Palm Springs [May 2024 Refresh]

WELLNESS | Pool time | ARTS & CULTURE | CULINARY EXPERIENCES

Greater Palm Springs

Whe mountain-fringed, frond-shaded natural beauty of Greater Palm Springs needs no introduction. What does? The area's amazing array of warm-weather travel experiences, from exhibits that reflect the unparalleled modernist history here to wellness offerings that carry on the traditions of the earliest local inhabitants. Then there are the recently Michelin-listed restaurants, the ever-proliferating pools and water parks and one artificial wave so customizable, it may trump the actual ocean among surfers. No matter what kinds of attractions you seek, read on for the perfect seasonal blend of longstanding favorites and buzzy newcomers.

Since time immemorial, Indigenous people have made use of the Coachella Valley's healing waters. But the 2023 reopening of the only hot spring in Palm Springs proper—the Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring—has dramatically reshaped the modern wellness landscape. The site had closed close to a decade ago when its tribal owners and stewards began reimagining the best use of the water that’s central to their very identity. They are, after all, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. Last April, their sacred spring gave rise to an extraordinary new wellness center that has since garnered coverage everywhere from The New York Times to National Geographic UK. Called The Spa at Séc-he (that’s Cahuilla for “the sound of boiling water”), this 73,000-square-foot spread is home to no fewer than 22 private spring-fed mineral baths, 15 treatment rooms, two couples’ treatment suites, a cryotherapy chamber, a menthol dry sauna, a eucalyptus steam room, two halotherapy salt caves, a tranquility garden, a complex of outdoor pools with deluxe cabanas and day beds—and that’s just for starters.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Desert Hot Springs, the city’s titular waters are having a major moment. From the iconic, century-old Two Bunch Palms, where the mineral soaking tubs keep proliferating, to the new Onsen Hotel & Spa, where midcentury bones have given rise to a sleek modern retreat, the soaking ops are ever expanding. Even retreats that have opened in the last few years—whether the hacienda-like Good House or the 100-foot mineral pool-equipped Azure Palm Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa Oasis—are already expanding in response to demand. People simply love soaking in (and soaking up) this mountain-ringed drama, and who can blame them in light of earth-warmed mineral waters?

If it’s a sound bath you seek, you’ll find plenty places to soak up those vibes, too. The most famous is the Integratron, a dome that dates to 1960 and offers hourlong sessions that blend a chakra-stimulating set (played on multitudes of quartz crystal singing bowls) with a fascinating history lesson. There’s also plenty of yoga available throughout the area, with Power Yoga Palm Springs being a particular favorite for offerings that range from Sunday morning sessions in Ruth Hardy Park to periodic rooftop yoga at Flannery Exchange in the city’s Uptown Design District.

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For a pool of one’s own, a vacation rental may well be the way to go. If it’s a unique pool you seek, check out this curated list. You’ll find everything from a glass-walled shipping container pool to a pool with a beach entry, swim-up bar and 130-foot river. For additional options (at least 600 more, in fact), you can search Marriott Bonvoy’s Homes & Villas listings for Greater Palm Springs, apply the “homes with pools” filter, and start wading into these often amazing discoveries.

Suitable for a multitude of levels and interests during the public sessions, the wave can also be highly customized during private sessions. Then again, there’s nothing like a good, old-fashioned waterpark to make kids happy. Between its 425-foot lazy river and duo of 100-foot waterslides, Splashtopia water park at Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa is a longtime favorite in Rancho Mirage. Another good option: HyTides Water Park at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa, with dueling swirly slides, among other cool features.

To some, of course, wellness is synonymous with long, languorous sessions in the pool, and Greater Palm Springs obliges on that front, too. The idea becomes all the more enticing in summer, when you could happily spend an entire getaway pool-hopping through the Coachella Valley—or in the case of family travelers, waterpark-hopping. Though the newest addition to the scene does include a lazy river, water slide, pools and cabanas, the distinguishing characteristic at Palm Springs Surf Club—as the name would suggest—is the artificial wave.

