Make Azure Palm Hot Springs Resort and Day Spa Oasis your geothermal getaway
By Stacy Davies
Just a bit north of the 10 freeway, perched above Palm Springs, Cathedral City, and all other Coachella Valley towns, you’ll find the still rather undiscovered land of Desert Hot Springs, or DHS, as it’s locally known. Formerly called simply Miracle Hill, the region sits on a single geothermal field with roughly 200 wells that with the help of fractures from the San Andreas Fault, push mineral waters of 120–160 degrees above ground, a process shaped over thousands of years. The waters were first utilized by the Cahuilla peoples, who referred to it as sec-he, meaning “boiling water,” and over the centuries played an important role in their creation myths long before the first settler, Welsh immigrant Hilda Maud Gray, staked her claim in 1908.
The following years, the region saw a few more pioneers snatch up land, but it was after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act in 1862 that colonizers began arriving in herds—including some less threatening explorers such as Cabot Yerxa, a homesteader who deeply revered both the land and its people and preserved much of that heritage in his 35-room pueblo turned museum. In 1941, L.W. Coffee opened the first bathhouse and kicked off the spa developments that would eventually give the land its current moniker, “The Mineral Water Capital of the World.”
Since those early decades, the city has ebbed and flowed in its growth and is now home to around 20 mineral spring resorts. From quaint respites for lovers to family-friendly fare that capitalizes on the waterworks, there’s something for every disposition on the hill, especially for those seeking adults-only Zen hideaways like Azure Hot Springs Resort and Spa.
Overlooking Mt. San Jacinto on the edge of what is known as the “Miracle Hill Spa Zone,” Azure Hot Springs offers 10 free-flowing mineral pools and small tubs in their oasis garden, which also includes a pebble-stream “reflexology walk” that’s sure to activate your plantar pressure points and realign your energy. In fact, realignment is the main focus of every aspect of the resort.
“People come here specifically to relax, recharge, and rejuvenate,” says resort spokesman Richard Lambakis. “And not all spas can get you there.”
This six-acre arid escape is the brainchild of Maria Lease, who refurbished the grounds about five years ago according to her personal vision. The result is simply spectacular—with emphasis on the word simple. While most spa experiences promise a meditative modus vivendi, Azure Resort specifically wants you to de-amplify. In fact, there’s even a cap on the noise level (and, if you happen to have what Richard refers to as “a strong voice,” be prepared to quiet yourself—and my apologies to both Richard and the guests that day!). They also encourage minimal phone usage and have built-in sanctuary pockets where if one absolutely must take a call in the public space, you’re far enough away to not disrupt the rejuvenation of your fellow guests.
In addition to the expected yoga, massage, facials, juice cleanses and sauna sessions, the resort also features a Himalayan salt rock room built entirely from salt bricks and heated by copper pipes—especially try this for antibacterial, antiviral halo-therapy that helps you catch those Z’s at night. If you’re not quite ready for bed, however, instead head over to the frosted-over “cold room,” an icebox-like shock to the system that’ll jolt those impurities clean out of your system—or at least keep your vicious perimenopause temporarily at bay.
Azure offers “spa suite” rooms with their own mineral spring tub, as well as “balcony view” rooms that overlook the Zen garden and Santa Rosa Mountains. They even donate a dollar per person from each day spa visit to DHS Opening Doors, a nonprofit that offers the children of Desert Hot Springs excursions outside of the region, including trips to Griffith Park and Disney Concert Hall. So, whether you need a weekend or a single day spa escape, or maybe just a healthy, from-scratch pesto chicken and squash bowl at their café, Azure Hot Springs Resort and Spa Oasis most definitely fits your bill.
