Cleanse Your Mind, Body and Soul at These Desert Hot Springs Spas
Desert Hot Springs spas offer some of California’s most authentic wellness experiences, drawing mineral-rich waters from natural aquifers deep beneath the Coachella Valley. These therapeutic hot springs have attracted visitors for generations, long before wellness travel became mainstream. Desert Hot Springs sits on a rare geological formation. It’s one of only a handful of locations worldwide with both hot and cold natural aquifers, separated by a branch of the San Andreas Fault. That’s why locals call it Spa City: Miracle Hill alone packs more than 85 pools and tubs across 20 resorts. It’s a short drive north of the Palm Springs spas, but the soaking experience is entirely its own. These 10 Desert Hot Springs spas range from a 110-room resort with eight mineral pools to an intimate nine-room boutique hotel, all tapping into the city’s natural hot spring aquifers.
1. The Sound Bath Sanctuary: The Spring Resort & Spa
The Spring Resort & Spa started life in 1957 as a rustic hideaway with a hand-painted sign and a single rectangular pool, and it still guards that low-key spirit today. Mineral water at The Spring emerges at 170 degrees and splits among three pools at varying temperatures. Higher heat equals higher mineral concentration, a helpful benchmark when choosing which pool to try first. Once you’ve finished soaking, head to the spa for the Invigorating Salt or Sugar Scrub or the tension-melting Cranial Dreamwork treatment. Come on a Saturday for a sound bath curated by The Sound Bliss Experience ($65), or book the $150 package, which pairs two hours of mineral soaking with yoga and a sound bath. Feeling ambitious? Sign up for a doctor-monitored juice cleanse and let this adults-only retreat handle the detox heavy lifting. Spas of America named it one of its Top 100 Spas across the US, Canada and Mexico in 2018, so you’ll be soaking in good company.
The Spring Resort & Spa
12699 Reposo Way
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
760.251.6700
2. Midnight in Marrakech: El Morocco Inn & Spa
Step through the door at El Morocco Inn & Spa and you’ll swear you teleported to Casablanca. Lanterns glow, Moroccan music drifts through the courtyard and a natural hot mineral water pool sits front and center, ringed by fire pits. Overnight guests get 24-hour access for a proper midnight soak, while day spa guests can slip in from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sweat it out in one of the two far-infrared saunas, then challenge someone to a round of giant chess or bocce ball in the spa garden, or claim a hammock and do absolutely nothing. Book a Moroccan clay body mask or sugar body scrub, or just alternate between the pool and the covered, Jacuzzi-style spa until you’ve hit maximum relaxation. With just over a dozen rooms, this Casablanca-inspired inn feels less like a hotel and more like a very stylish friend’s desert compound.
El Morocco Inn & Spa
66810 Fourth St
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
760.288.2527
3. The Biggest Splash in the Desert: Azure Palm Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa Oasis
Azure Palm Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa Oasis is home to the largest mineral water pool in Southern California. The 100-by-40-foot spread sits on Miracle Hill with sweeping views of Mount San Jacinto. Beyond the main pool, an acre of desert Oasis hides private soaking tubs tucked behind desert blooms, plus a reflexology walk for the ambitious. Day guests can grab a $79 Oasis Day Pass for pool, sauna and Oasis access from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Just remember the property’s Himalayan Salt Room and Desert Ice Room are reserved for overnight guests. Round out your visit with one of more than 35 spa treatments, then refuel at the on-site Azure Palm Café with a fresh-pressed juice. Newsweek named it one of the 100 best wellness and fitness resorts in the country for 2025, so the secret’s officially out.
Azure Palm Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa Oasis
67589 Hacienda Ave
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
760.251.2000
4. Sip, Soak & Repeat: Miracle Springs Resort & Spa
The mineral water at Miracle Springs Resort & Spa travels 300 feet up from underground aquifers at a blistering 140 degrees. Then, it cools to a soakable 90 to 104 degrees before it’s pumped, at 200 gallons a minute, into eight pools and spas scattered across the property. The 110-room resort keeps its pools open around the clock, making a 2 a.m. soak under the stars fair game. Book a hot stone massage or a Dead Sea mud wrap at the spa, then grab dinner at the poolside Capri Italian Restaurant. Bonus bragging rights: the city’s cold-water aquifer, which supplies local tap water, has won gold at the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Competition. So yes, the tap water here is basically an award winner.