Greater Palm Springs is also known for its profusion of public art, from the heralded Coachella Walls initiative (don’t miss the stunning, solitary "Anonymous Farm Worker" by el Mac on Vine Avenue) to the epic sculptural installations, from Edoardo Tresoldi’s mirage-like Etherea (also in Coachella) to X Marks the Spot by Simi Dabah outside the Cathedral City Public Library. If the performing arts are your thing, make sure to check the calendar at Acrisure Arena, where June will see performances by Sarah McLachlan, Janet Jackson and Caifanes & Café Tacvba; July will bring New Kids on the Block and Jennifer Lopez; and August will feature Alanis Morissette, Los Temerarios and Kings of Leon, among others. To extend the summer fun into September, there’s everyone from Chayanne to a double-feature with Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire.

For an otherworldly experience of a different kind, don’t miss the Creation and Migration exhibit at the recently opened Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, where 360-degree projections and immersive digital animation tell the Agua Caliente Creation and Migration stories. You’ll also want to explore the rest of the Permanent Gallery, where you’ll find — among other things — the astonishing wealth of artifacts that were unearthed during the creation of the neighboring Spa at Séc-he. Don’t miss the plaza’s Oasis Trail, nor the current exhibits, which include For a Love of His People: The Photography of Horace Poolaw (through December).

For the midcentury bounty alone, Greater Palm Springs would be a pilgrimage site for design fans. In fact, one of the most beloved events on the global arts calendar—fall’s Modernism Week (there’s also a winter version)—is coming up October 24-27, when you’ll find more than 50 events to attend: a mix of tours, exhibits, talks, and parties, many in venues that aren’t normally open to the public. Not that you need wait until then to immerse yourself in the local midcentury modern treasures, of course. For starters, book a guided architecture tour. And allot plenty of time for the Palm Springs Art Museum, where you can catch the Albert Frey: Inventive Modernist exhibit through August 18 at the Architecture and Design Center’s Edwards Harris Pavilion before you behold the architect’s newly installed masterpiece on the museum’s grounds: the all-metal Aluminaire House, originally built in 1931.

Of course, there’s also a world of worthy options beyond. Try the locally sourced, made-from-scratch pastries and organic espresso at La Quinta’s Chula Artisan Eatery. Feast on tapas and paella — and feast your eyes on the historic adobe surroundings —at Cathedral City’s Sol Y Sombra. Sink your teeth into a giant soft pretzel with Poolside Blonde white cheddar cheese sauce and honey mustard at Palm Desert’s La Quinta Brewing Company Taproom. Time-travel to the midcentury racquet club brunch scene at Indian Wells’s Pink Cabana for a prawn cocktail and cabana benedict. And spend at least one evening at PS Underground, where dinner and a show makes for a truly grand finale to a beautiful day.

To refuel between outings, you’ll want to explore the area’s celebrated dining scene. Now home to its first ever Michelin Guide, Greater Palm Springs has eight listings in this global forum that range from casual to upscale: 4 Saints, Bar Cecil, Boozehounds, Cheeky's, Colony Club, Tac/Quila, The Barn Kitchen at Sparrows Lodge and Workshop Kitchen & Bar.

Wellness

Pool time

Arts & culture

Culinary experiences

Plan your trip

Colony Palms

Boozehounds

Indian Canyons

JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa

Yoga at Flannery Exchange

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Modernism Week

Palm Springs Art Museum

Boozehounds

Bar Cecil

Reffen Street Food Market Photo credits: Lukas Bukoven (left); Reffen - Copenhagen Street Food (right)

should top your list this summer

Why

Splashtopia at Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa

The Spa at Séc-he

Two Bunch Palms (left); Azure Palm Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa (right)

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Born the same year as the Aluminaire House, artist Norman Zammitt helped pioneer the Light and Space movement, and a number of his color band paintings and chaos theory-inspired “fractal” paintings are on view in an exhibit called Norman Zammitt: Gradations at the museum through October 7. Other exhibits worth catching while you’re there include the whimsical, childlike Outburst Project, Alake Shilling (through August 4) and A Shadow Set Free (May 12-August 4), an exploration of various sculptors’, photographers’ and painters’ evocation of the otherworldly.

Coachelle Walls (left); Cathedral City Hot Air Balloon Festival (right)

Colony Club

4 Saints

WELLNESS | OUTDOORS | ARTS & CULTURE | CULINARY EXPERIENCES

Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa