10 Must-Visit Spas in Greater Palm Springs

If you're looking for a desert detox, here are our picks.

There are many reasons to head to the Southern California desert for downtime. While winter sunshine and luxury resorts immediately come to mind, there are also music festivals, mid-century modern architecture, golfing, scenic hikes, spectacular sunsets, poppin’ pride events, and decadent dining. But perhaps the preeminent motivation to visit Palm Springs and its eight neighboring sun cities—like Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, and Desert Hot Springs—should be to seek a little self-care in a spa. There are so many to choose from across the Coachella Valley, so we rounded up some notable spas worthy of your next wellness weekend in the greater Palm Springs area.

The Palm Springs Yacht Club

For a wellness journey seemingly designed by Wes Anderson, shore up at the Parker Palm Springs and its nautical-themed Palm Springs Yacht Club. The design—it features liberal use of navy, stripes, and sailing flags—thoroughly commits to the ship concept: lifesavers become wall art, the shower stalls feature portholes, the carpet has rope print, and the treatment rooms are named after winning America’s Cup boats. Before or after your appointment, chill in a retro chaise around the saline pool-hot tub combo in the massive lido deck-like relaxation area. Services are offered a la carte but if you are feeling decadent, indulge in the five-hour Lost At Sea package, which comes with five services including a hand and foot paraffin.

Sunstone Spa

Mere steps away from the frenetic energy of the Agua Caliente Resort in Rancho Mirage is an award-winning spa and salon that promises to deliver patrons an experience that lives up to its name: Sunstone Spa. The Indigenous Nation behind the enterprise believes sunstones bring life, positive energy, and abundance. The spa offers a robust list of face, body, hair, and nail treatments. It also features innovative technology, such as chromatic light mats, infrared tables, a halotherapy booth, and a Japanese cold-steam technique.

Services aren’t cheap but Sunstone throws in lots of complimentary extras to make it worthwhile, like superfood mocktails and zero-gravity chairs in the waiting area. All massages use heated stones and include gentle foot exfoliation and a vibrational session at no extra cost.

JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa

Spa Desert Springs puts the "day" in "day spa" because that’s how long you’d need to take advantage of all the neutral-toned nirvana has to offer. Within the 38,000 freshly renovated square feet overlooking the Palm Desert resort’s golf course, there are 47 treatment rooms, two luxury suites, a steamy hammam (add on the personal Kerstin Florian kit to utilize this amenity to the fullest), a full-size saltwater pool, and a dry sauna. There's also a restaurant, a bar cart where guests can custom blend their own lotions and potions, a movement studio, a fitness center, a curated shop, and quiet lounges. Reserve the Sanctuary Suite, which features goodies like a multi-head shower, a patio, a fireplace, and a whirlpool bath, for special occasions.

Korakia Pensione

Your entire stay at Korakia Pensione will feel like you’re overnighting at a spa. It may be the water and fire features, the faint lingering smell of citrus in the air, or the afternoon mint tea service. But one thing is for sure: the ambiance is calming at this historic Moroccan-meets-Mediterranean property. This will especially ring true if you opt for in-room services like vibrational scalp treatments, detoxifying desert poultices (made by the head therapist), or a crystal chakra balancing ritual that incorporates seven oils and a Turkish rosewater-infused foot soak. (The studio is also a great option for those on a budget.)

St. Somewhere Spa

Turns out you don’t have to change latitude to achieve a change in attitude. You just have to schedule a visit to the 10,000-square-foot spa at Margaritaville Resort Palm Springs. Other than a few throw pillows and treatment names derived from lyrics, you won’t know you’re at a spa at a Jimmy Buffett-themed hotel. You can enter a blissful state in one of the 18 tiled treatment rooms with an Intraceuticals facial, an avocado pear refresher, or a Matcha Magic Elixir. (And so can your dog as St. Somewhere offers Pampered Pooch services.) There’s a full salon to attend to your hair, nail, tanning, and makeup needs. Monthly specials and Thursday evening date night sessions are more reasons to stay here all season.