Miracle Springs Resort & Spa
10625 Palm Dr
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
760.251.6000
5. The Great Unplug: Hope Springs Resort
Hope Springs Resort treats a phone-free afternoon like a luxury amenity. Built in 1963 by two visionary women, this 10-room, adults-only hideaway still follows their original blueprint: thoughtful midcentury design, a strong connection to the desert landscape and a courtyard layout that keeps every guest close to the water. The property skips TVs and in-room phones entirely, and cell phone calls aren’t allowed around the pools and spa. Three spring-fed pools anchor the courtyard: an enclosed 104-degree soak, a 92-degree pool and a large pool that shifts with the weather. An on-site spa, exclusively for hotel guests, offers the Coconut & Joshua Tree Coffee Glow and cupping add-ons. Vanity Fair has called it “an architectural gem,” and British Vogue dubbed it “a total head cleanser,” which tracks. After a weekend here, even your group chat will feel like static. Book at least two nights (it’s the property minimum), leave the influencer instincts at home and let the warm mineral water, desert air and quiet do their thing.
Hope Springs Resort
68075 Club Circle Dr
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
760.329.4003
6. Old Hollywood Soak Session: Aqua Soleil Hotel & Mineral Water Pool
Check into Aqua Soleil Hotel & Mineral Water Pool and pick your throwback era. The poolside Superior King rooms are themed around Hollywood icons like Marilyn Monroe, the Rat Pack, Audrey Hepburn and James Dean. Note your favorite in the special requests field when you book, since specific themes aren’t guaranteed. Once you’ve settled in, head to the courtyard. The main mineral water pool sits at about 88 degrees, and two jetted pools, one indoors and one outdoors, stay around 102 and 104 degrees. On Saturday and Sunday nights, the hotel screens movies by the pool, weather permitting. Book a Swedish massage or the Age-Defying Facial at The Spa at Soleil. You could also try the Fire & Ice Massage, which alternates warm basalt and cool marble stones and includes same-day pool access. Then post up on the private balcony of the Mountain View Suite for views of the San Jacinto Mountains. Or splurge on a Soleil Suite, which has its own private jetted hot mineral water pool, because sometimes the walk to the courtyard is one step too many.
Aqua Soleil Hotel & Mineral Water Pool
14500 Palm Dr
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
760.329.4481
7. Al Capone’s Secret Soak: Two Bunch Palms
Legend has it that Two Bunch Palms sheltered Al Capone, and the adults-only resort, founded in the 1930s, still trades on that slightly scandalous history. Today the draw is the water. The low-sulfur, lithium-rich mineral springs flow into a pool, two grottos and a scattering of soaking tubs, open nearly around the clock for overnight guests. Book a mud bath or massage at the spa, or catch a yoga class in the palapa-roofed dome through the resort’s classes and workshops. Not staying the night? The Mineral Soak Day runs 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with lunch, and the Mineral Evening Soak runs 3 to 9 p.m. with dinner. Either way, you’ll eat at the farm-to-table restaurant, which is open to overnight and day-pass guests. Two Bunch Palms is also one of the first carbon-neutral resorts in the country, powered by its own 3.5-acre solar farm, so you can feel virtuous between soaks.
