Ancient mineral waters, design-forward spa rituals, and next-gen recovery treatments are giving the desert’s century-old wellness culture a thoroughly modern update.
Long before Palm Springs became synonymous with mid-century design and martinis by the pool, the desert drew people seeking better health. The dry air and near-constant sunshine were once thought to help respiratory conditions, and some of the city’s earliest hoteliers arrived for exactly that reason. Harriet Cody came in 1916 and later founded Casa Cody, now the oldest continuously operating hotel in Palm Springs. Meanwhile, Nellie Coffman followed a similar path with the Desert Inn, which helped usher the town into its resort era.
Today, Modernism Week may command headlines, but wellness is again becoming one of the most compelling reasons to come to the Coachella Valley. And September makes that especially visible. Now in its second year, Greater Palm Springs Spa Month spans all nine cities with mineral-soak passes, discounted treatments and wellness-focused hotel and resort stays. Spa Month perks range from a $100 weekday wellness day pass at Dive Palm Springs, where infrared sauna and cold plunge come with a distinctly boutique-hotel spin, to discounted stays with a $300 wellness credit at Sensei Porcupine Creek, Rancho Mirage’s ultra-luxury and highly coveted retreat.
The Spa at Séc-he: Heritage Meets High Tech
Few places express that evolution as clearly as The Spa at Séc-he. [Mention a firsthand moment from the spa month event—perhaps moving from the mineral water into one of the newer activations; strongest sensory detail or surprise from the 15+ wellness partners.] The scale alone is striking: more than 73,000 square feet devoted to bathing, treatments and recovery, anchored by the Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring. Sacred to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the waters here have spent more than 12,000 years underground before emerging at around 105 degrees.
Around that ancient resource, however, is an emphatically modern wellness playground: private mineral baths, flotation pods, heated quartz beds and a salt cave sit alongside a cryotherapy chamber, IV therapy, high-tech facials and more traditional massage and bodywork. The treatment menu is expanding this fall, with new facials including a collagen-and-salmon-DNA treatment from Montreal-made Nelly De Vuyst; a microcurrent facial using G.M. Collin, the Paris-born skincare house now developed in Montreal; and Phytomer’s Oligoforce Illumination Facial, drawing on the French brand’s decades of marine skincare research in Brittany.
There’s an Indigenous beauty story here, too. Séc-he works with N8iV Beauty, founded by Ruth-Ann Thorn, an enrolled member of the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians. TIME named N8iV one of its 10 Most Influential Fashion and Beauty Companies of 2026, calling it the first Indigenous American-owned skincare brand to reach the mainstream national market.
Also joining the treatment menu this fall, the Medicine Wheel Guided Facial goes beyond skin type, inviting guests to choose a path that reflects where they are in their personal journey. Sustainably sourced acorn oil from tribal lands is paired with retinol, plant stem cells and evening primrose to calm inflammation, support the skin barrier and address moisture loss and premature aging.
Korakia Pensione: Analog Antidote
At Korakia Pensione, wellness still feels refreshingly unprogrammed. Set across 1.5 acres near the base of the San Jacinto Mountains, the Moroccan- and Mediterranean-inspired hideaway feels deliberately removed from the usual Palm Springs buzz: citrus-scented paths, fountains, lantern-lit courtyards and two heated saltwater pools create their own sense of time. This fall, a new spa and wellness enclave adds dry heat, wet sauna, exfoliation, massage, aromatherapy and facial treatments inspired by the desert landscape, alongside a new outdoor fitness area. Mornings might begin with breakfast in the Moroccan courtyard, then meditation, a sound bath, or a guided hike. Korakia still makes a persuasive case for doing less—and doing it somewhere exceptionally beautiful.
Palm Springs Yacht Club: Wellness Without Virtue
Not every route to wellbeing requires a biomarker or abstinence from cocktails. At Parker Palm Springs, the Palm Springs Yacht Club embraces a more old-fashioned idea: shameless pampering. It feels fitting at a storied 13-acre estate that began its glamorous chapter as Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch, later became a Hollywood playground under Merv Griffin and today wears Jonathan Adler’s playful, gloriously maximalist stamp. Guests arrive at the spa in white robes and flip-flops and are dispatched toward one of 15 private treatment rooms with, wonderfully, a thimble of cucumber-infused vodka. Facials, wraps, reflexology and massage can all be personalized.
Estrella Spa and Terra Palm Springs
At Avalon Hotel & Bungalows, the traditional spa is still there—Estrella offers massages, Natura Bissé facials and body treatments—but wellness increasingly blends into the rest of the stay. An outdoor sauna and cold plunge sit alongside a 24-hour fitness center, while weekend programming can include yoga, Pilates and meditation. Terra Palm Springs takes that integration further. The intimate 13-room hotel was conceived around holistic wellness and its amenities stay open around the clock. Move through a self-guided desert healing circuit of Himalayan salt sauna and cold plunge, linger in an immersive rain room or hot tub, then add in-room PEMF or red-light sessions. For Spa Month, Terra sweetens the deal with 10 percent off room rates plus $75 off a spa treatment.
Two Bunch Palms: Taking the Waters
You can do a lot—or absolutely nothing—at Two Bunch Palms, and both feel equally correct. About 20 minutes from downtown Palm Springs, the adults-only Desert Hot Springs retreat centers on mineral-rich water flowing from a 600-year-old aquifer on land long considered sacred by the Cahuilla people. The palm-shaded grotto and private soaking tubs make the draw here obvious: soak, chill, repeat. Weekly programming currently ranges from yoga and Pilates to Reiki meditation, sound baths and tile making, while the spa offers another reason to disappear for an afternoon. But one of Two Bunch’s nicest ideas is that you needn’t sleep over to participate. Day Retreat and Mineral Soak passes open the waters to non-hotel guests; during Spa Month, the $125 soak pass includes access to the mineral waters and spa facilities from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., plus lunch and a non-alcoholic drink. After the cold plunges, high-tech facials and longevity talk, Palm Springs’ oldest wellness ritual may still be its most appealing: simply staying and soaking a while.