Azure Palm Hot Springs

Opened in 2021 atop Miracle Hill, this haven is helping sleepy Desert Hot Springs reclaim its Spa City nickname of yore by harnessing the geothermal aquifer that runs underneath the region and taking a holistic approach to wellness. It offers a whole lot of things under one roof including a full-service spa, saunas, cold bucket shower, reflexology walk, delicious café that doesn’t forget vegan or gluten-free folks, yoga studio, relaxing garden, and a supervised juice cleanse which includes B6 and B12 shots, colon hydrotherapy and cold-pressed nectars.

But the piece de la resistance is the oasis filled with native plants, up-high panoramas, and plunges shaded by open-sided huts. Unlike many hot springs, there is very little sulfur and thus no rotten egg smell, and the constant flow means they can forgo chlorine as well.

Most things can be taken advantage of with the purchase of a day pass, but some special perks like 24-hour use and access to the Himalayan salt room and the rarer ice room are reserved for hotel guests. (If you stay overnight, splurge on a spa suite as it contains personal mineral soaking tubs that can be used sans suits.)

Spa Rosa

Spa Rosa debuted at Tommy Bahama Miramonte Resort & Spa when the 215-room property re-opened in November 2023 under the Tommy Bahama umbrella. The treatment menu includes the likes of tailored massages, a rose quartz facial, and a Himalayan body peel and wrap. "Using methods and rituals inspired by the healing powers of the surrounding desert and beautiful views of the Santa Rosa Mountains, our expert team will transport you to an instant state of bliss," reads the spa website. "With rejuvenating treatments like a massage tailored to your needs to an island state of mind body treatment or our inviting outdoor soaking pools, Spa Rosa presents everything essential for a day of tropical relaxation in the heart of island living."

Grounded Bodyworks

After a decade of waxing, sound baths and working out the kinks with homemade jojoba-arnica oil in Palm Springs, the gender-neutral day spa set up camp in a bungalow at the back of The Paloma hotel in Cathedral City and made a custom date foot scrub to celebrate the new location. Both the original and the petite outpost are decked out in nouveau boho décor and emphasize the healing power of touch, creating a safe inclusive environment and using clean products from OSEA and other women-founded brands. The linens smell of juniper, lime and sage, which adds an extra element of relaxation to doula-approved pregnancy massages or the four facials created to treat skin’s seasonal needs. And don’t even think of going anywhere else for faux lashes, tints or brow lamination.

Spa La Quinta

Get pampered the “as seen on TV” way at La Quinta Resort & Club. The old Hollywood hideaway and its 23,000 square-foot spa and salon served as the backdrop to not one, but two love stories on “The Bachelorette.” Chill in the seven whirlpool baths, two steam rooms, two inhalation rooms, or the serene central courtyard before heading to one of 38 treatment rooms. Longtime professionals perform all the greatest hits: anti-aging facials, contouring body wraps, exfoliating scrubs, and more than a dozen types of massages including a table Thai version. There are also recovery-driven options like the Ignite Balance CBD candle massage, which uses warm wax to target inflammation or the 60-minute one-on-one fascial stretch therapy session that secures its spot on this list. Back in the room, continue your myofascial rehab with recovery tools by companies like Hypervolt, Normatec, and Hyperice borrowed through the new rental program.

Two Bunch Palms

Although people like Al Capone have been marinating in the low sulfur, lithium-rich mineral waters of this Desert Hot Springs compound since the 1930s, it still feels like a hidden gem. Tucked away behind a strict security gate and date palms, the upscale retreat unfolds over 77 acres. Life here is unrushed, lightly populated (only 65 rooms and no day-pass program), quiet (no kids allowed!), and mystical services like chakra balancing, tarot readings, and communicating with the dead. Wellness starts with utilizing teak or concrete tubs of varying sizes and grotto pools fed with more than 100-degree water by the spring below, which recharges every 24 hours. The spa menu, featuring chaga-charged adaptogen wraps and craniosacral energy work, was created to act in tandem with long soaks. A giant yoga dome, tea lounge, a duck pond, a walking labyrinth, and a hammock grove round out the spa's regenerative amenities.

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