. Spa and couples packages are also available.

The hip Ace Hotel features organic treatments with raw botanical products in its Feel Good Spa. Body treatments range from body masks and reflexology to massage and facials.

Desert Hot Springs

Situated along the San Andreas fault line, Desert Hot Springs’ claim to fame is the abundance of hot natural mineral springs that propelled the development of the town’s spas and resorts. The 1950s were a heyday, and some of the operating boutique hotels sport the clean lines and neon signs of desert resort mid-century architecture.

Desert Hot Springs has never achieved the popularity of nearby Palm Springs. The town has seen growth in recent years but much of it in the form of newer residences. Desert Hot Springs’ spas are mixed in amidst the more recent housing. The town attracts snowbirds and other visitors looking for a more low-key and affordable experience than Palm Springs. Its spas range from retro-hip to sleekly luxurious.

Desert Hot Springs Spa Hotel takes a quantity-over-quality approach. A day pass gets you access to the 1940s resort hotel’s eight mineral pools in a large, palm-studded courtyard. The hotel also has an on-site café and sports bar. The hotel is well known as a party spot and has live music on weekends.

The charming Moroccan-themed El Morocco Inn offers a huge, covered hot spa, outdoor mineral pool, sauna, and spa services.

A range of spa services including massage therapy and facial and body treatments is available at the impeccably maintained midcentury Lido Palms. Spa services include four hours of mineral pool day use. No alcohol may be brought on premises for day-use guests.

The Miracle Springs Resort & Spa. Photo courtesy of Miracle Springs.
The Miracle Springs Resort & Spa in Desert Hot Springs. Photo courtesy of Miracle Springs.

The Miracle Springs Resort & Spa offers eight pools and spas for day use. They also have an on-site salon (manicures and pedicures) and a full-service spa with a range of services. The on-site Capri restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and has a full bar and poolside lunch service.

At The Spring Resort & Spa guests receive two hours’ use of mineral pools with day spa services. They offer several different packages combining massages, scrubs, and wraps from 1.5 to 3 hours.

The quiet Tuscan Springs Hotel & Spa offers mineral pool day use (free when purchasing any treatment from the on-site La Bella Spa).

The setting at family-friendly Sam’s Family Spa Hot Water Resort includes a spring-fed swimming pool and a series of hot mineral pools tucked amidst palm trees in a park-like setting.

Jenna Blough

About the Author

Jenna Blough grew up on the edge of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, where she was allowed to run wild, instilling a love of the outdoors early on. After her parents dragged her and her sister on a cross-country road trip of epic proportions (visiting American classics like Wall Drug in South Dakota, Mesa Verde in Colorado, and the Petrified Forest in Arizona) she developed an equal appreciation for Wild West roadside attractions, historic sites, and wilderness.

Jenna eventually found the California desert to be her geographic soul mate. Drawn by the austere beauty of Death Valley, she is fascinated by its cultural history, ghost towns, native sites, and the Mojave's shifting landscape.

Jenna received an undergraduate degree in cultural anthropology, an MA in English literature, and an MFA in writing. When she's not living out of a tent, Jenna resides in Los Angeles with her husband Ryan Jones. Visit her blog at http://www.whentheroadends.com.

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