Two Bunch Palms
67425 Two Bunch Palms Trl
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
760.676.5000
8. Tiny Manor, Mighty Miracles: Miracle Manor Boutique Hotel & Spa
Don’t let the nine rooms fool you. Miracle Manor Boutique Hotel & Spa punches well above its weight. This midcentury property is considered one of the first spas to open after Desert Hot Springs was founded. Today, owners Kelsey and Apurva Patel run it as a holistic, adults-only retreat for guests 21 and older. The low-sulfur, lithium-rich hot springs feed a roughly 90-degree pool and a 104-degree soaking tub, both framed by mountain views. The small on-site spa is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and keeps its menu short. The Signature Miracle Massage can blend massage, hot stones, aromatherapy and reiki. The Signature Miracle Facial uses organic Laurel Skincare. For something truly different, a 60-minute floating ritual lets you drift through the warm mineral water. Not staying over? A day spa pass ($64) covers the pool, hot tub and soaking tubs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tranquil hours run from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., and there’s no on-site restaurant. Plan on driving into town for dinner and saving the socializing for daylight.
Miracle Manor Boutique Hotel & Spa
67621 Desert View Ave
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
760.329.6641
9. Vintage Campers, Modern Soaks: Acres Landing
For travelers who’d rather glamp than camp, Acres Landing reimagines vintage travel trailers. Think Airstream, Streamline, Boles, Spartan and Avion, each with a full bath, a queen bed and its own outdoor soaking tub for a cold-water plunge. A mineral spring pool and Jacuzzi anchor the five-acre grounds. Non-guests 21 and older can book a Day Use session from noon to 5 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, for $40 a person. Craving an actual spa treatment? Acres Landing shares a spa menu with its sister property, Aqua Soleil Hotel & Mineral Water Pool, a three-minute walk across the parking lot. Campers start at $260 a night for the coziest A-Line units and climb toward the suite-sized S-Line for a proper glamour glamp. This is not your childhood camping trip.
Acres Landing
60001 Park Ln
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
760.422.9252
10. The Round-the-Clock Soak: Desert Hot Springs Spa Hotel
Enjoy eight natural hot mineral pools ranging from 90 to 104 degrees, wrapped around towering palms at Desert Hot Springs Spa Hotel. This retro 1960s property has been drawing spa-goers and sun worshippers for decades, and its pools still run 24 hours a day for overnight guests, with day-pass access available from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. for everyone else. Fifty rooms and three private villas surround the courtyard, and the on-site Sunshine Cafe keeps the casual comfort food coming when a soak works up your appetite. It’s less polished than some of its Miracle Hill neighbors, and that’s sort of the point. Come for the water, not the thread count.
Desert Hot Springs Spa Hotel
10805 Palm Dr
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
760.329.6000
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is the water at Desert Hot Springs spas actually natural?
A: Yes. Desert Hot Springs sits on aquifers that produce naturally hot mineral water, generally rising between 140 and 174 degrees before it’s cooled for soaking. The city also sits on a separate cold-water aquifer, an unusual pairing that few places in the world share.
Q: Can you visit a Desert Hot Springs spa without booking a hotel room?
A: Most properties on this list sell day passes or day-use sessions, typically running from morning into the late afternoon or early evening, so a room isn’t required. A handful, including Hope Springs Resort and Aqua Soleil, reserve pool access for overnight guests and their invited visitors.
Q: How hot is the water at these hot springs?
A: Source water runs hot, often 140 degrees or higher, then gets cooled before it reaches the pools. Most soaking pools land somewhere between 90 and 104 degrees, with a few properties offering multiple pools at different temperatures so guests can pick their comfort level.
Q: Are Desert Hot Springs and Palm Springs the same place?
A: No. Desert Hot Springs is its own city on the northern edge of the Coachella Valley, roughly 15 to 20 minutes from downtown Palm Springs. While Palm Springs is known for its resorts, shopping and nightlife, Desert Hot Springs is known for its concentration of natural hot mineral springs.
Q: What should first-timers know before visiting a Desert Hot Springs spa?
A: Age policies vary. Some properties are 18 and older, others are 21 and older and a few welcome families. Several also ask guests to skip phone calls near the pools to keep the atmosphere relaxed. Spa treatments often book up, especially on weekends, so reserve ahead. Before making the drive, check the property’s website or call for current day-pass availability and pool hours.
